taking and editing these images i found that layering over a coloured filter made them more interesting and look better when layering with text and other images. The colour overlay also makes these places seem more still and diluted almost more quiet and dream like, it pushes the images into the background.
Research
I also started researching into why people feel the need to keep secrets and how it effected them. 97% of people are keeping a significant secret at any one time. This makes this idea of having one more relocatable and feel less important knowing everyone else has the same “keeping” responsibility. Despite this topic occupying all of us, there is little research on what effect it has on us in our every day life. The ability to keep a secret is a big milestone as a child. It confirms this idea of having trusted information between another person. A lot of my project is going to revolve around this feeling of trust and inclusiveness
The majority of research suggests that keeping a secret weather that be just with yourself or a select few people can leave you feeling anxious and weighted with your own information and responsibility; sharing it with other people may only make it worse through fear of them telling more people. The idea that you are the one holding this information and choosing to share it or not seems to have negative impact on your mental and in your relationships with others. However the problem inst the actual keeping of the secret its the idea of having to live along side them in our thoughts. This is why i wanted the secrets i gathered to be in and amount my collages and images of places where your mind dose wander.
However in my own researcher as i found speaking and communicating with other people about my secrets and theirs a very positive thing. There is this idea and feeling of inclusiveness; being in on something and feeling valued enough that person would communicate something so valued and concealed with you despite the fact that that is you taking on more secrets that you need to keep. In relationships with other people i think that secrets are a real sign of trust and confessing things about yourself makes you feel better as you often get a similar secret or confession in return.
I wanted to explore the 2 types of secrets I was receiving and could differentiate:
- Shameful or embarrassing subjects- sex-money-cheating
- What people are really thinking – social commentary and thought and the social pressure to be polite
Layering/Print/Paint/Collage
I experimented with layering college, painting, printing and text. As well as including the original confessions i included phrases like
“Don’t tell anyone but”
“Who am i going to tell like”
Phrases that came up a lot when discussing a secret or confessing things to someone. who am i going to tell becomes a question of someones character as appose to an actual question. Asking the person who is telling you if you trust them enough not to tell others. Because as an adult the reality is that you have the ability to tell anyone physically or even over social media. It reminds me of making a ‘pinky promise’ when you were younger.
CHARLEY MILLAR ART 