Photo ambiguity

The mixing of representational modes in handling the medium of Photography has become a prevalent working method in contemporary practice. Renderings that seemingly have pertinence to both the contrived image and the snapshot provoke a particular oscillation in the spectator’s mind that is productive of ambiguity. This ambivalence between the realms of ‘this-has-happened’ and ‘this-could-not-have-happened’ places the viewer within a mode of perceptual multistability. Giving equal importance to the material condition of a photograph’s production (the ‘photo-effectic’ mode) with that of its aesthetic aspect (the ‘photo-graphic’ mode), this research utilizes case studies and applies Speech Act theory and Catastrophe theory to enhance our understanding of ambiguity’s appearance. Those interested in the fields of Photography theory, Rhetorics and Neuroaesthetics will find in this book interdisciplinary methods upon reading images, while creative practitioners can grasp the import of directorial strategies leading to equivocal imagery.