Places I Have Been

Here's a small preview of what my outcome to the '20x20' project looks like. The whole piece revolves around places I have been - and the things that I can remember thinking, doing or hearing at that exact moment.
Most of the pages are full photographs and show an entire scene or a tiny portion of a bigger landscape, and they have little in common. However, there is a story that flows through the pages that lets you into a number of my most life changing  moments where I've been both happy and distraught 
Some of the pages are annotated with hand-drawn typography in a style that fits the memory and others covered with pattern and illustration, each one unique and different to the last. They don't match, or make sense, but that doesn't matter. Each page is a new chapter.

In contrast, the front cover is simple and uncluttered - the bird symbolizes the different journeys that have been made but eventually return home.

Portrait Picture

After countless number of re-thinking my idea for this portrait picture, i decided to actually portray somebody who i consider an "idol". Vinnie Accardi is the guitarist and co-songwriter in the band Brand New. Ive grown up listening to Brand New from a very young teenager and as the music has grown, Ive grown up with it....

There first album "Your Favourite Weapon" all the way back in 2001 was the very reason i picked up a guitar and struggling to play a single chord. When your starting out playing guitar you think every guitarist is better than you, and you want to be them, and you gradually get better and better and realise those guys you use to look up to and wanted to play their song weren't as good as you thought.

With Vinnie i still look up to him as a musician, and still find myself sitting in my bedroom struggling to play a song or guitar riff...as the band have also progressed over the years; adapting their musical style and become more complex and creating a genre in themselves.

Vinnie is a shy, quiet character who explodes on stage, its fair to say their is music is very much related to their personal lives therefore quite dark, and there is always an undertone of death and religion throughout their music.

With the portrait i have tried to capture the mood of his character, a more sombre feel with soft lighting and desaturated colour to give a completely different feel. Although me portraying him playing the guitar was the obvious choice i felt it just didn't need it, therefore the music theme creates the background bringing the mood of the picture to the foreground becoming the focus of the whole picture.

Although the name "Vinnie Accardi" wont turn many heads for the most popular, iconic man in history...to hell with popularity, this guy changed a small long island band into arguably the godfathers of ours generations punk rock.

20x20 Project

Ok, so here are a few of the pages from the small 20x20 book project.

There is an underlying story which ties each picture together; its not so apparent at first but the imagery used is a direct story of a personal struggle through the last year.

Ive played around with photo montage, white space, typography and poetic words that sum up my thoughts on certain events. Some of the imagery is more personal than others and don't need an explanation...this is in no way a diary...

The small tragedy's, and little glimpses of hope and happiness in each persons life that can be reflected on... the kind that don't make sense at the time.

Each event has a beautiful quality to make you who you are today; the way you act, the things you say...that's what i find interesting...so this is how i have decided to approach this project.

I seem to always find myself being too personal in projects where I'm let loose to think, but i don't think i could ever approach a project in an impersonal way...its not the way i work. I think there's always something more interesting when your looking at something that's been done sympathetically and i like the idea of a picture telling the reader a story about yourself; allowing them into your head without ever having to open your mouth.