These images have all been made with a technique that I stubbled upon while experimenting with photoshop. I had originally planned to cut out a shape to leave a plain background around an object. Instead Photoshop’s content aware feature (that algorithmically replaces the deleted area with parts of the surrounding image) had its own ideas and completely transformed the image. The way the object melted into a background made up of its self had an unnatural outcome and I hadn't seen anything like it before. I found the effect enthralling and though I should see how I could explore and amuse myself with feature. The images themselves have several surreal qualities.
Automatism, one key element of the surrealism, is the idea of an automatic behaviour that stems from the unconscious mind. In my images that I've created it feel that the computer software has almost created its own automatic spontaneous image. The abnormal shapes and imagery of the photograph add to this sense of the bizarre and almost reference back to the early photomontage and collage works of Dadaist such as Hannah Hoch or the complex compositions of German Expressionists like Max Beckmann or George Grosz.
Although this novel technique may feel a little gimmicky, I feel that through a certain amount of experimentation and innovation that something quite creative and unique can be created.
