Exercise: Symbols

In hand with the previous exercise we are asked to come up with our own ideas to illustrate various concepts.

I have chosen to use a couple of photographs from my library to help me to get over my ideas.

Poverty.

 Poverty is common enough for many of us to have images of beggars in the streets so this isn't a particularly novel idea and I feel a more symbolic approach might be better.  A tight shot of a tin cup with a few coins scattered around would probably be more thought provoking. Having been to Soweto in South Africa I know how striking images of poor families in front of their shacks can be.  More novel ideas include any item that might be used in place of an expensive products... newspaper sheets on a string beside an old, grubby toilet instead of pretty pink soft tissue.

  

Growth

The idea of growth goes hand in hand with new plant life so it is obvious that new shoots might be used to illustrate such a thing.  This image adds an extra element of a man growing out of the ground.  Other ideas I had for growth included the rings around a cut stump which show the number of years the tree had been growing but that would be for a more established level of growth.  As an alternative the growth of a man from child to adult has often been used... shirtless man holds baby in his arms.  A simple version of the same idea would be a shot of the classic height chart a child has on their bedroom wall showing their progress.

Crime and Silence

The hoodie has become synonymous with crime so a hooded man keeping watch while his cohort breaks in through a gate would make most of us think of crime.  A simpler image might be the end of a crowbar amongst broken glass.  Certainly other still life shots can give similar impressions... a court summons or an intent to prosecute on a kitchen table with the opened envelope.  

Silence is easy enough to show with a simple 'finger in front of lips' image which we all recognise as a shhhhh signal.  Something less obvious might be the idea of a silent movie being filmed.  The are plenty of SILENCE signs around the world that could also be used... in a reading room, at a golf competition.  A less obvious symbol might be a hearing aid that has been left behind or is broken.    

Excess

When thinking of excess most of us will immediately think of eating or drinking to excess, hence the cream pies and tape measure still life.  Less obvious might be an excess baggage label on a suitcase.  Other images might be the result of excess... a fat belly or a drunk in the gutter.

All of these ideas are generic.  A more specific brief on how the concept would be applied would make it easier to align ideas.