Samuel Ethan Wermut
Rose Bay Secondary College
PROOF OF LIFE
Photomedia
Photography, Photoshop
In my body of work, Proof of life, I explored the effect of the repetitive nature of everyday activities on the human experience. The work was influenced by the time spent in isolation during COVID-19, when we carried out the same activities every day. Each piece represents two sides of the same activity: the left side is before it has happened, and the right side is the aftermath. This work was shot on medium format film on my Mamiya rz67 in my dad’s house. I chose film because it produces better quality images, and to create a timeless feel.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Alec Soth, George Muncey, William Eggleston.
Marker's Commentary
This body of work assembles reportage style images of the elderly man entwined with digitally manipulated images of interiors to diarise the temporality of everyday existence. The imagery powerfully situates the corporeality of the man in time and place, with differentiated viewpoints providing a detailed account of the subject’s proof of life. The knowingness of the theme, especially of the elderly in a COVID - 19 affected world, conceptually and evocatively tell a story of being, through the amalgam of different viewpoints examining the tension between connectedness and alienation. The conceptual focus on the elderly man’s world is presented in an innovative way that is nuanced and not didactic in the treatment of each image. The seemingly simple yet technically accomplished photographic manipulation of the interior settings that fragments temporality present a powerful insight of the subject’s life.