MS9, with our focus on capturing reality, has provided the platform to critically think about capturing objects, spaces and environments. I have grown a keen interest in the infinite methods of observation, attempting to scrutinise the subject to the minutest of details. Exploring the work and writings of George Perec has had a particularly profound effect on how I perceive and think about what constitutes an object or place. I intend to explore this further under the genre of Still Life.

Still Life has a rich history with humans and the emotive drive for replicating dead or inanimate objects has developed greatly over time. The Ancient Egyptians painted the walls of tombs with food, water and wine for their deceased to take into the afterlife and Roman restaurateurs painted dishes on their buildings to show customers what they had on offer. Renaissance artists used the subject matter more narratively with the intention of replicating objects with the highest realism and the Dutch Golden Age brought about depth and symbolism. More recently, the contemporary art world has seen Still Life used to challenge techniques in representation and disrupt our understanding of observation.

I am interested in how technology has advanced Still Life - particularly under the theme of Distribution. With the introduction of digital cameras and mobile camera phones almost all of us have unknowingly uploaded our own interpretations of Still Life to social media, such as Instagram, over the last decade. A cultural shift in wanting to share a depiction of your life with the world has developed with this. When these technological advancements could have led to users uploading ‘pure’ representations of their lives to the digital world, it has instead reverted to something as ‘staged’ as the Renaissance painters depicting their subject matters on a table and cloth.