Hands

The subject of this image is inanimate hands, floating in a bathtub of bloody water. In order to create this image, I filled up a bathtub with water, and poured in two bottles of red food dye in order to mimic the color of blood mixed with water. I had a friend of mine lay in the bathtub, so I could photograph her hands in the bloody water. I chose to create this image not to mimic or make fun of suicide, but rather to bring attention to it. As I focus my concentration on societal issues, I felt that it was needed to shed light on the fact that mental illness affects one in four people in the world. In other words, around 450 million people currently suffer from mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. That is why I choose to create this specific image. I chose a fish eye lense because it is in the shape of a circle, similarly to the world. Suicide is a worldwide issue, so i thought it was appropriate to use a fish eye lense to represent the world within a single photo and how suicide plays a large role in our world. As my friend laid in the bathtub, I was sure to include elements of color, value, and space in the photograph, as well as contrast, emphasis, and movement.

This photo shows soft lighting as well, in order to emphasize the fact that there is no life in the photo. If it was sharp focus, it would be associated with more lively and in tact, which it is not. The hands are slightly out of focus, and the water is not sharp either. Throughout the time that I was taking photos for this project, I began to realize that some images can be too graphic, and possibly hard for certain audiences to look at. So instead of showcasing a photo that shows slit wrists or actual blood, I thought it would be best to use red food dye instead. In my original sketches, I had completely different ideas. None of which worked out. I thought it was best to not ask people if I could photograph their cut wrists, so that idea did not end up working out. So instead I came up with the idea to photograph a fake suicide.

As I focus my photographs on societal issues, I felt that it was needed to shed light on the fact that mental illness affects one in four people in the world. In other words, around 450 million people currently suffer from mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Every year, we lose one million people worldwide to suicide. That is 3,000 people per day. For each individual that takes their life, at least 20 others attempt to do so. This relates to my life because I know a plethora of people that I am very close to, that have considered suicide, attempted to commit suicide, or have actually died by suicide. This subject is very close to my heart, and I take it very seriously. One thing I could do to make this image stronger is play with the lighting in the room. Obviously, we were in a bathroom, so it was difficult to control the professional photography lighting. Also, my camera was not working at the time, so I was forced to use my phone camera which is much lower in quality. If I could do this project over again, I would make sure my camera is working first so that the image is of highest quality.