A Process - Melody Hsu

I’ve always been drawn to magnify the mundane. 

I’ve chosen the act of showering to be my process, inspired by another mundane behavior I filmed in a short I call “i.” The definition of a great shower is flexible and unique to an individual. Not one shower ritual is the same, sometimes a shower means a quick pick-me-up refresher, while other times it is deeply cleansing to wash off a day of work. For this particular project, I’ve chosen the kind of shower you take after a long, tiresome day. I tend to enjoy those showers the most as they transition my mind from work to home, purifying my thoughts and attitude. 

Through art, I observe the essence of life - in every breath, every emotion, and every experience. 

This recording attempts to visually depict the moments of peace drifting in and out of one’s consciousness when enjoying a quiet steamy shower. I have previously curated a rough shot list, describing a visual representation of how a warm shower makes me feel. I invited my friend Alex to collaborate with me on this project - to be my subject. I consciously chose an active subject and composed my shots around her as my goal was to reflect the emotional process that accompanied a shower, rather than the physical act itself. I discussed my expectations and visions with Alex before starting the shoot and asked her to proceed to take a shower as she would normally. This is relevant as, though I had specific shots in mind - I wanted to protect the candid nature of a real-life process and remain open to capturing moments that inspired me.

(7 photographs shown below. Image descriptions provided at the bottom of the page)

The image descriptions also explore further compositions.

Our minds often fade in and out as we get lost in relaxation, this series of 7 photographs intend to apprehend those self-indulgent sentiments in chronological order. 

The images edited to be black and white highlight details and textures, and the rest are edited to have cool color tones. The back and forth usage of the b&w and color edits are symbolic of one's fragmented state of mind when found lost in the moment. The choice of blue tone edits connote a sense of calmness, along with the adjusted vignette in some of the photographs, it portrays one’s quality, quiet time alone. The warmer, pink tones of the skin soften the images to create a tonal balance so that the saturated photographs appear crisp but not too sharp. The mirroring effect is utilized in cropping to assist story-telling - from 1:1, to 5:4, to 4:3, to 3:2 then backward. The photographs get wider as we progress, then reverses as the story comes to an end, serving as a visual metaphor of someone sinking into the zone of relaxation and then pulling themselves back to reality. I intended for the first and last, and second and second last photographs to share similarities in composition. This enhances the story-telling elements of this project, giving it a framed beginning and end. The shots are organized from a wide to a medium, to detailed close-ups, then reversed to serve the same purpose.

One thing I found challenging was managing expectations when it comes to my concept vs. product. 

I feel that that is the case with most art processes - when painting, you are converting a three-dimensional subject into a two-dimensional drawing; in film, you are reproducing a four-dimensional world on a two-dimensional screen. Essentially, sometimes I feel that creating art is a process of capturing a moment, place, or thing by eliminating its dimensions, but attempting to protect its essence visually (except for living mediums like performance art, but that would be a whole other topic of discussion). I often find this challenging, I fear that I may lose focus on the subject and fail its transformation. Thus, throughout the production and curation of this project, I was hyper-aware of my expectations and put special efforts in remaining open-minded towards experimentation. At the same time, I allowed myself to be pleasantly surprised by whatever that's arisen from my process. 

Contact Sheet:

Before and After:

Image Descriptions:

Order from top to bottom. 

1. A black and white image cropped 1:1, square. Wide shot of a side profile of Alex’s full-body, standing facing right in front of the mirror. The bathroom door frame crosses over with another door frame, creating a layering or frame. Alex is standing in the middle of this narrow frame. Only the bathroom is lit, the surrounding is dark. It is worth mentioning that the atmosphere is further enhanced by the black and white edit.
2. A colored image cropped 5:4. A medium shot of Alex standing facing the mirror. The mirrors have two sides that open to the medicine cabinet and they are both open. The inside of the cabinet is also a mirror. This is a view from behind her, over the shoulder shot, between 8 and 9 o’clock. Her physical body is cut out of frame on the right, out of focus. Only her mirror reflection is in focus, everything else is blurry. But you can only see her eyes and a little bit of her nose, everything else is covered by the bottles of different types of bottles of makeup and medicine inside the cabinet. The cabinet content is packed and of a different color, but the cool tone edit pulls it together.
3. A black and white image cropped 4:3. Close-up shot view from 8 o’clock of Alex. This close-up crops most of Alex out of, only half of her head is visible. Above the shoulders. All you can see is her motion of taking off her shirt. Her arms are crossed over in front of her head, pulling her shirt up from each side. You can only see her hair here, not her face. Alex’s left arm is covered in intricate linework tattoos. The focal point foes from her right hand holding tight to her shirt, to the tattoos on her left arm.
4. A colored image cropped 3:2. Cool tone filter. Close-up shot of a tight frame side profile of Alex’s shoulders and up. Alex is facing left. Alex has her hands raised in the motion to shampoo her hair. Shampoo slightly runs down her hand, down her hair. Alex’s cheeks are slightly red, eyes are closed, head tilted slightly up. Water running behind her. Alex’s left arm is also visible here, covered in tattoos, adding intricacies to the shot. The background is a light blue, turquoise colored shower tile wall, also out of focus.
5. A colored image cropped 4:3. Cool tone filter. Close-up shot of a side profile of Alex facing the right side. This shot is taken behind a transparent shower curtain, now foggy and filled with water droplets. The curtain stretches across the frame, it is out of focus. The background is the same as the previous photo - a light turquoise colored shower tile wall, also out of focus. Alex is in focus here, though she seems blurred out by the condensation. The water droplets on the curtains create a sense of glow within the image. Portraying a dreamy look.
6. A colored image cropped 5:4. Cool tone filter. Medium shot of Alex from the shoulder up. This is a photograph of Alex’s reflection in the mirror after she has gotten out of the shower. This is a 4 o’clock view of Alex over her right shoulder. The reflection of Alex is the focal point of this image, her physical body is out of focus to the left of the frame. The image captures her wiping the condensation off the foggy bathroom mirror with her left hand. Alex is in a vibrant blue colored towel, wet hair slicks down her head. She makes eye contact with herself.
7. A colored image cropped 1:1, square. Mirrors the first picture of Alex. Wide shot of a side profile of her full body, standing in front of the bathroom mirror. The same frame within a frame composition is utilized here, creating a tight and narrow frame around Alex. A direct visual focal point on her standing still in the blue towel, looking at herself in the mirror. The image captures Alex raising her left hand to run her hair behind her left ear. Alex looks at herself in the mirror.
8. A contact sheet of unedited raw image files. 4 across and 6 down. These are previews, image varies in composition but similar to those described above. 
9. A before and after comparison sheet. 4 before and after examples shown here. The left side is unedited photos with a slightly warmer hue, uncropped. The right side is image 2, 3, 5, and 7, described above. All visibly edited, some slightly cropped, some cropped smaller within the same aspect ratio. 

Special thanks to Alex Miller and Jonah Higaonna!