Identity: Post 3
Introduction
From losing someone in your life, to letting go of old habits in chase of new ones, loss is never easy. Indeed, explaining the process of grief as an observer or person looking in hindsight is beyond difficult, and can sometimes feel extremely uncomfortable. How are you to feel sincere in “explaining away” someone else’s misery? How could you possibly justify the sleep you deprived yourself of, the days you spent in bed, or the countless relationships you broke off because of the one that you had lost? And it isn’t always about the heavy, suffocating pain either; sometimes, the cold pit of emptiness you feel inside yourself is more terrifying. How can you feel so at your wits’ end when, to everyone else, you seem almost completely normal?
Pain is complex, which is why the statement “you’ll get over it” feels so frustrating. Because amidst all the ups and downs and twists and turns of sorrow, you are never sure if you will “get over it”. Somehow, pain continues to confuse our understanding of emotion, taking it beyond the literal and into a land where only sentimental, romantic, and impractical thoughts persist.
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Statement of Intent
This set of portraits will explore sorrow and loss through the famous Kübler-Ross model—also known as the five stages of grief. It is the visual representation of mental processes that occur inside the mind of someone in grief.
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Basic Information
Subject: Candy 🥰 (thanks Candy)
Setting: Photo studio
Equipment: Colored lights, background paper, makeup
Key themes: Kübler-Ross model, grief, loss, Euphoria aesthetic
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The Kübler-Ross Model
This model of grief is well-known in the psychological and psychiatric realms. It traces the complicated footsteps of someone who has just endured a traumatic event, lost someone or something that is deeply intertwined with their lives, or been hurt in any other way that was significant enough to change their outlook on and habits in life.
In my photo set, I will attempt to recreate these five stages in capturing the complete and sophisticated image of a person in grief.
Stage 1: Denial. This is when the pain is not yet fully registered. It’s sometimes described as a state of disbelief or shock.
Stage 2: Anger. One of the unexpected emotions that we gravitate towards when we are in pain is anger. We can end up hurting those around us, or shutting ourselves off from the rest of the world.
Stage 3: Bargaining. “If only I could’ve helped her more.” “If only that one decision didn’t happen.” Bargaining is the stage at which we attempt to be logical—but often fail to do so.
Stage 4: Depression. Perhaps the most commonly associated phase when we think of grief is the long, tumultuous, and painstaking period of depression.
Stage 5: Acceptance. The pain starts to ebb away.
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The Euphoria Aesthetic
Euphoria is an HBO teen drama television series that has become extremely popular in the past few years. It is now most commonly associated with the complexities of teenagers’ relationships with their families, cultures, body images, and romantic partners, as well as social media.
Apart from the important themes this series discusses, Euphoria is also known for its incredible cinematography. Defined most prominently by glitter, “euphoric” lighting (especially the use of purples and blues), and the classic teenage characterization (marked by defiance), the Euphoria aesthetic of portraiture holds tremendous power in expressing emotion. It is particularly effective in creating an atmosphere that is irreplaceable by most other types of portraiture.
Whereas the aesthetic is originally used to convey feelings of extreme, most often superficial euphoria, I want to use it to create the exact opposite emotion: sorrow. Indeed, euphoria itself sometimes acts as a mask that covers up deeper feelings of pain and conflict, and these are the feelings that I want to discover through my photo set.
