Investigation of the works of Lewis Carroll

1. Concentration
What is the central idea of your concentration?
Basing my pictures off the two classic novels: “Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking
Glass and What Alice Found There” by Lewis Carroll, I
explored the imaginary journey of Alice through both
books. I wanted to depict the obstacles and illusionary
events that Alice goes through, while also displaying the
ongoing themes of fantasies, opposites, and
nonsensicalities. The order of the images represents the
sequential journey of Alice in both books.

2. How does the work in your concentration demonstrate the exploration of your
idea? You may refer to specific images as examples. When referencing specific
images, please indicate the image numbers.
My work demonstrates Alice in twelve pictures, doing something different and
representing various leitmotifs in each composition. The first six photographs
depict the first novel, exploring Alice’s journey as she sees a rabbit, becomes
bored with reading and falls into a hole, shrinks into a small size, explores a
mysterious wonderland, and goes to a tea party. The last six photographs
depict the second novel, showing Alice’s continuous journey as she finds a
mirror, goes through the mirror reflection into a different and alternative
world, plays chess with the queen of hearts, struggles to find out the truth in
this world, faces inner turmoil, and awakens to find out that it was all a dream.
The illusionary effects in the photographs, lighting effects, and the increased
exposure showcase the mysteriousness of the novel and the theme of
perception versus reality. The old-fashioned, vintage, and mystical dress that
Alice wears in every photo emphatically exemplifies the constant dream state
that exists in Lewis Carroll’s two novels. The overall evolution of the pictures
depict how Alice goes from believing everything she sees, to eventually coming
to the realization that perception is not always reality.

15. Breadth