Conveying the Passage of Time through Photography

 

Fong Qi Wei is an artist and photographer that “strives to make images which touches both the feeling part and the thinking part of your mind.” He wants to get your attention (the feeling part) and hopefully engage you on a deeper level as you look at it for longer (the thinking part).

In a series entitled Time is a Dimension, Wei attempts to convey the passage of time through a series of composite images spanning 2-4 hours, typically at sunrise or sunset (when the skies colour changes most dramatically). He then splices together the numerous photographs into a single image. A collage of time if you will.

On his site, Wei explains:

“Photography is a medium that is famous for freezing time. The word snapshot suggests that a tiny slice of time is recorded for posterity… A photographic print is flat, and essentially is made of 2 dimensions: length and width. Yet through composition and lens focus we give a print depth… The best images are the ones which let you feel like you can step directly into the frame into a world which is on the other side.
 
But the print is still an instance. Most paintings and photographs are an instance of time. That’s not the way the world works. We experience a sequence of time, and that’s why a video is somehow more compelling than a freeze frame…
 
Photographic prints are great because they don’t need power to be displayed. They are more or less permanent. Videos are great because they record a sequence of time which shows reality almost like how we experience. Is it possible to combine the two? And not via long exposure photography where often details are lost from motion.
 
So I played around with the tools of digital photography and post processing to give you this series: Time is a dimension.

 

Below you will find a small gallery from this fantastic series. You can find the complete post at fqwimages.com. Be sure to also check out Wei at the links below to keep up with the latest.