The purpose of the images in my artist book is to serve as evidence in a criminal file. I tried to make the file as legitimate as possible by researching what real criminal records look like. Rather that being an actual book, my work is in the form of a manila folder not unlike one you might see on the desk of Scully and Mulder or Columbo. I also included a criminal profile and a mug shot of the assailant to give the viewer a better mental picture of what the victim might have seen from the other side of the camera.
The images themselves can be withdrawn from the file and rifled through. When held up to the light they have an eerie translucency. Ideally I would have used negatives but for ease of viewing the paper I chose is more appropriate.
My original intention for my artist book was to use a fisheye lens, take photos with myself included and just see where it took me. The initial images were a point of view angle of my every day life with my torso and legs protruding into the bottom of the shot. I stood in the same position for each shot so only the surroundings would change. This was ok but I couldn’t get past the niggling thought that it essentially the same concept as everyone who owns an iPhone and takes photos of their life every day for the world to see on Facebook or Instagram. Not my cup of tea.
I then moved on to taking photos in isolated, sterile looking locations. I was still included in these shots but my positions varied and weren’t as static as the originals. The isolation then inspired me to go down the creepier path of stalking, obsession and murder. Eventually the concept developed into a story of a predator who documented the stages his obsession with a female who he watched, abducted and then murdered.
Without giving too much away, there is a loose order of events that are documented before and after the actual murder. There are many holes in the story though to hopefully make the audience create their own demented assumptions of what events transpire.
