Patrick Clelland

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One day I saw this photograph online which was taken by   Patrick Clelland.  At first glance, this mysterious photo evoked a sudden feeling of déjà vu. It was unbelievable as I was certain I had not visited the setting of the photo but the colour of the sky and landscape felt so incredibly familiar. I needed to find more details about the photo to uncover the mystery and satisfy my curiosity.   

After contacting Patrick Clelland, I learned that the photo was taken at a ski resort a few weeks before the beginning of the ski season in New Zealand a few years ago. I learned that the reason why the colours of this photo were so unique was because it was taken on an expired slide film.  

  

The beautiful landscape that Patrick Clelland saw in front of his eyes is different from what he saw from the camera, and  the representation changed yet again following film development. This beautiful scenery gives people different feelings. Just like Patrick Clelland could not imagine that the sky would show this strange colour when he used expired films.  

   

It reminds me of the exquisite corpse game.  

  

In 2012, Meyers's graph paper drawings sparked a series of collaboration based on the surrealist game Exquisite Corpse—a strategy of automatic drawing that became a popular parlor game in the 1920s and lives on today. The original concept was to create a human figure in three parts. A piece of paper was folded and passed around for players to complete; their predecessors' work hid- den from them. While the avant-garde sought to use the game as a vehicle for accessing the unconscious, Meyers exploits the methodology as a tool for artistic collaboration and visual dialogue. The rules are simple in Meyer's take on this game: the first artist begins the drawing, leaving only a fragment of the image visible; the second artist uses the fragment as a prompt to continue the piece; once the work is complete, the entire image is revealed. The results are often mischievous and unexpected. On the opposite page, you will find a fragment of one-half of an Exquisite Corpse drawing by Meyers. (The First Worldwide Game of Exquisite Corpse, 2016) 

   

During this game, each individual  uses their diverse imaginations to imagine each part of the body that they create and then combine them,  often resulting in a form of "monster."   

The feeling of taking photos in various times and spaces by Patrick Clelland is similar to the feeling of imaging various parts of the body in the exquisite game.  

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Reference:

The First Worldwide Game of Exquisite Corpse (2016) Prose communication Blague.com [online] Available at:https://www.prosecommunication.com/blogue/the-first-worldwide-game-of-exquisite-corpse/ (Accessed 25 May 2021)