Please describe your relation to an image of your choice. Your image can represent/ depict anything: a relative, lover, a public event, the representation of a deity or an abstraction. The only requirement is that it had some particular significance in your life; AN IMAGE YOU HAVE A PERSONAL RELATION TO.
It is not necessary to post the image in our website (but keep it at hand please!), for now we are just going to concern ourselves on the nature of such relation.
The image I chose is a screenshot from my favorite movie, Sonatine(1993, Takeshi Kitano). It shows a gangster member playing games with others using guns & knives. Sonatine is a film about a war between several Japanese mobs, when the boss received the order that told him to halt the troops and wait, the cold blooded-gangsters turned into a huge family, spending their time together as if they are on a holiday. Sadly, the war still exploded in the end. This screenshot is taken right before the peace got broken,
Personally, I feel connected to this picture because of 2 particular reasons:
1. The quietness, peacefulness in contrast with the intense relationship between the mobs.
As a university student, sometimes it feels like I have to put myself in a very tensed up mental state so that I could be ready for different kinds of school work, everyday issues and etc. When I’m in this state of mind, sometimes a small, peaceful moment can be really appealing and enjoyable to me. I feel connected to this picture because I just love the fact that gangsters and I both appreciate the quietness and peacefulness of life, even when it’s in an intense atmosphere where they could get assassinated by their opponents(or school work).
2. The warmth of friendship, companionship and love.
In Sonatine, when a bunch of cold blooded-gangsters who make a living out of killing got nothing to do, they kill their time by drinking, singing and playing games. Slowly, they became friends, instead of co-workers that didn’t even talk to each other. It reminds me of my childhood experience of having trouble making new friends. The process of how companionship changes people is another important reason I feel attached to this picture.
(Sorry for the bad grammar)
I just want to say that this movie sounds really interesting! I just googled it, and it looks amazing.
The image is my cat.
It teaches me what is love, responsibility and tolerance. I am the only child in my family, before having it, I do not know how to take after others. I have kept it for eight years.When it was a kitty, it was so naughty and damaged furniture, so I had to be tolerant and patient. It means a lot to me, and has become a family member.
Hi Krystal,
That’s so awesome and nice to hear! I am an only child in my family too and I have 2 dogs. I have similarly experienced learning how to become tolerant of some of their behaviour (one of them is extremely hyper and completely untrainable, while the other is the complete opposite – shy, quiet, reserved, but also afraid of most people since she was a rescue). I love them both dearly and couldn’t imagine life at home without them.
Hi, Krystal. I am Jessica. When I read your story, I really touched since I am also the only child in my family. Actually, I do not like any animals when I was younger, but when I study aboard away from my family, I started to pay attention on my friends’ pets and really enjoy the time with little puppy. So I understand why a kitty means so much to you. Companion is so important in life.
Hi Krystal, this really sounds sweet and warm to me. Animals can cure everything really teaches people how to love. It is also good to see a lot of artists who create art in relation to their animals. The kind of bond can really be used to express and create something special.
The photo I chose captures me at age 7 on a family vacation at a topless beach in France. I’m striking a pose for the camera, sporting glittery blue high waisted bikini bottoms with no top and clutching a topless barbie in one hand. I remember the novelty of this experience and the joyful curiosity it brought me. I reflect on it now, thirteen years later, as I live beside Wreck Beach, which is clothing optional.
My visits to Wreck have reintroduced me to this concept I once learned in France that “a body is just a body” as I see people of all shapes and sizes around me strip down to nothing. I sometimes see families bringing their kids who chose to explore the beach naked and think back to the freedom I felt myself at their age on the beach in France. I’ve still hesitated to participate myself in shedding my bathing suit, but it does interest me to see the cyclical way this concept of public nudity has been introduced to me.
Hello Violet,
I grew up in Asian countries until I came to UBC so it is quite weird for me to face with nudity in public areas (or except in house). Because we (as in my surroundings) grew up with the idea or perspective that nudity is to be ashamed and more sexual rather than your comment “a body is just a body”. So it really blew my mind when I read your reply! In a sense, I actually envy the environment that you were/ are provided with to have wider perspective that bodies are just bodies no matter of its shapes or sizes. I learn something today from you! Thank you 🙂
The image I choose is a picture I took of novel. At a glance, it’s a pretty plain book, on the cover is a black-and-white image of an uncapped salt shaker while the title and the author’s pseudonym is in red.
The book is from UBC’s rare books collection, I was wandering around campus that day and when I found out this edition of the novel is on campus, I decided to go check it out. When I was there, I snapped a picture of the book.
Right, so maybe I should elaborate on this book a little – it is a fictional novel that was written in the 1950s, it was one of the only novels that showed homosexual characters having a happy ending (or non-tragic ending) at that time. It was adapted into a film a few years ago; I was pretty happy to see something that I could kind of relate to.
I’ve appropriated materials from the film for a few of my assignments last term. I guess in this case here, it’s not so much about the specific image, but what it depicts. It was just present throughout the entire term. I honestly don’t know how to word this without sounding really pretentious…
I think that’s about it, it’s getting personal and is sounding pretentious, so let’s just leave it here.
The photo that I decided to use is selfie that captures my family. Since it is self took image, the image won’t show the full body figure but shows faces of me and my family members. I am on the very left smiling directly at the camera. My brother and mom are right in the middle, having their head touching each other, which shows affection of my mom and brother. On the very right side of the photo, my sister stares at camera as if this is ridiculous. Since young, our family members didn’t really like taking photos (such as family photo), so it is rather rare to find the photos with all members visible in the same captures.
When I took this selfie, at that time I found it rather frustrating that the time that I spent with my family will just remains as a memory of us but evidence (?) to be left and to be remembered in the future. So I took out my phone and took a snap of my family members waiting in the line for restaurant. It was quite awkward to take photos of my own family but I guess I will proud of this photo in near future.
The image I chose is a photo taken when I was attending Go Global summer program in Copenhagen. This picture captures the interior concrete walls, unique design of the ceiling and wooden furnitures of Bagsværd Church, designed by Jørn Utzon. Very different from the Sydney Opera House he made, Bagsværd Church gives me a strong impression of how Scandinavian life style is. A lot of churches I visited contain luxuriant religious decorations , but here I see only the simplest natural material without further construction. Overall tone is pure and divine. The ceiling has a beautiful curving shape that enables light to flow into the space and lighten up the space. It is a church meant to be used. We can see clearly how time passing leave traces on the walls and make the church look more gorgeous. It is our architecture studio professor’s favorite church in Copenhagen and I remember he saying “architecture is good to look new, but it is better if it is good”.
Personally I feel more relate to photos taken by myself because these are actual scenes I experienced in the past. Go Global department held a photo contest and was due few days ago. tle My memory about this photo is quite fresh because I have to write a caption describing it. So this photo bumped into my mind right after I heard this assignment. I learned a lot of ancient churches in art history class but I was really fascinated by Bagsværd Church.
It seems to be an amazing experience. Through your description, I can imagine the magnificent church in my mind!
The image I chose for this week’s challenge is actually from an online blog called Hyperbole and a Half. It was an image that use to circulate online a fair amount (yes, I chose a meme) called ‘(Clean) All the Things.’ I promise that I’ll give a good explanation as to why….
The reason why this image has had a particular significance in my life was actually because of my final year in high school. During this time, I took on a particularly heavy workload and, thus, was concerned about my ability to keep up with all of the tasks I received from my classes, extracurricular activities, and two tutoring jobs. About halfway through the year, I ended up having a mini crisis, and for a short-time period (about a week), I was feeling extremely down and unmotivated. Often, I like to work as much as possible, but towards the end of this week I finally conceded to my overwhelming desire to take a break. It was then that I randomly started browsing the Internet – not searching for anything in particular but hoping I would come across something relevant to my current situation.
When I finally stumbled upon this image, I was reminded of my time in middle school when this picture was still popular to share amongst friends as a joke (along with troll faces, ettccc (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧). I had always wondered where it originated from, and so one Google image search later I officially found the artists blog, Hyperbole and a Half. I began reading through the article that included this image, and honestly found the blog post to be one of the most enlightening, comedic, and enjoyable stories I had ever sat through. Soon enough, I read nearly the entire website (my sleep schedule suffered but it was sooo worth it).
During that one week, this blog and image were the only things that pulled me out of my down state, and made me realize that other people face similar challenges when it comes to keeping up with the constant cycle of work. ‘Clean All the Things’ represents the motivated state one experiences at certain times in their life (A state generally more productive, and one that I wanted to reflect) – but I also realized that it is not a state a person can maintain constantly. It’s important to take breaks every once in a while and to have fun too. Without this image, however, I wouldn’t have been reminded of this, and most likely would have faced way greater difficulty/hardship throughout my final high school year. So, yep, a silly childhood meme actually had an extremely positive impact on my life when I rediscovered it, and this is why it holds such a great significance to me in particular!
This is a photo of the living room of our home in China. There is a set of wood chair that my father loves on the right side, TV on the left. Our balcony where two turtles and several plants live is right in front of the scene. With the lights off, the room is dark, we can see the outside clearly. It is 4:12 in the afternoon, my father was walking towards the balcony. Typhoon was coming towards our city, every scene has melted into a deep deep blue. The scene is so romantic and familiar to me for I’ve been living here for so long. I always feel like the air in China has a kind of a soft texture and the wind has its particular smell. To see this scenery after a long time study abroad always makes me so calm. I feel so connected to this photo every time I look at it from my phone. It is not something that I need to memorize on purpose but it lives in my head deeply. When I create art, it will show on the canvas, on the sketchbook. I always feel like the art that we made are the clues to our essence, you can find everything in it. I have found this special blue color in my dorm and it tells me a different story.
Hello Xuan,
After reading your description, a warm and familiar home scene appeared in front of my eyes. The view of interactions of my own family even springs out. I can also feel your deep affection for your family. It is an excellent description of the image to me. I am trying to figure out how to write more details about my vision to express my feelings after reading yours. Wish you have a good night. 🙂
Hi Xuan,
Your description is so attractive! I feel like I am able to image the picture of the living room. Everything follows normal everyday routine but it recalls my warmest memory
Hi Xuan,
I feel nostagic after reading your description. I als miss the corner of the living room and my family.
The image I chose is the picture took in japan with my mother by a random guy on the street. We were on the vacation to Japan that time, both of us were wearing the Japanese traditional customs.
What makes it so significant to me is that; first of all, I am a naturally homesick person, since I chose to study abroad, I barely have time getting together with my family. As so I cherished every second when I was home, especially the time we share the most happiness. My mom has a very strict and regular work schedule, it’s really hard for her to have spare time to go vacation with me which makes the picture considerably valuable to me.
Secondly, the way my mom and I get along is more like sisters, as the image illustrated in terms of her smiling at the camera meanwhile I’m gazing at her, as if following the time of the beat silently, thinking of the past good memories again. Therefore, the image contains the love, greatness, youth and time.
Last but not the least, everytime when I saw this picture, I can see her wrinkly face, I could never forgot how beautiful she used to be. My mom sacrificed her youth for me, she taught me to grow up, she told me not to give up when I fail, she supports every decision I made, she was always there for me when I was sad and told me to be strong. This picture brought me lots memories which means considerably significant to me especially when I’m alone. I set this picture as my phone background, since I have few pictures with my mother, moreover we have thousands kilometers aways from each other, which makes this image more important to me.
Hi Kristie,
I really enjoyed reading about the bond between yourself and your mother as well as all that she has given for you! I see my mother as one of my closest friends or a sister too and also visited Japan once! My trip to Japan was actually the only time/vacation that I have ever been in a different country than the rest of my family as I went with a small group of friends. I can totally relate to feeling homesick during this trip and cannot imagine what it must be like to study abroad! As of right now, I live only a couple of hours away from my parents and still maintain close contact with them, which I am extremely grateful for.
Whoops it appears I forgot my name :> – Nikki
An image of the Seven starts on my wall which reminds me my grandfather who is in heaven.
I googled it and i found that they have many different names; Saptarishi, Seven sisters, Big Dipper.
I used to go to my grandparents’ home ( where I was born) almost every summer breaks of my 3rd to 7th grade. Their home was 10hours drive away from my hometown. Even though it is long drive I loved to visit to them.
My 5th grade summer with my grandparents was special. The night before a day I was leaving, my granpa and I went to a backyard of the house to see the starts. They looked so clear because we were in countryside. It was quite outside but only dogs’ barks were heard from somewhere far. I was being hugged in his warm arms. I smelled his handmade cigarette from his clothes. We were both looking up to sky.
And we started to talk about how the stars are creating different shapes, figures, even human faces.
Then my granpa talked about a story about the Seven Stars.
I felt so much peace and his love. It was simple and unforgettable.
Every time I feel uneasy, sad, worried… I look at the image and I remember that moment. Then I feel like I go back in time and still feeling my granpa’s embrace. It gives me peace.
Grandpa, even though you’re not in this world you live in my heart with our memories.
I put an image of the Seven starts on my wall which reminds me my grandfather who is in heaven.
I googled it and i found that they have many different names; Saptarishi, Seven sisters, Big Dipper.
I used to go to my grandparents’ home ( where I was born) almost every summer breaks of my 3rd to 7th grade. Their home was 10hours drive away from my hometown. Even though it is long drive I loved to visit to them.
My 5th grade summer with my grandparents was special. The night before a day I was leaving, my granpa and I went to a backyard of the house to see the starts. They looked so clear because we were in countryside. It was quite outside but dogs’ barks were heard from somewhere far. I was being hugged in his warm arms. I smelled his handmade cigarette from his clothes. We were both looking up to sky.
And we started to talk about how the stars are creating different shapes, figures, even human faces.
Then my granpa talked about a story about the Seven Stars. I felt so much peace and his love. It was simple and unforgettable time.
Every time I feel uneasy, sad, worried… I look at the image and I remember that moment. Then I feel like I go back in time and still feeling my granpa’s embrace. It gives me peace.
Grandpa, even though you’re not in this world you live in my heart with our memories.
This was so heartwarming to read because I can relate to what you are feeling. I just posted about a picture that reminds me of my Grandpa as well and I think it is so special when certain scenes, moments and pictures can take us back to a time when we were in the company of such close family. Thank you for sharing!
Destroyed Room is a large scale tableau printed on a backlit lightbox, shot in 1978 by Vancouver artist Jeff Wall. It depicts a constructed and violently destroyed red room. Within the room the floor is covered in a mess of tangled debris, from womens clothing to mangled furniture. In the middle of the floor lies an eviscerated green mattress tipped on its side. Behind the mattress, a large gash runs from the top of the wall to the bottom, where it disappears behind the debris. To the left is an open doorway leading out of the room, and into the artists studio. Through the door we can see two wooden supports holding up the wall, alluding to the construction of the set.
I encountered the image during my first photography class at the University of Victoria. The class, Introduction to Photography and Video Art was my first visual arts class, and my first foray into the world of art. Destroyed Room illuminated the possible complexities which photographs, as well as other mediums, could contain.
The idea of a photograph engaging with more than just the literal referent was mind blowing to me. Utilizing in this case, the formal qualities of the scene to tie into art history was fascinating. It caused a snowball effect which culminated in me switching my major from History at the University of Victoria to Fine Arts at the University of British Columbia. Until then, I had viewed photography solely as a ‘dumb’ medium. A purely mechanical means to capture a scene with no consideration of theory or concept.
Furthermore, he lead me to discover the Vancouver School of photography, which turned me onto Rodney Graham, Stephen Waddell, and Stan Douglass. Learning that such an important art movement that I was fascinated from originated from my home city invigorated me. While Vancouver lacks a substantial art scene, and lies on the periphery of the art world, at one point it drastically revolutionized the landscape of contemporary photography.
If I had to pinpoint a single moment which influenced my education the most in the last several years, it would be the the brief talk on Jeff Walls Destroyed Room as it introduced me to the world of conceptual art and prompted me to study at what I believe to be the ground zero of contemporary photography.
Hey,
I feel like many of us all had a certain outlook on art and photography at some point of our lives.
I definitely didn’t really understand modern art and contemporary art until very recently; I had the chance to see some of Rothko’s paintings this summer, and it was an AMAZING experience, but I feel like I wouldn’t have appreciated it if I saw it last year.
Eight grandchildren stand to pose for a picture; the first time ever they are all at the same place, at the same time. By taking a quick glance at the photograph it is not evident as to where they are, what they are doing or that they have all been a part for so long. Their arms are around each other as they are smiling, laughing and talking with one another; they look like a family who has recurrent get-togethers over lunch or dinner.
These are my cousins, and in the nineteen years of my life this is the first time we have all been together in one place. While it took the heartbreaking event of my Grandpa’s funeral to reunite us, it reminded us all that no matter how much time passes between seeing one another the bond a family has is unparalleled. That is what my Grandpa would have wanted, a family that never loses its ties, a family that comes together.
My family lives around the world: New York, London. Vancouver. The last time I saw one of my cousins was 2007, over 10 years ago. While that seems like a long time, with all of us now grown up, some married, some with children, it was like no time passed at all; it was like we were just celebrating my grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary.
Time is unique that way; I never understood it growing up. When you are living in a moment time stops, but when you look back to the past time catches up with you. It always seemed like things would last forever and I felt like I have been stuck in that 5-year-old mindset for a while, but now that my Grandpa is no longer around I understand the value behind time, the importance attached to it.
While the event behind this this picture is sad, I only see the joy in it because I think of all the memories my grandpa and I shared and the time we got to spend as a family. I may not get to see my cousins, uncles and aunts a lot, but when I do I try to make time slow down.
The photograph represents a family from around the world.
My Grandpa would have loved to be there.
I have chosen an image of my mother and me. In the image, you can see my mother holding me in an embrace. You can see my mother’s face, but you cannot see mine. My mother has both her hands wrapped around me and I have my hands wrapped around her. My favorite part about this image is the expression on my mother’s face. Her eyes are closed but she has this beaming smile on her face. I remember exactly when this picture was taken. I was in Grade One and there was a competition that took place where students had to recite poems that were assigned to them in front of an audience. I ended up getting first position in my grade for my recital. This is one of the earliest memories I have of winning something. My parents were there to watch me recite my poem and they watched as I went up to receive the certificate for first position. Right after the competition ended I ran to my mother and she picked me up and hugged me so tightly. This image was taken at that moment. Another interesting thing about this image is that it is not staged in any way. The poetry competition had taken place on the ground floor in school and someone had captured this image of my mother and I from the first floor. My mother and I had no idea that this photo was being taken. To me, this image is very authentic. I have shared many special moments with my mother throughout the course of my life. This is one of the few moments that has been captured in an image.
The image I chose is a photo I took when I was in Halifax with my soccer team. The image depicts in the centre a small white house in the distance on an island. This island is in-between the light blue sky with a few clouds that seem very delicate and the deep blue of the ocean that creates a harshness at the bottom. The island itself is very rough and is covered in long dry grass. The photo is taken at peggy’s cove and contains many small houses on the water with lots of fishing gear. All of the houses in this cove are very rustic and cute.
I chose this image because it is when my team went to Halifax for nationals. We got one day off during the whole week we were there and we got to choose between the cove or downtown Halifax to shop and relax.. This was the day after we won our semi-final game vs Queens and the final was the next day. When we were at the cove it was so calming compared to all of the excitement that we had endured throughout the week and made me so at peace with what the next day had in store. This is photo means something to me, because it shows what our team worked for and the places we got to see because of it. It was such an experience to be apart of and will always be one of my favourite memories. Soccer is a big part of my life, but most of all it is the memories that I make with my team which this picture represents.
I choose an image that consists of serial sequential images of a cat. It emphasizes that a “normal cat” could become an “expensive luxury cat” (Exotic Shorthair) with a heavy punch on its face. Honesty, I like these lovely cats, since I feel like I am always like a cat. Cats always have their independent and unique personality. Cats never try to understand the moods of human, but they only like to stay with themselves. However, once you give some food to them and gain their beliefs, they are very willing to be close to you. Accomplished with my good feeling of cats, I found it funny when I first saw the image. I was wondering how the creator could be so talented to make this kind of comical image. Then I just saved the picture on my phone trying to show my friends this entertaining sequence of images.
After a long time, when I look through the album again, I suddenly find out a new feeling about this image. It teaches me a truth, everyone’s life is like the transformation of this cat, all the struggles in our life trying to punch us at our faces. However, it is because of these setbacks that we have become the “expensive luxury cats.”
The image I chose is a picture I captured while visiting China this summer. In the image, it captures the interaction between a grandmother and an elder farmer, selecting fresh vegetables from his rustic food cart along a bustling main street. The cart is filled with various vegetables, from freshly picked garlic to spinach, all neatly lying within worn foam boxes. A black umbrella hangs from the left corner hook of the cart, right on top of the miscellaneous plastic bags. The grandmother, back hunched, leans in towards the food cart and selects her ideal zucchini. Hands shaking, she attempts to grasp each zucchini steadily. The pink collar of her pajamas peaks out from her worn grey cardigan, with the sleeves perfectly rolled 1/4 away from her wrists. Next, to her, the elder farmer, dressed in a classic blue button down workman jacket and army green tweed newsboy hat, slowly leans in to assist his customer to help select his finest zucchinis, as the corners of his mouth upturn to give her a warm smile. Even though the sidewalk bustles with a continuous slew of motorcyclists, rushing to delivery packages, both subjects seem to be within their own time and space, disregarding their surroundings.
In actuality, the image captures the moment between not just any grandmother or elder farmer, but my grandmother and her friend, who she’s bought all her groceries from for 20 years. From my memories, I would always accompany her to buy groceries from her friend, from the same location regardless of the changes in the surroundings over the years. This image really makes me emotional since, I can see how much my grandmother has aged over the years, but also her continuous persistence in preserving such a friendship, despite her continuous memory loss. Despite her memory loss in remembering the names of friends, co-workers or even family members, she’s still able to remember her friend whom she would always see every day, to feed her family. Sometimes the smallest things in life hold great significance to us, hence why I found this photo mesmerizing and memorable to me.
The photo I choose is one of my family portraits which was shot on Granville island this summer.
This is the fifth year I have been studied in Vancouver as an international student. It was the first time for my parents to visit Vancouver and met me in this city. When we visited Granville Island we asked a random person to took this photo for our reunion. I could still remember the last family portrait we took was three years ago.
When I was little my parents took me to travel around world. However, this time I became the guide to take care of them. It is not only a family portrait but also symbolizes that I grew up and I am mature enough to take care of my parents. As I grew up, there were less communication between me and my family and I refused to travel with my parents. But this time, it changes me a lot and improves the relationship between us. This photo records the change in my family and my growth. As we can seen from the photo, I am taller than my mother and almost as the same height as my father. I realized that the responsibility of supporting and taking care of family is transferring from my parents to me.
Thanks to this trip, we started to think the matter from different point of view to understand each other. When I felt so depressed I would see this photo, I told myself to be optimistic and never give up because my family would be always proud of me just because I have tried. Although the distance between me and my family is huge, in my life of studying abroad, my family supports me to do anything I want.
Distance means so little when someone means so much.
Hi, Jessica. I really touched while reading your writings. Since we both international students who studied abroad for many years. I do feel u the same way as being independent, responsible, matured . My parents used to visit me here too.I arranged everything properly, which made them so proud of me!
Thank you for sharing your story!
The image I chose is the one I took in Mahabodhi Temple, in Beijing. As a fine art student, I am really interested in architecture, especially ancient Chinese temples. I’ve always believed that temple has its own power letting one’s heart calm. The photo captures the moment that the sunshine filtering through the leaves of trees. Combining with the temple roofs, the whole photo brings out a divine and peaceful feeling. At the same time, Beijing is the city could make my heart soft and warm (which is my hometown). Therefore, this photo means a lot to me and calms me every time I look at it.
Hi, Yi. I have the same feeling when I saw the landmark building in my hometown. It not only symbolize a city’s development and history, but your own memory of the city and the relationship between you and the building, especially the building in your hometown.
The image of my choice is the first picture I took in Vancouver at Granville Island. This was taken 2 years ago when I first decided to apply to UBC. I have travelled from Toronto to visit Vancouver at the time, and when I saw how mesmerizing the environment and scenery is I knew I had made the right choice. Moving to Vancouver was truly a life changing moment and it has started a new chapter in my life. Therefore, this picture represents a milestone in my life and has a personal significance.
HI Betty, my name is Kristie. I really understand the fact that making this huge decision really matters to your future life. I used to study in Toronto for my grade12, before, I was in Vancouver for my grade11. I still choose to come back to Vancouver for my university rather than stay in Toronto university. I made the same choice as you, I feel like we both will have our perfect life experience here in UBC!