Unit 4 Scanography: Classwork Prompt: My Favorite Scanography made with Jane Lillard
My goal for this scanograph, Lingering Effects, was to trust my hands more than my anxious brain while exploring how society views pill consumption, or at least my take on it. I wanted to learn to prioritize the feeling of the process over the "perfect" look of the result, choosing to trust that my work is enough, just as it is. By turning the invisible pressure in my head into a physical image, I couldn't just ignore it anymore, which is the first step to dealing with it. I wanted to show how medication builds up and slowly takes over, even when it’s supposed to be helping. I took an empty pill bottle on the scanner bed, focusing way more on how the light moved through the plastic than just how the bottles looked on the outside. I did a lot of experimenting with the lighting and movement, specifically propping the scanner lid up a bit to get these weird, hazy shadows. That was meant to represent a clouded consciousness, like reality getting blurred out, mirroring how society often views medicated individuals as either detached or altered. Using high-resolution settings was key. It allowed me to capture the sharp, hard textures of the plastic bottle and its text, which really contrasts with the soft, distorted shapes of the pills inside. That contrast is supposed to highlight the tension between the rigid structure of the medication and the chaotic, lingering effect it has on the human body, which can sometimes lead to unforeseen consequences.
So, making this scanograph, A Quiet Dependence, really made me think about how meds creep into daily life, even if it's not a huge dose. For me, it’s not about taking pills in excess, but just the constant reliance on them to keep my skin clear from acne. I feel addicted to that security, knowing the medication is keeping breakouts away, and I wanted to translate that feeling visually. My objective was to give my invisible struggles a physical and digital body, turning the noise and pressure in my head into something I can touch. Making it "real" means I can't ignore it, and I can finally start to handle it. I arranged the pills right on the scanner bed, focusing on creating a sense of crowded dependency. By keeping the scanner lid open slightly, I brought in heavy shadows that represent the dependence I have on the emotional weight of relying on a substance daily. I used high-resolution settings to make my hands look chaotic and disordered while taking pills. It’s supposed to show the tension between taking something to feel normal and knowing it has actually created a dependency. This process highlighted how even necessary medication can become a shadow over one's daily routine, even when it's not highly addictive.
Hi Sonja,
ReplyDeleteThis work is really powerful. I love how you incorporated text into the scans—it adds so much depth. The way the paper with the text gets ripped over time is really impactful too. The hands reaching for the pills feel really intentional, and the distortion almost gives it an Alice in Wonderland kind of vibe, which is super interesting. I know you’re referencing dependence on pills for acne, but I also really appreciate how the piece can take on different meanings for different viewers. For me, coming up on 5 years sober this August, it hit in a really personal and powerful way. Really well done.
Dear Sonja,
ReplyDeleteThe project caught my eye when I saw the image of distorted objects, and the way it included movement within such a ‘still’ concept of scanning. When we use the scanner, the automatic reaction is to keep things still and flat. However, your project has removed that idea and expanded into the realms of capturing movements in a 'still' form. Morover this reminds me of how, actually, most of the images we see through our eyes might not be as clear, refined, and still as they seem; it's our mind filtering and calibrating the chaos.
Thank you for sharing your work.