I am Nesia 摄影系列 by Chris Slabber is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award 银奖 in 摄影与图片处理设计 Competition Category.

银摄影· 2021

I am Nesia 摄影系列

by Chris Slabber

Client: Chris Slabber

A' Design Award 银奖 Winner in 摄影 Category

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Colors

The Design

About I am Nesia 摄影系列

《我是Nesia》是一组探讨2020年封锁对人类精神影响的摄影系列。每幅影像均通过将镜头焦点反向调转拍摄而成，使风景化为柔和的色彩场域，宛如水彩画作。随后，在每个场景中加入一个深色人影，隐喻恐惧与焦虑，颗粒质感则为整体构图画上句点。该系列以1200×2000毫米的大幅面灯箱形式呈现，旨在记录一段充满不确定性的时期，并展现人们适应困境、最终战胜逆境的力量。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 银奖

I am Nesia 摄影系列是 A' Design Award 银奖得主，这是授予顶级、华美而令人印象深刻的设计的极为崇高的认可。银奖得主是极其卓越、极具创造力的作品，展现出其设计师杰出的专业技能、才华与敏锐。预计I am Nesia 摄影系列将成为一件出色的典范之作，兼具非凡的专业性与深刻的创新性。这件赢得 A' Design Award 银奖的设计是一项备受瞩目、令人钦佩的发明，造福并拓展艺术、科学、设计和技术的边界。I am Nesia 摄影系列是一件令人羡慕的创作，它唤起渴望，带来积极的情感，并激发惊叹与赞叹。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This series of images is an interpretation of the effects that the recent lockdown had on the human spirit. It documents how loneliness effected human behaviour. The big uncertainty produced by the pandemic has seen a spike in anxiety and depression on a global scale. There was a blanket of fear draped across society. This is represented by the out of focus images and emphasised by the dark figure looming in the background.
Dimensions & Packaging: The end product will be produced as large format light boxes. Width 1200mm x Height 2000mm. The light box will enhance the emotional value of the pieces.
Tags: colour scapes, landscape photography, lockdown, pandemic, out of focus, fear, challenge,
Production Technology: The idea was to create water colour scapes using photography. This was achieved by turning the focus completely in the wrong direction in order to manipulate pixels. While looking through the viewfinder, the idea was to find a good composition of colours instead of background, foreground and background elements. Afterwards the dark figure was inserted into the selected colour scapes in photoshop. Each piece was then finished with a grain texture to boost the emotional value of the pieces.
Design Challenge: The biggest challenge was to make a rather ominous theme come across as aesthetically pleasing. This was resolved by using well balanced colour palettes along with the right composition for each image. In most of the images there is a lot of sky. This gives the idea of space or the unknown. The dark figure is a metaphor for the fear and anxiety aspect of the lockdown, but this poses the question to the viewer. Will you run in fear or will you walk towards the figure and engage with your fear? To finish off the work, the light box will create movement and dynamics in the compositions.
Research: To create these colour scapes I had to shift my focus from looking at landscapes in terms of foreground, middle ground and background. Instead the I had to find colour scapes. This meant that the compositions were dictated by the right balance of colours within the viewfinder. The end result should be a completely abstract interpretation of the actual landscapes. Each image should have its own emotional value, achieved by the colour palettes. This started to incorporate colour theory on a psychological level. Once produced as a light box, the work will reach a higher level of engagement on an emotional and visual level.
Inspiration: The moment of inspiration came when trying to photograph a moth against a dirty window. The actual photo of the moth didn't look great, but the out of focus background really evoked emotion. Using this as inspiration, I photographed various landscapes by opening up the aperture and cranking the focus all the way in the wrong direction. The end result was a photograph that looked like a blurry water colour painting. Instead of landscape photography, the exercise became colours cape photography.
Project Duration: The was created in June 2020 during hard lockdown. I had to sneak out during curfew to take the photos.
Operation Flow: The series was created as a reminder of the 2020 lockdown during the Covid 19 pandemic. The images is firstly meant to remind us of how uncertain our future became in a matter of months. It is a reminder of the fear felt on a global scale. Most important, it is there to remind us that we can prevail and adapt in order to survive and ultimately overcome the damage done by the pandemic. So even though the images might come across as dark, they are in fact a celebration of the human spirit.
Image Credits: Image #1: Photographer Chris Slabber, Manipulation Chris Slabber, 2020
Image #2: Photographer Chris Slabber, Manipulation Chris Slabber, 2020
Image #3: Photographer Chris Slabber, Manipulation Chris Slabber, 2020
Image #4: Photographer Chris Slabber, Manipulation Chris Slabber, 2020
Image #5: Photographer Chris Slabber, Manipulation Chris Slabber, 2020