Pin Prick Portrait

I wanted to continue to experiment with absence of colour, but this time to add mark making which suggested the artist's own presence in creating the work.  I also wanted to further investigate the idea of removing part of the substrate to suggest absence.  I therefore decided to create an image using a darning needle pushed through cartridge paper following the lines of a portrait image.

Before punching the holes into the paper I traced a photograph taken during the photoshoot onto tracing paper.  I simplified the image and aimed to create a strong outline with only basic features and absence of detail.  I then taped the tracing paper to the sheet of cartridge paper, punching the needle through both sheets at once so that there was no visible mark making on the cartridge paper apart from the needle holes.

This was a time consuming process and I found it difficult to achieve consistency in the size and spacing of the holes - some were too close and ripped the paper to create very large holes, some were too far apart meaning that I had to work back in to some areas.  I also found that, although I thought I had simplified the image, I could have reduced it further.  However, it has resulted in an interesting texture, particularly on the underside the paper where it formed a raised pattern as the needle pushed into it.  It would be interesting to experiment with different sizes of needle, both singularly and in combination.

Tracing paper over cartridge paper

The mark making looked very defined, with a strong dark line, when the sheet was laid on the table, but I wondered how it would react with light allowed to shine directly through the holes.  I taped both the tracing paper and cartridge paper versions to a south facing window in direct sunlight, viewing them from both inside and outside.

Tracing paper taped to window, taken from inside, direct sunlight

Cartridge paper taped to window, taken from inside, direct sunlight

I found that, when viewed in person from inside, the light shone brightly through the holes and that the effect changed dramatically depending where I stood in relation to the paper and the sunlight.  Unfortunately the camera did not pick these effects up - I used my camera phone, so it may be that its quality is insufficient; I will use one of the university's digital cameras to re-photograph.

Tracing paper taped to window, taken from outside, direct sunlight

I really liked the reflective effect in this photograph - completely inadvertant since the sun was behind me and it was difficult to see the camera screen.  The reflection adds another layer - perhaps I could experiment further with what is reflected in the glass in the form of a purposefully chosen image, or the viewers themselves.

Cartridge paper taped to window, taken from outside, direct sunlight

Cartridge paper taped to window, taken from inside, sun to right hand side

A second attempt at photographing from indoors with a better quality camera.  The window acts as a prism here, refracting the light and adding unexpected colour.