The Shell Project

This is something I'm working on in intermediate photography for our final project. We were required to submit a proposal, so I'm sharing it here.
The Shell Project
In my four years of working in the darkroom, I have yet to work on something directly personal until recently. In my last project, I was attempting to illustrate clinical depression, which is something I wish to come back to and find multiple ways to represent in my work. For this project, I wish to do something not as broad as depression. I want to create a body of work based on something I was told specifically. Adri, you have to take chances in life, you can’t sit in a shell your whole life not trusting anyone. What kind of life is that? I’ve always danced around specific and personal work in photography because I felt that if I touched on something like that I would be using my medium just to whine. However, I’m curious to base a body of work around a line.
I read a summery about “Type 5’”, which is the category I tested into using the Enneagram Personality test. This section of the summery sounded significantly like my issues relating to feeling comfortable and adjusted on a social and practical level. “We have named personality type Five The Investigator because, more than any other type, Fives want to find out why things are the way they are. They want to understand how the world works, whether it is the cosmos, the microscopic world, the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdoms—or the inner world of their imaginations. They are always searching, asking questions, and delving into things in depth. They do not accept received opinions and doctrines, feeling a strong need to test the truth of most assumptions for themselves. One five says “I most often learn from a distance as an observer and not a participant. Sometimes, it seems that understanding life is as good as living it. It is a difficult journey to learn that life must be lived and not just studied.” Behind Fives’ relentless pursuit of knowledge are deep insecurities about their ability to function successfully in the world. But rather than engage directly with activities that might bolster their confidence, Fives “take a step back” into their minds where they feel more capable. Their belief is that from the safety of their minds they will eventually figure out how to do things—and one day rejoin the world. Thus, much of their time gets spent "collecting" and developing ideas and skills they believe will make them feel confident and prepared. They want to retain everything that they have learned and “carry it around in their heads.” The problem is that while they are engrossed in this process, they are not interacting with others or even increasing many other practical and social skills. They devote more and more time to collecting and attending to their collections, less to anything related to their real needs. Thus, the challenge to Fives is to understand that they can pursue whatever questions or problems spark their imaginations and maintain relationships, take proper care of themselves, and do all of the things that are the hallmarks of a healthy life. “

The bolded line is something I paid attention too closely. One day rejoin the world, as alien as that sounds, is something that I relate to. For this series I want to use models, either myself or someone else, to be place in different settings or landscapes around my environment. The model will clearly display an unwillingness to integrate or stretch herself out within her surroundings. I was also thinking about creating a literal shell or some sort, place myself inside if I could, and transport that around to different settings to photograph. I think it all depends on the material. For every photograph I want the shell or fetal position to be displayed in some way, either obviously or somewhat hidden within the composition. The surroundings will have a chaotic and spastic feel and the shell will be the grounding point within the frame.