What influenced this piece of art? Lots of things.
We're odd creatures us humans. Our brains make irrational assumptions based on what we see. One such delusion is our psychological reaction to facial symmetry. How closely one side of a person's face mirrors the other.
A variety of psychological studies show that facial symmetry is closely linked to positive assumptions about a person's personality. We're more likely to perceive the symmetrical person as extrovert with low neuroticism, higher conscientiousness and agreeableness and believe them to be more trustworthy. All subconscious nonsense, but we're remarkably adept at conning ourselves into categorising the symmetrical as angelic while in reality they're no more likely to have positive traits than anyone else.
Prometheus was my creation of a symmetrical face made from light curved around a mannequin head and then carved digitally before mirroring. Why the title 'Prometheus?' The god who brought arts and science to humanity in myth. Who stole fire for us, and was then punished by Zeus. He gave us light to push back darkness. Knowledge and enlightenment. If he looks a bit Satanic, maybe he was the serpent who gave us an apple too? Long may the enlightenment continue. If I had to worship a god, I'd choose Prometheus. He was on our side! I like him.
The set-up for the shoot was relatively simple. A mannequin head on a black cloth, a black backdrop. For lighting, my trusty home made fibre optic brush was used, lit this time with an RGB Critter colour changing torch cycling red through shades of orange light.
If you're wondering about the camera in the photograph below, it's a Sony A7iii with a Hahnel remote shutter trigger. The lens I'm using is Sony's 85mm F1.8 G lens.
I had the base image, but then needed to shape it. For this, I used Adobe Lightroom, using selective masks to darken sections of the photograph and shape the face more to my liking. Losing the light around the neck, before finally mirroring the left side of the face.
Influences for the shape of the face? Probably David Draiman from the American heavy metal band Disturbed. Great face (and if you haven't heard his version of 'The Sound of Silence', go find it on Youtube and you'll thank me). I'd watched that video not long before, and there's a definite impression of his chin piercings in the final edit.
So plenty of influences in this piece. A love of knowledge and science, bafflement about why and how easily we delude ourselves, the influence of thought provoking music and mythology... and sharing visions that this all stimulates in the recesses of my imagination.
"And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made."
Prometheus is mine
The Sound of Silence
Disturbed
