Journeys & Destination Response

For the presentation i said -

"I obtained images from each individual and mixed them together to form a collective narrative based on experience. I then composed them on an abstract journey to create a unique metaphorical representation of non-collective experiences creating new ones together".

I have added emphasis on the last word as i will be returning to this point later. Firstly, Frank Abbott's comments stripped down said our presentation lacked cohesiveness and it felt like 3 or 4 presentations instead of one, and although i agree, i'd like to make the case that all of our personalities were evident, and while it may of not been as glossed over and as for the audience as other groups, i maintain that we were able to not only share each of our own insight with each other, we were able to present it with everyone. Where they asked for more of the video i presented at the end, it was actually a suitable metaphor for the way we had interpreted the brief. 

Our group presentation contained a rap/dance, slide shows and a video (in that order). We settled on the theme of difference. The first to show was Rita, who had decided to present a performance based on her initial experience of western/Nottingham culture. By writing her own words to a Fergie song (i'd never heard before) certainly was a loud - but entertaining - start to our presentation. The rest of the group then presented via the traditional presentation format - pictures on a slide show and spoken word. A little dull in my opinion, but being respectful (and not fully grasping what i was trying to achieve with my initial idea that i carried on as a summation aspect) I accepted that this was how they wanted to express themselves - on a creative course i'd expected they'd attempt to be more adventurous. The themes ranged from Art, Design, Architecture and Fashion, and comparing western and chinese versions. Que the video i had made.

The early enthusiasm i had for this metaphorical representation was not passed on to the group. It may of been due to a language barrier, it may of been too abstract (i later found that they get taught lots of technicality but little creativity in their homeland), or it may be that they just didn't like the idea. Realising no differences can be obtained from a place i had spent three years living, i pushed on with the kaleidoscope idea, and i wish to state now that i didn't stick with it through arrogance. I was inspired by Edmund Whites idea of the Flaneur, a book i had read over the summer. Definition here. The concept is to travel on a journey with no end goal, but to explore aimlessly absorbing through the senses everything around. I felt that reflected the situation we were all in. And although we had a goal (in that of a presentation), i did not see it in that regard, i felt it was more of an outcome than a goal. You could argue the last statement supports Frank Abbott's comments - which would explain why the presentation was not cohesive.  

Together. 

We were a pool of our collected non-shared experiences. We shared a journey in which we each had our own previous experience to reference from. In this, our cognitive processes filtered the information through our personalities. We had Rita, very animated and expressive, Edison, Benice and the others were quiet calm and relfective, and myself, searching for a deeper meaning. The poor structured and un-glossed presentation will certainly be remembered a lot more for those reasons than i wish. I will repeat the last three words of my explanation of the work, new ones together. 

Think about that for a second. Let me ask you, what do you think that means in the context of the presentation? (Not the video alone) 

Frank was looking for a new ONE together. To unify to one single goal and singular outcome. 

We had created new ONES together. We unified at a single moment for multiple outcomes.

Which would you say the video represents more? 

It has to be the latter. It's neither static nor definitive. Much like our journeys. This changes the form of the presentation into a subjective manner. On the journeys of our careers the moment will be as significant as any other in the narrative of our lives. We have all been drawn to the specific point in time due to circumstance, we will manifest this outcome and spread back out into new circumstances. Thats all i have to say about it, for now! You never know what might come back of it in the future. In the mean time, i'll leave you with this, i hope you can see why its relevant.