HIBAH JEWHAR
ARTIST ANALYSIS
IDRIS KHAN
Idris Khan was born in Birmingham on the first of December 1978. He studied at a photography university of Derby, he then managed to get a master degree in fine art at the royal collage of art. Khan is mainly famous for manipulating his photographs. His work can be portrayed like a random bunch of lines and scribbles merged together however there is a deeper meaning buried in between the lines. Idris Khan has a special technique when editing his images he digitally scans his images and layers then on top of each other which creates that glitch-broken like effect of his art. Most of his work draws attention to his religion and the history of art he explores his identity by his talents of densely layering his images. Idris khan mood of his artworks/photos are seen as melancholy ,desolation due to the inability to express oneself. His image on the right displays that as his work is seen to be drawn or sketched like instead it is carefully digitally layered as he edits his images. When he uses technology to digitally edit his images `Don't be put off by someone telling you that your image looks too digital; maybe that's the way it's supposed to look.` His images can be located in many galleries (The Sean Kelly gallery).
His art collects variety of diverse cultures and collects all together in an image which shows how powerful his work can be. His style of work has connotations of depressed and bottled up emotions due to the complex structure photographs and his lines and patterns are not fitted together nor do they fit perfectly together. This also demonstrates the errors and how as humans we are not perfect.
Idris khan has an abstract genre of photograph. He captured his photographs on a digital camera due to the fact he was born in the late seventies and they has access to digital cameras. It can be easily noticed Idris khan used a digital camera due to the excellent quality of his images. Khan uses intricate lines and patterns in his images this was done by scanning his images and double exposing them on top of each other as a result he was able to successfully create glitch/abstract images. This is how he successfully creates a ghost/Gothic tone to his work. Idris khan can also be known for using some pages of the Quran (the holy book for Muslims) to create and form his work he then edits them in several different ways then I assume he has double exposed the pages on top of each other to create shadows and a slightly distorted view. This was also done by enhancing the shadows to create a 3D look to further refine his work. Idris Khan has edited most of his images on Photoshop which has bias views as if it could be considered as `cheating` to some, as Idris Khan quotes` A lot of people in the art world hate to use the word "Photoshop", like it's cheating or easy or something. I say bollocks to that - for me, it's my tool, my paintbrush if you like, and lets me create my own visual language.` Idris khan is an extremely talented photographer as he specialises in digital editing as he is known to multi layer his images on top of each other.
PHOTO SHOOT PLAN
My reflection on the shoot was that overall I feel as if my images have gone well. most of my images have been edited and further refined
CONTACT SHEET
When capturing these images I had to carefully consider the camera angles and the time of day. Whilst taking my images I had to be constantly changing the angle to allow a good composition, in doing so I took most of my images from a high distance from the ground. I also had to capture lots of different buildings in the style of Idris Khan. For the settings of these images I had to travel around London to capture these images. The main thing I had to look out for was avoiding overpopulated places. When capturing my images I used good natural lighting coming from the sun, and I captured them with the HDR mode and portrait mode to enhance the quality of the images. Due to the fact that I am going to be doing lots of layering and double exposure I had to make sure some of my images were out of focused or blurry. For my images in had to insure that most of the images were captured with a fast shutter speed (allowing less light to penetrate through the lens which gives an effect of a frozen image) due to the images resulting in being clear and in focus. I had to ensure that the camera was focusing to create an astonishing image. I also had to use a low aperture to let less enter the camera and to also make the background seem blurry and unfocused in contrast the the vocal point in the center. Overall, to improve for next time I would try to invest more time and take more photos of different and surreal architecture and strange building. I could also hugely benefit by going to more industrial areas in London.
DEVELOPMENTS
When I was editing my images I used many different techniques to successfully enhance them to appear like Idris khans work. I made sure to enable the black and white filter and increase the contrast. I also had to decrease the curve to achieve the dark tone I was searching for. Firstly I used the select tool and selected the whole image I then pressed Ctrl c, Ctrl v and Ctrl t. This was done so I could of copied the image and move it around. I then would be able to blend them together. To mimic Idris khan I had to copy the image on top of it then I had to move it around slightly to the left and right. I then had to click on the normal effect and scroll through the different options e.g (soft light, lighten, darken pin light, ). After doing this multiple times I had to add a filter to further enhance the quality of my images. This is what initially creates that glitch/ blurry effect. to improve I will try to incorporate different and more complex and effective ways of editing. However what I felt I did rather good on is making the image appear distorted and blurred.
PROCESS LOGS
I increased the contrast, the curve and brightness.
I copy and pasted the image multiple times.
I then added a filter and pressed on the image blend tool to blend the images together.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS
For these images I have taken some inspiration from Idris khan and explored a new technique : mirroring. For this technique I have made it look as if the building have a curve or bent and are connected into one. I first have to extend the canvas using to crop tool, then press Ctrl C, Ctrl v and Ctrl t. I then selected the opposite corner and flipped over the image copy of the buildings and connected them together I then started making several duplicates and moved them all in different places, before adding a the blend effect. This is how I successfully edited my images. This resulted in my images having a ghost like eerie mood. To further improve the quality of my work I had to change the opacity of the images to 50 and add a filter to emphasise on the gothic /ghost-like tone. Something I think I should improve on is the amount of times you keep on having to edit the image after you mirror it instead I should of done the editing first to same time and confusions.
HIGHLIGHTING SUCCESS
I am particularly pleased on how these image turned out I feel as if they are the most successful and closely resembles Idris khans work. I also feel as if the mirroring further defines the double exposure and enhances the small intricate details of lines and patterns throughout the buildings. This overall has shown huge improvement from my first set of developments.
PROCESS LOGS
first I edited my images black and white and increased the contrast to highlight the shadows.
Next I pressed ctrl c ctrl v and ctrl t to take several copies of the images and move them in different positions. I image blend them so it can blur into the pictures.
I then extend the canvas and I drew with the select tool them copy and pasted the image. I then I flipped the image to create an mirrored look.
CONTACT SHEETS
I captured these pictures using a low aperture to allow more sunlight into the camera lens due to it being a cloudy day we need as much sunlight as possible. I also had to make sure some of the images were blurry so then whilst I edit my images it will already be distorted and blurry like Idris khans work. One of the struggles I went through was consistently trying to keep all the image slightly different so when I start to eventually edit or image blend it wont look too similar to my original developments
DEVELOPMENTS
When editing these images I had to ensure that I had captured the buildings from different angles to ensure that when I edited them it would give a more sophisticated look when double exposing them. I first converted my images to black and white and I drew with the select tool to copy and paste a the same exact image I then shifted it slightly to the left and right then I finally went on the image blend options and clicked it on either darken, soft light or Pin light depending on what the individual image suited best. I then had to repeat this process 5-6 times to achieve these images.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS
For these images to further refine and develop my work I used two of my previous images that have been double exposed and image blending them together creating a shadow in the background. I edited them on Photo Shop my increasing the opacity to around 50 percent. I drew with the select tool to then copy and paste onto another image. I made sure to decrease the curve increase the brightness and contrast change the opacity to my desire to fully enhance my images. I also added additional filters and rubbed (with the rubbing tool) out some minor distractions and unnecessary errors. I had to think very carefully and cautiously on what and what image to chose to edit and pair by doing so I agreed to pair the image with the most differences in shape, size and length to create a very unique and perplexing image. I think these images are successful as it incorporates both elements of the images equally the light shadows in the back overlapping with the deeply contrasted building to create one images. The process of creating these images were deceptively complex as they required many steps such as converting these images into black and white whilst managing to merge both images together.
EXPLORING COMPOSITION
i specifically chose these three images to us as I was exploring the composition as i have arranges then in a way that they all intertwine and interconnect with one another in an unique exceptional way. although they can be seen as extremely different i feel as if these were the perfect match .