Discomfort - Week One - FMP

Starting a final project is always daunting but once ideas start flowing the stress often eases. Over the half term I started to think about any theme ideas but only one seemed to really stand out to me which is the theme of ‘Discomfort.’

Discomfort is something everyone will go through within their lives, whether that’s embarrassment, anxiety or even fear. It surrounds us completely within many aspects of our lives, talking to a friend and they mention something which just makes you want to curl up in a ball and cry, walking home or on public transport at night, loud eaters or even sitting in a weird position. They all vary from the classic cringe to the extreme embarrassment. But within this project I hope to investigate these themes creating different photography pieces and sculptural pieces exploring visual metaphors of the sensation of discomfort.

At this current point in time, I am unsure of what work I will make within my project other than a general initial idea on materials and production of my initial ideas - this may change through the development of my trialling process. Within my research throughout the next week, I am sure that more ideas will benefit me. I have started to read two books to further develop my understanding of the psychology of embarrassment and being awkward. Melissa Dahl and Ty Tashiro have both written books about the science of being awkward, including their personal embarrassing experiences to give readers an insight to why embarrassing experiences happening to us. Projecting the idea that they are not as bad as they seem, as we all learn something from these mistakes. By understanding other experiences and the science behind it, it should inform my work and benefit the creation of my initial ideas through using this information as a reference. To further help my understanding of other people’s discomforts, I took to Instagram and created a poll asking my followers “What makes you uncomfortable?.” The responses were a mixed bag. Answers ranging from ‘Tories’ to ‘not being able to fart in public’ - both relatable topics which oddly let me peer into people’s mind for a few seconds. However, one theme seems to be continuously popping up and that is the invasion of personal space.

As humans we all appreciate our personal space, but some people find this hard to understand when they are interfering with our personal boundaries. For example, touching someone’s waist to move them out of the way is never appropriate no matter your significance to that person, it is just unsettling for everyone in that experience. I think exploring the boundaries of breaking and understanding personal space is a topic of interest for me to develop within my project. As breaking personal space can be very embarrassing for anyone involved. Eye contact falls into the category of discomfort for me as it is a very invasive task which feels unnatural for me to experience. Pairing this further with personal space would make an interesting photoshoot for me to explore and develop within my initial imagery. However, I may develop more ideas once my research has been fully conducted. Using the college library will defiantly be a benefit for research into contemporary artists and practices which could benefit my future imagery.

This theme has sparked a particular interest in me. There are so many avenues to investigate, which is incredibly fascinating. People and the way brains work is just so interesting.