Philemon Ng
Sandy Skoglund, "The Cold War"
1999
I selected the image 'The Cold War' because of the powerful emotions that sprung up in me when viewing Skoglund's work. This image felt surreal and illicited emotions of discomfort and in some ways rage from me. Everything in the photo reminded me of oppression of an individual. The colors in conjunction with the missiles and soldiers remind me of searing hot sunlight that beats down as well as blood being spilled as a result of gunshots. The telephone on the stand above the man seems to weigh heavy over his mind almost as if it adds to the pressure that is felt from all the objects around him, rather than an object of means to escape. The positioning of the man holding his head and averting his gaze from what is around him makes me feel as if he is trying to avoid all the pressure around him or as everything shown in the image is a projection shown from inside the man's head.
