Methodology Unit

Zoe Coombes

Dreamland

Dreamland

Introduction and Concept

For this project I am going to focus on what it is like to live with
an illness like ME/CFS/Fibromyalgia.
At the beginning of the project I wanted to produce a series of
five images that each made the viewer feel similar to symptoms
that suffers have, but after experimenting and taking more test
shots I decided to instead tell a story of what suffers go though.
The series still containing five images and are also images taken
with a infrared converted camera, which makes it easier to
change the overall colour to an almost cyanotype blue (which is
the awareness ribbon colour). The images also do not have any
human presence and are taken places that I went before I
became ill with ME.

Contextual
Research

What Is ME/CFS/Fibromyalgia
It should be explained that there are a number of different names for
what is an illness of uncertain cause affecting many thousands of
people. Currently it is estimated that some 250,000 people in Britain are
affected by this illness.
Myalgic Encephalopathy or ME (a term which The ME Association feels
is more appropriate than the original, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis)
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or CFS
Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome or PVFS
Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome or CFIDS
All types of people at all ages are affected. Severe and debilitating
fatigue, painful muscles and joints, disordered sleep, gastric
disturbances, poor memory and concentration are commonplace. In
many cases, onset is linked to a viral infection. Other triggers may
include an operation or an accident, although some people experience a
slow, insidious onset.
There is no cure, so treatment aims to reduce the symptoms.
http://www.meassociation.org.uk

Symptoms

Muscle symptoms include exercise intolerance and post-exertional malaise (i.e.

feeling shattered the day after undue physical activity), pain/myalgia (present
in around 75% of people) and fasciculations (visible twitching of the muscles
which sometimes includes blepharospasm/eyelid twitching).

Brain and Central Nervous System symptoms include cognitive dysfunction

(problems with short-term memory, concentration and maintaining attention),
clumsiness, disequilibrium likened to walking on rubber, and word finding
abilities. Problems with control of the autonomic nervous system results in
palpitations, sweating episodes and symptoms associated with low blood
pressure/postural hypotension (e.g. fainting).

Symptoms which suggest on-going abnormalities in immune system function

include sore throats, enlarged glands, joint pains, headaches, problems with
temperature control and intermittent flu-like feelings.

Other symptoms which frequently occur in ME/CFS include sleep disturbances

(often increased requirements at the onset followed by an inability to maintain
a full nights sleep), alcohol intolerance (a very characteristic feature,
particularly in the early period of illness) and irritable bowel symptomatology.

http://www.meassociation.org.uk/about/the-symptoms-and-diagnosis-of-mecfs/

Well Known ME/CFS/Fibromyalgia

Suffers

Martin Lev
Michael Crawford
Some Mothers Do 'Ave Bugsy Malone
'Em

Charles Darwin

Marie Curie

Stevie Nicks
Fleetwood Mac

Cher

Michael Balzary (Flea)

Florence Nightingale
Red Hot Chili Peppers

Morgan Freeman

Sinead O'Connor

People With CFS Banned From Giving

Blood

Glandular Fever and ME

Article Living With CFS

Article ME Is Often
Dismissed

Artist Research

Ansel Adams

Lee Miller

Ren Magritte

Jim Brandenburg

Edward Hopper

Andrew Wyeth

Andy Goldsworthy

Chiara Fersini

Ronen Goldman

Taylor Marie McConimk

Samantha Goss

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy

Mattie Brass

Sarah Allegra

Richard Wilson

Naoya Hatakeyama

Favorites From Test

Shots
Before Chosen Concept

1st Test Shots (Infrared Filter)

2nd Test Shots (White Trees)(Infrared Filter)

2nd Test Shots (Red Trees)(Infrared Filter)

3rd Test Shots (Colour) (Infrared Filter)

4th Test Shots (Infrared Converted

Camera)

Favorites From Test

Shots
On Concept

1th Test Shots

1th Test Shots (Experiments)

2th Test Shots

3th Test Shots

Final Images With

Text

The Work In Exhibition

Conclusion
The hardest part of this project for me was finding an idea where the type of
photography you create isn't chosen for you, but even though his was the hardest
thing for me in the end I think it made me produce the work and type of
photography that I want to produce. When looking at the unit I understood that it
focusing on experimenting and growing from the experiments, I believe that I
experimented a lot in my project as well as tried to use different mediums
(including paint, props (smoke) and infrared photography). Out of all my projects
so far I took more test shots than with the other projects, I think this helped me
get the final pictures I wanted but still think that I would have benefited from
taken even more. I think the main photographic choices I used in this project was
to used an infrared converted camera and to mirror the images to make them look
surreal, I think that both of these made my project come together but more so
with the mirroring of the images. I think that I managed my studied good and
spread my work out throughout the project but if I was to do anything quicker it
would have been the framing and finding someone to mount my images as well as
finding a way to put the text I wanted with my images as this is the main part that
didn't go to plan. I like the way they are displayed in the exhibition as at first i
wanted them to be mounted onto foamex but couldn't find someone to do this in
the end so thought instead of having a frame that I would get the pictures
mounted with a simple double mount frame. Overall I am happy with how my
series turned out and if I was to do it again I would get the mounting done sooner.