Freedom of Creation

London 2012 Olympic Games finally draw to an end leaving many memorable moments behind. I thought London did a fantastic job and English people should be very proud. A lot was going on during the games including some competitions. One was organised by the toy/figure maker Corgiasking people to take photo with 83 sculptures of London 2012 mascots Wenlock and Mandeville placed in various location across the city. The prize was the complete 12 piece mascot figurine collection but what I found more interesting was the challenge! It’s been a long while since I’ve entered any work into any competition and looking at this and the interesting idea, and since it was mainly targeted at families, I thought it would be interesting to try and see if I can do something that stands out.

My first effort was a 3D photo that although got a little attention, it didn’t win. I started analysing the photos that won and most of them had one thing in common, they were all stationary! As a photo would be! So I thought of breathing a little life into the mascots! With doing an animated gif! (image on the left) I tried two ideas and second one won the prize for me! I know this wasn’t a big competition but I realized I miss the creative process involved in focusing to create something and achieving some sort of recognition for it. Although my job is fairly a creative one and involves a lot of creativity and problem solving,I’m only involved in enhancing and perfecting an existing idea and I miss the freedom of being able to create something without any boundaries.

I get some satisfaction from taking photos but that’s not exactly creating something, it’s capturing existing elements and trying to present them in the best possible way. Making films, as amateur as they were, is as close to a satisfying feeling of creation as I’ve come to, something I should have never stopped. I guess it’s never too late to start again; it’s just the first step that’s a bit too heavy and from there the pieces should fall into place.

The Prize