Isabella MURRAY-GOOLD
The destruction of beauty 2017
from the series Beauty
ink-jet prints 45.72 x 30.48cm (each)
ink-jet print 30.48 x 45.72cm
reproduction courtesy of the artist and St Paul's Anglican Grammar School
TOPshots 2017-18 Finalist
VCE Studio Arts 3&4
Artist statement:
These images address the destruction of beauty as a way to challenge the ‘Pursuit for Perfection’ evident within contemporary society. I burned my medium format film negatives to distort and obscure the subjects, utilising the burns to represent imperfections individuals may struggle with as they learn to accept themselves in a world with unreasonable beauty standards. Destroying the film itself meant each of my images allowed for deliberate destruction, meaning my images were authentic to demonstrate the beauty in imperfection and uniqueness. I decided to scan my negatives rather than printing them using analogue techniques in order to create larger scale images that allow scrutiny and inspection of the destruction I had created, encouraging viewers to realise the unnecessary struggle these individuals deal with as a result of society’s ideals. When scanning the negatives, I deliberately placed the bent parts against the scanner to focus the image on the burns, more so than the subject. This is reflective of the way individuals see their imperfections before themselves, again, highlighting the unnecessary struggle with body image in contemporary society.
These images challenge contemporary ideals of perfection as being something unequivocally beautiful, by instead deliberately damaging colour film negatives with bleach to highlight the beauty in imperfection, producing an image that is unique and authentic. I employed the use of analogue techniques and processes to create a sense of raw intimacy, also allowing me to tangibly craft images by hand and use bleach on my medium format negatives to address feelings of insecurity individuals may have in relation to their appearance. I aimed to produce photographs that were by no means perfectly constructed and were instead, uniquely beautiful.
