Drowning (2019), Tan Sher Lynn
Drowning is an interactive graphic novel on depression. The graphic novel is the sequel of The Shadow on the same topic that shows the journey of the main character before she ended up at her darkest and lowest point. In this sequel, the content is simpler with a straightforward representation of depression, literally showing her "drowning" in an endless ocean. Blue is the dominant colour of the work, besides being the colour of the sky and the ocean, the colour gives off feelings of tranquility and serenity, which can also seem sad or forlorn at the same time. Despite it being an interactive comic, it was created so that viewers have to "go along" with the mood, instead of being able to actively manipulate actions within it, reflecting the helpless experience of the mental disorder.
Visual culture encompasses a variety of everyday media experience, from television, film, social media to billboard, magazine and fashion that reflects and affect issues and themes of the modern society. People are constantly bombarded with images and information, especially with the invention of social media. However, the visual elements one encounters also depends on the generation itself as they have different shared experience. These imagery play a huge role in shaping the culture of new generations, thus becoming factors that advertisers consider and utilize while as they attempt to appeal to a certain social group.
Millennials are known to be attached to certain negative stereotypes and "jokes", leading to a self-deprecating culture which could be observed from the images on social media. Social media users often create and share memes, illustrations, videos and other visual content to express their interests and frustrations. While the generation are presented as successful advocates and influencers in the digital age, they are also faced with higher levels of expectations, socially prescribed perfectionism, other-oriented perfectionism as well as self-oriented perfectionism, therefore there is a certain negative tone to the generation, which can be observed especially on social media platforms. In the case of mental health issues which is the main topic of my works, people are also able to find others who relate to them as they share symbolic illustrations, videos and memes. Visual content is proven to have a longer lasting and deeper emotional impact on viewers, therefore the current generation are also able to express their thoughts on mental health better.
It is undeniable that the advancement of technology and global communication have impacted the personality development of millennials, the phenomenon could be observe through the ever growing influence of social media and perhaps even the meme culture. While photography has always incorporated multiple layers of selection and manipulation, a rhetoric truthfulness played a crucial part behind the cultural success of memes (Shifman, 2014). Memes could thus be viewed as an amalgamation of hypersignification and prospective orientation, they are conceptualized as operative signs, a method in which cultural information spreads. Although some may reject meme as an artform or cultural component, it is in fact a considerably accurate representation of popular media and daily issues. Images taken out of its original context, reconstructed convey a different message, yet this imitation and unoriginal quality that appeals to the social media becomes a form of social interaction, especially through social media.
Social media is flooded with images, therefore symbolic icons that could not only captivate viewers but also convey an emotional message that resonates with them are the most impactful. The few works of mine which are related on the topic of depression is mainly based on the symbolic imagery which the topic is commonly represented by. An observation made while working on the topic is that mental health is often represented in a surrealistic manner, as it is often an inner experience instead of a physically visible one. Surrealistic and metaphorical representations on mental illness could be observed in the works of modern artists such as Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo to contemporary illustrators such as Dawid Planeta and Avogado6 whom both share their artworks mainly through social media platforms. Regardless of the medium used, whether it is illustration, photography, or traditional paintings, artists working on the topic of mental health often utilizes symbols and signs as elements of visual communication in conveying their emotions that are not visible.
Illustrations have always been used in advertising campaign, publishing, political propaganda but also commonly tied to children's design. However, although illustrations are often viewed as simplistic they are one of the most influential artistic mediums as they not only the first experience of artworks but forms of visuals that helped educated many through children books and TV shows. In my artworks, I have attempted to convey the emotions of depression through symbols derived from textual and visual languages, studying and referring to illustrations done by other artists as well as internet visuals, including illustrations, photography with symbolic representations which is in the collective consciousness of today's generation. For example, the image of a drowning person often signifies the struggles faced or difficulty breathing, a mask symbolizes how people never really shows their true self or how the colour blue is often tied to sadness. While thinking of the works artistically, I would also like to get the message of mental health across to the viewers by incorporating popular visual representations on the issue of depression.
People are surrounded by countless images everyday and these images have unconsciously seeped into our minds forming our perspectives on issues, affecting our emotions towards certain narratives.
Avogado6
Peter Hapak
Internet memes
References
Bullmore, E. (2019) "Seeing Beyond Depression", Psychology Today, January 2. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/articles/201901/seeing-beyond-depression (Accessed: 21 February 2019)
Camilla, C. (2019) "Making a connection with millennials through emotional visual content", Modicum. Available at: https://modicum.agency/blog/millennials-and-emotional-visual-content/ (Accessed: 21 February 2019)
Etman, C. (2017) "Millennials, Meme Culture, and Mental Illness", COMICVERSE, May 12. Available at: https://comicsverse.com/millennials-meme-mental-illness/ (Accessed: 21 February 2019)
Rocheleau, J. (2017) "What Is Meme Culture?, You can't mess up a cultural movement if it already happened", ODYSSEY, April 3. Available at: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/what-is-meme-culture (Accessed: 21 February 2019)
Shifman, L. (2014) "The Cultural Logic of Photo-Based Meme Genres ", journal of visual culture. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1470412914546577 (Accessed: 21 February 2019)
Dodaro, M. (no date) "How to Market to Different Generations on Social Media", Top Dog. Available at: https://topdogsocialmedia.com/how-to-market-to-different-generations-on-social-media/ (Accessed: 21 February 2019)
Комментарии