Miss Independent.

My move into independence has been an uphill struggle.

I officially enrolled as a student @ The University Of Winchester last week, ready to begin a new chapter in my life.

It's a historic place. Once the capital of the country during the days of the Smashing Saxons, home to the great literary Jane Austen who currently rests in Winchester Cathedral, as well as King Alfred, "The Great Defender Of The English Language" during The Middle Ages. For me, that's what made it all the more appealing.

I hope to update my blog regularly, discussing key concepts, as well as engaging in intellectual debates, which will enable me to gain a better understanding of my current course of study.

For more information on The History Of Winchester, visit: http://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/site/about-winchester/brief-history.

"Inside The Mind Of A Murderer"

Paul is a middle aged man. His wife left him 20 years ago making him feel incompetent. He is recently unemployed and is wanted by the police for murdering 10 young women over a 20 year period. He wants to be noticed but to the rest of the world he is Anonymous.

Fade In.

It is late. Paul is sitting at a table in a strip club in Brighton. He is obsessively chewing on his nails. His attention is drawn to a scantily clad lady dancing on a platform nearby. Pounding music plays in the background.

“I come here to escape you know. This place just gives me a sense of freedom. A way of escaping from my separate life. Here I am a nobody He places his hands gently into his lap. He turns to observe the blood on the surface of his fingertips. Paul begins to mutter to himself. We live in a stinking, corrupt society full of hatred and greed. If people knew what was out there hunting them, they’d never leave the house. The world is a stinking pit of darkness (pause) people live their stupid little lives. Paul briefly turns his attention to camera. People lie. Everybody lies (pause) and death (pause) death gives me a release. It makes me feel powerful (pause) invincible (smiles) like nothing in this world could ever touch me. Paul looks back at his lap, muttering. It’s only a matter of time before that power gets taken away (pause) corrupted (long pause) Yeah. I know where I’m headed. He looks back at the dancer. They call me “Anonymous” you know. The cops or “detectives”.  The one that got away. (pause) I remember my first. A young college student (pause) Another insignificant being poisoned by the world around her. I remember her long flowing hair (smiles) I remember. It reminded me of… and the look in her eyes. She chose me (pause) She wanted me (pause) and I gave her the time of her life. Smiles to himself.”

Fade Out.

Fade In.

Paul is walking along an empty street at night. His hands are thrust deeply into his pockets. He is looking directly at the camera.

"You know (pause) to outsmart a detective you have to think like one.  Tiny details that only they notice. Because without the evidence there would be no case. The only alternative (long pause) suicide. He looks at the floor as he walks. Suicide is a funny word. The final act of selfishness (pause) like a speeding bullet. One minute you’re flying. The next. He looks back at the camera, his hands briefly removed from his pockets and gestures. BANG! The camera holds his gaze until he places his hands back into his pockets, his gaze drifting back downwards. Me (pause) I use the evidence to tell a story. You know (pause) planting fingerprints (pause) hair. I could be anybody. Smiles to himself. I've always liked to draw. Ever since I was a child. There was this one piece. A portrait. It’s a sketch of my face. One half perfect (pause) untouched. The other (pause) distorted (pause) dripping (pause) like I have just set fire to my face and all that’s left are loose bits of flesh and the outline of my skull. They say it’s a way of showing both sides. But what happens to a person if those two sides (pause) entities collide? I guess you could say that Evil overpowers the good and slowly (pause) slowly takes control. Once this happens (pause) there’s not going back. Looks at camera. You’re dead inside."

Fade Out.

Fade In.

Paul is leaning against a wall outside a police station. He is casually observing who enters.

"I guess it’s in my blood. Taking lives. Kind of God-like don’t you think? (pause) My Mum always said I was an angel sent down from heaven (pause) but what happens when an angel loses its wings? Does it wither and die? (pause) One insignificant life imposing itself on another. And the consequences (pause) somebody has to pay… Tonight is a very special night (pause) Tonight I prove them all wrong. So much anger. So much suffering (pause) None of it matters. He separates himself from the wall, hands in his pockets. I know where I’m headed…"

Fade Out.

Inspired by US Crime Show "CSI". This particular character was based on the serial killer Paul Millander.

I studied English Language at college and this was part of my first year coursework. I love Creative Writing and hope to pick it up at University alongside my Journalism course.

A few adjustments have been made now I don't have the 750 word limit. 

Majorca (9th August 2011).

A few holiday snaps.

We enjoyed beautiful sea views.

Freshwater Snorkelling.

Relaxing by the pool.

Boat trips.

And much more.

It was nice spending time away with the family before I jet off to University in September. 

Majorca will always be remembered as the holiday where I went freshwater snorkelling for the first time, took a boat trip to the most famous caves in the world and witnessed some actual Spanish flamenco.

They say travelling broadens the mind and I hope to get more of an opportunity to explore new countries, experience new cultures and enhance my understanding of the world around me.

I'm excited, are you?

BHASVIC Visual Arts Exhibition (23rd June 2011).

The time comes when a relatively self-dependent eighteen year old is thrust into the frightening world of University.

Eden, my little brother and my muse.

I remember the first time I set foot in BHASVIC in September 2009. I had missed the open day and was left feeling rather sceptical as to whether it would be the right place for me. With the rustic smell and the feeling of complete calm which made it ever so appealing. 

And although I had not yet officially finished college, the exhibition mean't I was able to celebrate my achievements in both photography and digital art, of which I am very proud.

Feeling rather nostalgic reflecting back on all the support my family, tutors and students have given me over the years towards my future, and for that, this post goes out to all you wonderful people. It's been tough.

My Unit 3 project focused in on "Making Time Stand Still".

As September approaches, I am preparing to start a new chapter at University. I feel a surprise sense of calm and excitement about my newly acclaimed independence and am looking forward to building a new life in Winchester.

I'm thinking of writing a diary documenting my first year. Whether I will make this public on my blog, I have to decide.

To view photo's from the "Making Time Stand Still" project visit my Flickr page @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/amy_moore/.

Seeing The New In The Old.

Creative Writing Enrichment.


The Booth.

A broken clock hangs on the neatly varnished wall next to me. It's stuck on 8:46. I can't help but feel a sense of security in this place; enclosure. I can hear distant voices and there is a wooden kind of authentic smell in the air. Patterns have become carved into the woodwork on the walls. My eye is drawn to a piece of torn cloth swaying in the breeze from an open window. To me it reflects the emptiness of this place. It shouldn't be here. Numbers and sequences surround me. Everything has it's place. Everything fits. I am the only thing that doesn't. 

I am clutter in a clean house. I am a hunter in the rainforest. The distant voices have stopped and all there is is silence. I am alone in this foreign place yet I decide to explore. I take a book from the shelf behind me. A little blue book. It has an inscription on the front that appears to be a shield with wings. I wonder what this can mean? I turn the pages carefully. They are flaky and worn. I put it back, trying not to leave my imprint on this delicate synthetic world. The sense of security I had has now turned into a sense of intrusion. I must leave now. But I will return soon.

Eadweard Muybridge @ Tate Britain (8/1/11).

Got lost at Waterloo station. Had my first experience in a London taxi. Took a couple of wrong turns and ended up at Buckingham Palace. Then visited my first ever exhibition at Tate Britain as research for my current photography project. 

Needless to say, my recent trip to London was an eventful one.

'And since, in our passage through this world, painful circumstances occur more frequently than pleasing ones, and since our sense of evil is, I fear, more acute than our sense of good, we become the victims of our feelings, unless in some degree command them.'

- The Mysteries of Udolpho, Ann Radcliffe, 1764



As well as Gothic Literature (cue Dickens and Doyle), one of the main influences of my work has been photographer Eadweard Muybridge, with his exploration into the concept of movement by capturing what is impossible to see with the naked eye.

"Sir Frederick Leighton, president of the Royal Academy, told me that when he first saw my pictures they made him laugh, so at variance were they with artists' notions of animal motion. Then he said he studied them and stopped laughing." [Eadweard Muybridge, 1885]

My visit to the exhibition gave me valuable insight into the mind of Muybridge and his interpretation of movement, shooting at different viewpoints and presenting them in a range of compositions. I was even privileged enough to be able to view the original negatives. 

THE FACTS:

• Muybridge emerged as a landscape photographer after the American Civil War (1867).
• First experimented with recording movement in 1877 when he was asked by Leland Stanford (horse trainer and breeder) to study whether a horse had all four feet off the ground during a full gallop. The series was entitled 'The Horse in Motion'.
• Invented the Zoopraxiscope which consisted of two rotating discs that recreated movement.
• Published his work under the name of 'Helios' (meaning "God of the Sun"). He branded his products with the logo of a winged camera and a glowing orb of radiating light.

  
  

To see more on this project, check out my Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/amy_moore/.

'My Village' by H M Cobby.

My grandfather introduced me to this poem a while back. It was written by his mother (my great grandmother). She was a gypsy.

I came to this village
When I was ten,
'Tween the downs and
The sea. And then
Who would have thought
It would change so much,
No little cottages
Graced with thatch.
No clear roads
With a horse to catch!
The one village shop
Has long since gone.
Now supermarkets reign
Alright for some.
The fields have all gone
We have houses galore
And by what I hear,
There may be more.
My little green village
Is fading away.
But the pub and the church managed to stay!
Now, the old ones say
Oh! For the days
When life was slower
Before we had this thing
Called power!
Were it to stop
Would the world stop too?
I wonder wouldn't you!

Taken from 'Poems From The South East'. 
Published in 1995. Edited by Glenn Jones.