Project True Lie is taking my truths and incorporating it with a little out of its world imagination through the lens of a camera.
This summer (2022), I have taken the opportunity to express my talents / skills to explore a months worth of artistry through another hobby of mine; photography. This was an experience of understanding the physics of shooting photography manually and develop documentary as well as portrait style photography in grayscale. With a little help from University of Nevada, Las Vegas College of Fine Arts, Department of Art Instructor Laura Brennan, student photographers & creatives (James Sims, Tabiya Conyers), & former professional photographer Jasmina Messina. Special Thank You to student photographers ( Ross Fink, Raymond Benavides, Alyssa Noji, Wei Liu, Ethan Born, Toni Duncan, Melina B.) for their critiques, analysi, and support.
True Lies/Staged & Imagined {Laura Brennan} Project Criteria & Development
The project was to create imaginary worlds through image construction in front of the camera. This project is entitled ‘True Lies’ as often we can unlock the truth through the imaginary and through fiction.
Conceptually, it is defined by the direction of Ruby Messina. The project was designed to define a conceptual direction that may interpret the idea of Dream/Daydream/Nightmare. Alternatively, staged scenes relevant to current unprecedented lived experiences were encourage.
Several creative approaches to True Lies/Staged & Imagined work were explore:
• building a large, medium or small-scale set, still life, installation to shoot
• appropriate images from magazines, newspapers etc. to create collages
• manipulate images in photoshop by painting over them, adding text, layering images etc.
• create experimental images through alternative shooting techniques:
blurring images, double exposing images and so on.
{Photographers covered}: Joel Peter Witkin, Tokihiro Sato, Lorna Simpson, David LaChappelle, Robert and Shana Parke-Harrison, Robert Stiver, Michiko Kon, Hanna Hoch, Maggie Taylor, David Leventhal, Jerry Uelsmann, Laetitia Ky, Brooke Shaden, Gregory Crewdeson, Sandy Skoglund, Kimberly Witham.
Planning / Brainstorming : Day / Night
Constructed Image
It's about how high fashion can exaggurate meaning based on a full day scale. Day / Night expresses the idea of how I like to stylize in simplicity but enjoy the fashionable statement of any day or evening, as a means to exaggerate my performance over quality or quantity.
It is the definition of living my savage with a class or 'classy with a savage side.'
Planning / Brainstorming : Identity
Constructed Image
Her-Air has a double meaning; to her air, exposing the reason for existence or beauty while it sets the tone for her hair which represents the struggle between being a mixed woman that has embraced culture as well as diversity but with explicit features that portray black culture or curly big hair. It's a reference to scrutiny for being of nature; naturally tangled, naturally dreaded, or nappy hair. These collages of self images show Ruby Messina embracing every strand of her diverse self after years of relaxers, hair straightening, hair pressings, and even a short lived period of hair extensions. She spent many years trimming her life to short hair; for most of her young to young adult life and a few years in to college. Displaying her authenticity from the ages of 4-9 was never the issue until, she became aware that she was different by the age of 10. This piece is a look in to the decisions we make under peer pressure and how we believe society expect women of mixed race or color, to be drawn to the cultural social "norm". A "norm" that we believe is "normal" and how we fit in society based on our hair even if beauty is from within.
Constructed Image
There have been many "Alt-Her-Ego" pieces by Ruby Messina. One of those is her, "Alt-Her-Ego" contemporary dance piece she choreographed in late 2018 and a remixed, re-constructed choreography from late 2020. Now, she has established a visual piece through the True Lies criteria which portrays her self images of three aspects of herself. In her dance pieces she has used the same structure to define herself as a "contempest" dancer as well as choreographer due to her multiple influence in dance genres/ styles. The concept was derived from her suffrage from self identity in her early teen years and later became a conflict between dance versus sports. Her re-construction later continued on by promoting her conflictions with age. Now, this image portrays the same concept by the struggle of being self aware but recognizing that her many conflictions has to to with the root of her being a mixed woman and how being mixed had rooted to the discrimination or prejudices that she had out lived with in the confines of her family for being " The Diverse 3", European, South America, & of African decent based on her prominent hood of being European White (Italian, French & Spanish) with a strong lineage also religious expectations (Roman Catholic). Today, she claims to be predominantly Mediterranean & Caribbean as she was born on an island south from Italy and north of Africa but due to her mother's birth rites has more Caribbean roots because of costal origin placed at the heart of the Caribbean trade routes and at the tip of the Southern Continent. Here you see one face portray one side of her roots and the other portraying her other side with detailing features that pre exist in both sections of the hemisphere ; as a cultural social concept. The third side does not show such details but her figure to express her communicative expertise in dance and how her physical senses such as seeing, hearing, or smelling are not too par but it does not take away from her creative courage and will.
These are my many sides to me, there are three but two outshine the most; one is more calming and the other has a perfectionist problem and despite them calashing sometimes, the best of me always encourages the other to stay focused and positive. 'I literally feel like Caity and Killerfrost from DC's Flash series before they got spliced to becoming two living separate beings.'
Constructed Image
The crown holds the wind because of the astrological notion that Libras are the balance in the social structure, in the chakra or spiritual notion Libras are air individuals. Being an Air energy means like astrology, they hold the balance between the heavens and the earth. So, the image portrays that of a Libra, seeing the world for it's balanced point of view but as an individual Ruby Messina's persona is reflected from being grounded to being flowy.
I reflect myself through the lends of the wind but I use it to balance myself earthworthy as I go with the flow.
Planning / Brainstorming : "The Multi/Verse"
Constructed Image
Is a collage of self images taken from the camera and landscape images taken from the web to combine internal and external realities. The first self image is coming from a desirable world from afar to finding a secret passage to an Earthy world with more color. the second self image is coming from an all white reality or canvas to shrinking in to a symmetric teleportation portal to a black and white world. These images were constructed through two concepts one being from the experiences of Ruby Messina's influential perspective of color and seeing the world in color, while the other being the experience given to shoot photography in black and white / grayscale to see the world visually through a different lens.
Planning / Brainstorming : Motion/Reflection
Motion is really about movement while Reflection is more about perspectives. Here are images brought to you through raw photography that have been converted to grayscale and manipulated images that expose True Lies.
Constructed Image
"Selfdress" is another double meaning image. It suggests to self address the desire to wear based on fashion but also physical imagery. While the double image encourages creative fashion influence. "Selfdress" is another self image or self portrait that was naturally manipulated by the aperture and movement through still photography or in other words motion photography.
Constructed Image
Another motion photo which reflects the love between a mother and her child as a spiritual essence of purity, innocence, as well as completion or togetherness. The eternal phenomenon of "always & forever" portrayed in this piece called "Embrace" photographed by Ruby Messina of her sister-in-law and only 2 month old nephew.
Planning / Brainstorming : Mesh / Sheer
"Mesh / Sheer or Mesh & Things", is about seeing looking through a see through world or perspective. Here are some self images depicting variety by Ruby Messina.
Constructed Image
Constructed Image
Constructed Image
Planning / Brainstorming : Color Dust Art
Color Dust Art is the essence of "Fairy Dust" to create a magical assortment of a mystic reality. In these images, you will see a landscaping version of nature and dust to create a super power effect as well as an in studio version of motion through still photography.
"Wonder Power" - Color Pop Art (Grey Scale)
Vs. Reality
"Going Ultra" - Color Pop Art (Grey Scale)
Vs. Reality
"Color Love" - Motion Stills
Vs. Reality
Additional Works:
COMING SOON!
Watch The Behind the Scenes to see what you missed or to watch what is coming up next!