Statement of Intent

I have chosen the exam title 'Angel'. 

For this project I want to explore my Christian faith and how the physical world perceives the 
spiritual world. 

I want to create work that triggers the viewers ideas of their own spirituality. 

Furthermore, I want to explore the role of Angels, as they are generally seen to be guardians 
or messengers who protect and direct people on behalf of God and are also known to be 
praising and worshipping God. Angels also appear across a number of religions, which would 
therefore make my project relatable to a wider audience.


Angels are perceived to be quite mysterious and indescribable, which is another element of 
this project that I want to explore. I would like to look at the identity of who angels are and the 
surrounding ambiguity that this brings. There is also the secrecy and obscurity of the spiritual world that I want to come through in my work. Movement (maybe through elegant dance) and out-of-focus, blurred images could be used to portray this. 

In a personal response to this question, I feel that these ideas are relevant to my project, because Christianity is all about faith, and even when we have to face our fears, we don't have to fear, because God is with us. I want my work to show my belief - that we can overcome anything with God. Even if we don't know what we are stepping into and we are fearful, we can put our trust and hope in God and let Him guide us in faith. 

Another aspect that I would like to explore is the morality of angels. There is the view that when temptation comes there is a battle between a 'good angel' and 'bad angel'. This could link into the bible story of 'The Fall' in Genesis, and the fallen angel, also known as the devil. 

As well as there being a light, good side to my 'Angel' project, I want to experiment with showing the dark, evil side as a contrast. But within this, always showing my belief that light always wins, because God is most powerful.

Developing this, an idea to present my images would be in an abstract way, as I believe 
recreating images of God would be sacrilegious. Furthermore, abstract images suit my concept, 
as religious experiences and faith are individual to peoples experiences and perceptions. 
To do this I would like to experiment with camera-less photography and double exposures.

My images will be open to subjective interpretation from people of a range of different 
backgrounds, religions, and cultures. 

However, as well as this, I feel that people will relate to it more being abstract because they 
may not have a strong belief in a God.