Unsettling Punctum

Barthes talked about the little details in a image that seem to attract your eye and halt its smooth journey over the surface of an image. It can be a small observation linked to a personal experience or memory. Or it can be just something that wont let you relax and enjoy the image. Looking at the work of Nicola Thomas who also exhibited at the Catlin Gallery, there is certainly a 'punctum effect' for me. Thomas deals with the gaze and the aspect of looking and how this gaze can be disrupted. She says this interruption in the gaze can bring about a phenomenological response in the viewer. I am not sure about that here, but I do find this image very unsettling. Perhaps because I like a sense of order and balance, which are disrupted here.

Nicola Thomas 'Imitation34/59'

On first glance or gaze this looks like a simple mirror image, with the shadows, curtains, windows creating symmetry. But there are subtle differences. In the image on the right the woman is turned towards the viewer slightly more so you can see more of her hands,  her left shoulder, and her face.

But the punctum for me is the very annoying effect that has been created probably by accident, where the light from the window on the face of the woman on the right has caused her cheek to be burnt out. looking like a fault in the developing. This is the sort of thing I check for in my own developing and it really annoys me. I cannot look at this image now without my eyes going straight to that odd white patch eating out her cheek!

The consideration for my own work is to ensure, with meticulous attention to detail on Photoshop, that there are no jarring gaps or misfitting edges that draw the eye of the viewer and spoil the experience. Alternatively, should I push my discomfort further and make intentional dissymmetry to unsettle the viewer and convey my own struggle with the challenges of my life????