Brief:

Create two images which convey ‘Politician‘. The first image should convey the word directly. The second image must have one addition to change the feeling or the meaning of the first image. Export into a GIF.

Process:

When I think of a politician the first image I see is a man in a suit behind a podium. It is quickly accompanied by the impression of greed, deception and power. Image is considered everything and so is public perception. This makes many political environments very controlled and staged. I wanted to create something which would pull back the curtain and reveal what people really want to know. We always watch these press conferences and wonder what is not being said, or very much wish they would just say what we are all thinking or know to be true.

My first image is of a political scene as they are often portrayed. My second image has defaced the first with a message we would rather was being shared or admitted.

I was going to create a generic man to represent the ‘politician’, but my classmates suggested a well known figure would make the piece more personable and therefore more impactful, as it relates to this brief. Therefore I chose an image of Boris Johnson at one of the latest COVID news conferences. At first I had thought to deface this image through imposing a monkey over his face, or some other image to suggest foolishness often associated with politicians. However I found this to be too gimmicky and not quite message I was wanting the image to create.

Instead I went for the crude sort of style we often see in text books and on posters. I like how it so effortlessly defaces the controlled and sophisticated front trying to be conveyed by the politicians and brings an element of chaos to the scene. I chose to desaturate the image to further the contrast between their staged presentation and our desire for all the information, however shocking.

To create this loop I first created each image in Illustrator and exported them to Photoshop. In Photoshop I was able to make each layer a 0.5 second clip to play on repeat. From here I could export it as a GIF.

Reflections:

I like how it is as if the message breaking through the mask here is that the podium is saying what Boris isn’t. The simplicity of the design puts the point across clean and clear and I am pleased with how well this has fulfilled the brief. I also learnt how to make a GIF on Photoshop, a function I didn’t know about before.