Final Work: BLEACHED
Following on from the first assignment I wanted to continue a focus on the chemical aspect of things. Specifically hoe chemicals interact with humans and how human life can and often is altered from its natural state (consider: antibiotics – medically, makeup – cosmetically). This alteration is paralleled when considering the environments also. It seems there is a trend in human interference that often results in more damage than good.
My initial thoughts on human interference and chemicals led me to acknowledge some culturally sensitive topics. Specifically issues of internalised racism and colourism within ethnic and South Asian communities. Essentially internalised racism and colourism dictate beliefs that suggest white, Eurocentric, Caucasian identities are far more significant and valued than identities that do not fall into those categories. This mentality thrived and was driven through colonialization and despite the progress of several countries breaking away from this colonial past, it is still present today. In relation to South Asian it continues to thrive through beauty standards and ignorance that pervades the mentalities of a large majority of individuals both within South Asia, immigrants and the South Asian diaspora. Beauty standards that define lighter skin as more visually attractive drives billions in profit in cosmetic industries that fund the production of skin bleaching products.
Desire as a concept also becomes relevant in considering skin bleaching; the prominent celebration of lighter skin within South Asian media and communities perpetuates this desire I wanted to translate this specific desire within my assignment but also relate it back to ecologies, humans and the future of human and non-human relationship (non-human that is inclusive of both the environment and chemicals).
I initially began experimenting with bleach and fabrics, focusing on the materials and their potential. The presentation of the final result of this interaction, which was in fact reasonably successful due to the obvious visual transformation, was unfortunately a challenge to document in an aesthetically pleasing and visually considered manner. I decided then to use more organic subjects with bleach, mostly leaves and flowers. The result of this was less visually obvious but still enough to be able to identify the damaging properties of bleach. I replicated these experiments using chlorine hoping for a stronger result visual product but the results were quite similar. During these processes I felt such a literal representation of issues surrounding colourism was predictable and did not hold enough depth.
It was at this point I realised that an issue that resonates with me so deeply requires a higher level of personal investment. I followed by experimenting with personal photographs in chlorine and bleach to produce a whitewashed effect, until after I decided to simply resort to digital means to acquire the whitewashed aesthetic.
And so my final work is purely and simply a product of whitewashing done digitally. Despite the narrative I am aiming to translate being inherently concerned with humans I have intentionally omitted human subjects from the final piece to hopefully encourage a more focus on the white wash effect itself. The three images illustrate three generations of homes within my family, fallen subject to the destructive mentality of colourism, white supremacy and bleaching. It visualises a future in which these attitudes have dominated and moved beyond the human narrative to the physical world; inherently presenting the sterile, emotionless, aftermath of devaluing colour. It is a bleak future that I hope represents a bleak present in regards to human skin bleaching. I look at these images of my homes that I have such a strong sentimental connection with, being transformed into sterile and emotional landscapes.
The choice of photographs and still images contrasts with the emotionally turbulent product of unhealthy mentalities. To sum up, the final work is essentially and ecological landscape that is visually inept of human life and most significantly any colour, representing a future in which destructive attitudes and behaviour surrounding white supremacy and internalised racism have taken over all aspects of life. Both human and non-human. The visualisation of this future and aftermath is driven by my personal effort to draw focus on the current issues of colourism in contemporary society. The parallels between the current and the future are connected through my specific use of photographs that depict homes which hold sentimental value within me. Physical structures that will continue to thrive even after I die. Unless we begin to reform and unlearn behaviour that promotes colourism, these homes have every potential to fall subject to the destructivity of bleach and internalised racism.
