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Crystal Marshall -New digital photography series “Black Body Summit”
With all that is going on in the world, including past worldly events, we have to stop and think about how we got to this point. My new series attempts to propose a theory. When we consider the mass consciousness as a whole, something connects each and every one of us together, however we experience division, conflict, wars etc… but why? This series asks the question, “could someone or something be assimilating an alternative reality that uses and manipulates the human experience for it’s own consumption?”
My work suggests a higher conscientiousness is imposing it’s will upon us, thus separating us. The black body is a term used to collectively address the human spirit as a whole, the origin of man.
In the work, illuminated beings emerge from a white expanse and enter the frame to mount a human face. With this invasion, the face ceases to be human but more of a vessel, capable of being a conduit and platform for these beings. The human face thus transitions into a space to now reflect mere geological surface for these beings.
These illuminated ones have one goal and one goal only, to ascend to the height of heights, the human vessel/experience is the closest thing to the highest seat of power. The human face represents a summit these beings need to access to the seat of power, that of the human heart.
The human presence here transcends time and space and turns into a single moment where these illuminated beings coalesce the human experiences (a timeline of thousands of years or more) into a single goal of obtaining an ascension of power. This repetitive cycle of gaining power has transgressed into a myriad of historical events, wars, divisions and pivotal shifts through out history. The work takes a macro-cosmic approach to address manipulation of the human conscientiousness to obtain this repetitive goal. This piece creates a world that begs the question of how much the human spirit is in control and what dimensions really pull the strings of the human heart of powerful men.
As the series continues, different angles shows the emergence of more beings and the human face becoming more abstract and isn’t recognizable. This hints at the malleability of the human image and spirit as these beings interface with it. The human face is also blind and can’t interact with the interference of these inter-dimensional beings. However hope remains for humanity to be freed from the cycle of abuse and it’s eye sight restored.
Van Luong (1)
Kjell Zillen (4)
Mels Dees (9)
Gao Yu (4)Katya Lebedev (1)
Juan Dies (1)
Anastasia Prahova (2)Nena Nastasiya (7)
Taarn Scott (6)
Cynthia Fusillo (20)Roberta Orlando (8)
Nanda Raemansky (25)
Eliane Velozo (22)Leyya Mona Tawil (1)
Julia Dubovyk (2)
Jianglong (2)
Iara Abreu (23)
Agathe Simon (1)Rosetta Allan (1)
Elizaveta Ostapenko (5)
Valentin Boiangiu (2)
Wesley John Fourie (9)
Renato Roque (3)Rosa Gauditano (5)
Neerajj Mittra (34)
Ciana Fitzgerald (5)
Boris Moz (3)
Katerina Muravuova (5)Kyla Bernberg (1)
Muyuan He (1)Liza Odinokikh (2)
Amalia Gil-Merino (2)Paulo Carvalho Ferreira (6)
Anastasiia Komissarova (2)
Yumiko Ono (1)
Stefania Smolkina (1)Lena Adasheva (1)
Zahar Al-Dabbagh (1)
Emily Orzech (6)
Fernanda Olivares (5)
Noor van der Brugge (3)
Ira Papadopoulou (2)
Tom Chambers (8)
Titi Gutierrez (3)
Franz Wanner (2)
Crystal Marshall (6)
Transpositions III (36)
Riddhi Patel (3)
Michele Kishita (2)Damian Carlton (4)
Deanna Sirlin (1)
Laura Salerno (3)
Nina Annabelle Märkl (12)
Elina Fattakhova (1)
Tasha Hurley (1)
Ian Hartley (2)
Laurence de Valmy (2)
Ilia Bouslakov (5)
Andrea Ahuactzin Pintos (4)
Sveta Nosova (3)Carlos Carvalho (1)
Maria Timofeeva (1)
Jinn Bug (2)
Johannes Gerard (3)Irène Mélix (1)
Aba Lluch Dalena (3)
Fabian Reimann (1)Natalia Gourova (1)
Kate Finkelstein (4)Raina Greifer (1)
James McCann (2)
Naza del Rosal Ortiz (1)
Jay Critchley Jay Critchley (1)
Vicky Clarke (4)
Maria Silva (4)
Shir Cohen (5)
Peter Shenai (4)
Bo Choy (4)Alina Orlov (2)
Olga Popova (3)
Coco Spencer (2)
Filippo Fabbri (2)Daniele Leonardo (5)
SISTERS HOPE (1)
Scenocosme : Gregory Lasserre & Anais met den Ancxt (4)
Anne Fehres & Luke Conroy (6)
Olesya Ilenok (2)
Marie-Eve Levasseur (4)
Natalia Tikhonova (2)Ildar Iakubov (1)
Evgeniy Lukuta (7)
Jarkko Räsänen (5)Maria Guta (6)
Egle Kulbokaite Dorota Gaweda (6)
Thomas Kotik (1)
Andrea Stanislav (3)Ludmila Belova (1)
Alena Levina (1)
Ilia Symphocat (2)Yevgeniy Fiks (1)
Star Trauth (18)
Jyoti Arvey (1)
Les Joynes (2)
Ekaterina Ivanova (1)
Lev Shusharichev (1)Michael Stebackov (5)
Ryan Griffith (3)
6 Comments
Hi, Crystal! Thank you for sharing your work. I like how you chose to place the images — start with a close shot and then let the viewer watch the scene develop. The overall mood is very sci-fi and cinematographic! Could you tell a little bit about the backstage production process? What are the face and the small figures made of? Do you see this work as a photo series or as sculpture/installation? Or maybe both?
Thank you for the feedback. I’m definitely influenced by Sci-Fi movies and I believe life sometimes is a bit like the twilight zone, which my life has been for the past 10 years. So that element is important for the work to convey. Truth is stranger than fiction at times.
Background details:The face was made with soap using a mold. I use what is called a melt and pour soap process. I love the soap making process and wanted to incorporate it into my work in some way and I thought this subject matter was the best opportunity. It has it’s limitations but I love it anyway, I end up being more resourceful in the long run. The smaller figures are miniature toys that I bought. I primarily see the work as a photo series but I wouldn’t mind taking it to another level by making it an installation.
Hi Crystall! Really loved your photographs and your way of depiction. Just had a question. Medium does play an important role with the work. How would you specify the significance of soap as a material and its relation to the concept of your work?
Really interested to know your reasons! And I appreciate the way how you fairly arrange each work. Looking forward to see more of you! 🙂
The soap itself is a metaphor for something that can be easily molded, heated thus manipulated. It references the fragility of the human mind under the influence of a higher consciousness. Soap takes the shape of the mold it’s poured into, throughout history mankind has fallen into various molds constructed by higher powers. Thank you for the feed back!
Hi,
Great work!
I think we are building a body of work for questioning the situation we are all living today.
One day, if we put together a few of our thoughts about today, we may have a few answers.
It’s very interesting what you are doing concerning black and white.
Most definitely at a time like this our response to a new crisis is important. Yes sometime in the future it will all make sense for us all. Thanks for the feedback.