Changing Faces
They say “change is inevitable, change is constant”. Meaning that there is no way of escaping it or running away from change. So in a series of self-portraits, I decided to take pictures of myself and to try and capture changes in my facial features, expressions and in the process also capture other changes that might have occurred over time. However, I didn’t anticipate the extent nor the direction of this mini-project. Drawing from the then-recent events, I ended up researching composite sketches, criminal mug shots and another close up facial shots and profiles of different individuals. This was around the same time of the criminal investigation of the slain soccer star and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa. Newspapers, television news channels and social media were all flooded with composite sketches of the suspects. The sketches were highly circulated and overnight the perpetrators became some of the most wanted men in South Africa
Silent Eye: 32 Years old, Ninja Motto: “Always make time to meditate”
EyeOs: 27 Years old, Train Surfer Motto: ” Be within and always stay in step. Don’t loose focus”
Eyerish: 37 Years old Prognosticator Motto: ” And always remember, that Eye told you so”
Eye'Sellit: 30 Years old, Occupation, Can sell you anything, Motto: ”Supply and Demand”
While developing these characters for my mini stop motion animation project, my experiments entertained ideas centered on identity and self-actualization and my face as the main focus. A lot of these concepts we developed during my daily commute to and from work while using the Metro rail train service. If you’ve ever used the Metro rail train service you will know that the seating was designed that passengers would face one another and in one way or the other it is impossible not to make eye contact with any one of the passengers at any one point in time. Eye contact is inescapable and might lead to a conversation. Which lead me to endless observations of body movements and facial gestures. With the passing of time, my characters took on a more comical point of view. I realized later from my observation that the people who shared the same train coach as me were sometimes dressed very formally however their conversations were far from being formal. And the casually dressed commuters sometimes discussed very complex social issues which affected their everyday lives. Through this stop motion animation, I was able to experiment with a number of concepts and personal ideas. I do think that I can expand more on this concept and by applying other artistic techniques the concept can grow into a longer animation sequence with a more engaging storyline and a clearer message