#026 Editing and Installing Photos into the Frames

After settling the arrangement of the photos, I have to decide on the photos that I want to display. Thank God that my mum used to enjoy keeping albums and albums of photos filled with memories that we had, so I have the resources that I needed.

Subsequently, the task is to select the old photos sensitively that would portray a reflection of the times my family and I have spent together, focusing on pictures that tell the story of the relationship between my dad and I from age of 0 to 4 half years old (the period from 1988-1993). The images are arranged so that years increases from the images on the left (1988) to the right (1993).

1988-1989

(Events & Places: Chinese New Year, Genting (Malaysia), Bird Park, Botanical Gardens) 

1990-1991

(Sentosa, Cameron Highlands, Tioman)

  1992-1993

(Singapore Zoo, Tioman, Christmas at Orchard Road, Chinese New Year at Chinatown) 

There were also other things I had to take into consideration, such as deciding on which images will be displayed in the larger frames and which images in the smaller frames. I also had to scan the old photos, edit the colour slightly and remove cuts and scratches, crop the images so that it will fit the frame. I want to retain the original look of the image but sometimes the colour that appears on screen after it is scanned and printed will turn darker or more yellowish so I have to edit accordingly.

An example of the difference between the colours of the original image and printed version. Hence I needed to correct the colour of the printed version by decreasing the yellow level and increasing blue and magenta levels in photoshop:

Original Image

Printed Image 

Another example of removing stain and cropping the image to fit into the smaller frame:

Original Image

Edited Image

Thereafter I would need to manually cut-out the images from the scenery for the eighteen photos I have selected. Also I have to be conscientious not to omit the small cutouts of small areas between the legs or arms of the figures that do not connect with the main image but is separated. So when I am fitting the image into the frame, I would first fit in the bigger image, I would then add in the smaller pieces.

These are the figures that are cut out from the images.  

Although the outcome looks like its quite an easy task just fitting images into the frame, it is not as it appears to be. I used to think that works that are framed up are easily done, like John Clang's works that are frames and presented in a time-line layout. And also because the cut-out area of my work is white, I must also look out for dust particles so that I remove them before fitting the image onto the glass plane. I never thought that so much consideration must be made, such that the image and the frame compliment each other instead of clashing. The images that are next to each other must also compliment the entire unit of work. Hence I learnt that the artist or the curator must have thought about all these details when arranging a collection of works.