Ostranenie; Abstraction of the Ordinary

In this series I set out to shoot things that are commonly found in the world around us, but are not commonly noticed for our usual lack of interest in them. The goal of this series is to present these things in a different light, from an unusual perspective, and in a somewhat surreal way. The Surrealists did not rely on reasoned analysis when creating their artwork, and, so, inspired by their movement, the photos in this series were shot in a similar way. Heavily relying on experimentation with various camera angles, the technique of rotation that is commonly found in Surrealism photography, and the original unchanged placement of the objects in some of the scenes, the photos themselves are left unaltered for the most part. An underlying theme of this series is also a juxtaposition between nature and man made artifacts that are found in it. Whether they disturb, complement, or have no affect on the nature around them should be up for interpretation; the main observation is that they either blend in or stand out. Usually the former. A rusty fence, a man made tree stump, or a plastic bottle found in the grass are common sights for most; they evoke no interest or emotion, as they are often found blending in with everything else around them. So, a deeper meaning is found under the guise of “meaningless” abstraction. Presented in a specific order, the photos themselves are meant to blend into one another with the help of color, texture, and shape, creating a subtle gradient from left to right.