First off, whether she used actual
film or emulated the effects of using film, it adds a high contrast and grain
much needed for this series. While the children’s faces are definitely
unsettling, without the use of black and white/ high grain, it would have been
less effective. Typically with children photography, I see low f/stop, low ISO,
and slightly faster shutter speed to capture them in a moment of joy or
excitement or possibly sleeping. My point being, she has beautifully reimaged
children’s photography through a couple of unique choices.
Not to take
away from her “originality”, the series has a bit of a “Shinning-esque” feel
personally. Two creepy girl cutting their hair, I mean, come on? Moving on, I
think in her series she hopes to capture a deeper psychological side than seen
in the movie The Shinning. Here we
are very close to the girls and their eyes, which have little to no catch
lights hinting at almost a demonic desire. Her use of the title “A Child is
Playing” is also very helpful in moving the concept along. Children tend to
play without restraint. This means, they can do whatever they want without
feeling the depths of what they’ve done, like cut off their own braid. This
also can often concern a parent if they feel they’ve lost control of their own
child. All of this said, I believe she is playing with the idea of inner
desires within children, whether or not her interpretation is close in any way
is left up to the viewer.
As
mentioned earlier, these images remind me of The Shinning and possibly some other films using creepy little
girls, but the use of them placed front and center and in a still image changes
a few things for me. In a horror film, they would move around quickly and pop
out possibly. Here I am allowed the privilege of gazing into their hollow eyes
as long as needed to understand their thoughts. As intimidating as they are, my
curiosity ultimately takes over and I’m intrigued by the concept and theme.
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