'La Duree' is a final project for the MA in Fashion Photography at the London College of Fashion. It explores time, meditation and mindfulness through photography. By experimenting with long exposure (up to one hour), Aleks intended to challenge the boundaries not only of equipment but also of photography itself. The outcome images remind abstract painting, considering blurred areas (movements) as a photographed time.
Close your eyes and follow your senses. They guide you through myriad thoughts, doubts, fears, illusions, delusions, fantasies, snippets of memories, and pain. It must be overcome for pure happiness to be found. It lies ahead, and in the present moment, the journey starts with the first frame. You collect these pieces bit by bit until the complete picture emerges.
A camera was mounted on a tripod at the juncture where time, intention, and the absence of movement intersected. The moment these three elements converged, the observation occurred, unveiling an unprecedented imagery. This work inadvertently captures movement and depicts time. There were no expectations and, consequently, no disappointments—only the unadulterated truth.
The project challenges photography beyond its conventional applications and equipment limitations by aiming to work with extended exposures lasting up to 60 minutes. This approach captures the portraits that straddle the boundary between photography and abstract painting. The project explores the boundaries of photography as a visual practice and examines it from a philosophical perspective.
Moreover, in this research, time isn't merely a shutter speed; it assumes the role of an active participant and an equal creator. The question arises: who leads the process if anyone does? Both entities are present within the images. The movements, or in other words, the blurred areas, serve as fragments of evidence of time's presence.
While short exposures only expose the artist, longer exposures result in increasingly blurred segments related to movement. Logically speaking, there will come a point where no distinct areas of the body remain sharply defined. Consequently, time takes the forefront, shifting the artist into a more abstract form.
