To mix the two ideas of ghosts , haunting and women ’ s hysteria , I decided to shoot using long exposure photography . Long exposure photography combined with movement makes the image look ghostly . Which serves as a reference to the lingering ghosts which are a constant throughout the novel The Turn of the Screw . The ghosts are made to feel unwelcome in the situation , but still linger around the living to serve as a warning . These hysterical ghosts still echo in society today , these women have negative stereotypes placed upon them and some mental health issues are not taken seriously . Using long exposure photography with movement of a figure in the background , recreates the haunting hysterical woman . The idea is that these modern photographs will mimic the case studies of hysteria .
The central focus will be a still image of myself as a modern woman , in various poses in two rooms in my flat , the bedroom living space and the kitchen , to mimic the confines of their house that hysterical women were forced into . Women in the fin de siècle period were regularly treated like children , coddled , and removed from wider society . “ Silas Weir Mitchell invented what was once the most widely used treatment for this affliction , his famous rest cure , and grew rich on the proceeds ” ( Scull , 2009 : 6 ), reflects how even treatment decisions were made by men on the behalf of women , these men just wanted a fast conclusion and were not interested in the women ’ s wellbeing . The fact that it is a man who is most notable for this famous treatment and benefitted financially for it , explains how these hysterical women were completely taken advantage of and their vulnerability exploited . Although an independent woman is still often viewed as a threat , it is more socially acceptable which I want to reflect in my photography . The second figure of a late Victorian woman floating in the background , is a constant reminder that still women are ignored .
The second ghostly figure will be dressed in a gown , appearing contorted in the background , with various poses replicating the four stages of hysteria in different rooms . The movement and poses on the long exposure setting will make the figure appear as a ghost . A figment of the imagination questioning its validity , like in The Turn of the Screw , with this ghost in the picture lingering and having an overwhelming feeling of anxiety . The images will be layered on one another , I will pose as both figures wearing the same clothes to show the claustrophobic nature of the images , giving the illusion of all being in one day . I will shoot separately as the modern woman completing everyday duties , existing alone in that space , everyday suffering which is not immediately obvious . Then I will shoot as the ghostly woman , careful to stay in the exact frame , leaving space to edit in my still life self in photoshop . This will create a modern-day case study image of hysteria , with both figures suffering as one .
Yellow tint having both meanings of the appearance of an older photograph and linked towards the repetition of the colour yellow in the fin de siècle era . “ For all this fin-de-siècle diffusion of decadently yellow associations through aesthetic , political , medical and economic discourses ” ( Constable , 1997 : 25 ), linking the colour to a sense of richness , gold , and happiness . The colour yellow appears in various forms , yellow book publications of 1894 and Vernon Lee ’ s Amore Dure , to name a few . With the uncertainty of a new era , people clung to this richness , surrounded by yellow . It is a double entendre yellow being rich , yet sickly . It can provide joy , yet also send people into a state of madness .
I want to emphasise limited movement women
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