My Empty Head

A few years ago I completed a black and white photography course learning how to use the dark room. Towards the end of that year I was experimenting with photograms (inspired by the Bauhaus as always) and I was using plasticine and card and other objects. Believe it or not some colours of plasticine are more translucent than others! I was feeling particularly frustrated by my role as a mother and my work was clearly showing this. I took a photo of my own head from above and I made a thick card silhouette of the outside of my head shape. I then left enough of my face to see some features. I made words out of plasticine and made a photogram with the words ‘My empty head’ inside my brain. This image has been kept in my box for years until now. 

I have been looking at Vintage feminist propaganda and I came across some really visually interesting but very sexist posters. Looking back at history really does show us how far we have come and how this would not be tolerated now, however, the feminist in me says we have further to go. I came across a poster of a woman’s head and inside it was all the things she thinks about like, babies and men and hats and busty dresses. Because that’s what we really think about…all the time. However I can’t see any chocolate in her head… a woman would have never left out chocolate - that’s all I have to say.

I could not believe the similarities of these two images. It seams a bit too unreal knowing that they are totally unrelated but very similar in design. The Vintage poster intends to make fun of the woman’s mind, whilst my image was produced out of my frustrations of being a mother. It has fascinated me more how our minds work when we produce similar design despite our differences in space and time.