had like in this period with being in all smaller in the same house . One of the locations was my bed to mimic the contorted body of hysterical women photography , like their case studies and theatrical look . I also made effort to have a range of emotions in the ghost entity from laughter to extreme distress . These change in emotions were all listed as common signs of hysteria in women , making the hysterical women seem like an unhinged threat to society . The other two locations of the images being the living area and kitchen , it truly reduces women to two basic activities of eating and sleeping , existing without any enjoyment . These low energy activities create a shell of a being , reducing women to a small space , making them feel unwelcome .
Whilst posing for the still images I incorporated some props of ‘ womanly duties ,’ such as reading and knitting . These are traditional activities led by one person showing the isolation and the positions of the women . The book that I used for the prop was The Turn of the Screw , which links my photography to the literature I am referring to . Another pose in the kitchen I had was washing the dishes , a housework task often viewed as women ’ s work .
In the images to highlight the ghost ’ s presence I wanted to emphasise the body and used dots surrounding the figure . I wanted it to appear as a portal into the past , a rip in time , which combined the two in the same place . The dots I chose as white spots to show a glow surrounding and an eerie vibe , also some ghost presence in time , presented in the media , often show a glow orb so being surrounded by them shows the haunted entity . As well as having a glow surrounding them and a yellow tint , I darkened the levels on the ghost to create an ominous look and appear frightening to the audience . The same background is a theme in the images , my private flat being the backdrop of the images has a personal connection to others , it questions the idea of modern vs traditional roles of women and how these identities have changed over time .
My aim for this project is to question the history of the hysterical woman and other gendered language used , at a woman ’ s expense . I want to express how damaging it was for women to be treated that way , often still not being taken seriously today from medical professionals . This photography demonstrates the harsh reality that some women still must live through , it challenges the notion of madness and puts it on a smaller scale to digest . It appears as a modern case study , which takes a journey from the past to the present , with connections still intact .
BIBLIOGRAPHY : Bankey , Ruth , ‘ La Donna e Mobile : Constructing the irrational woman ,’ Gender , Place and Culture , 8 ( 2001 ), 37-54
Constable , Liz , ‘ Fin-de-siecle Yellow Fevers : Women Writers , Decadence and Discourses of Degeneracy ,’ L ’ Esprit Createur , 37 ( 1997 ), 25-37
Decker , Hannah S , ‘ Invention of Hysteria ,’ The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease , 193 ( 2005 ), 354-355
Micale , Mark S , Approaching hysteria : Disease and Its Interpretations , ( Princeton : Princeton University Press , 1995 )
Scull , Andrew , The Disturbing History Hysteria , ( Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2009 )
HANNAH HANIF
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