Better Understanding of D.I.D & id, ego & superego

A person dealing with DID/MPD can have anywhere from 2 to over 100 personalities inside them, with the average being 10.

In most cases the person with D.I.D has experienced trauma in their younger years.

Another thing about id, ego and super ego is it exists in the mind, not in the fabric of the brain. Meaning there are no links to the nervous system in the "Me, Myself & I" construct of Id, Ego and Super-Ego; whereas in DID/MPD there are actual alterations to the biology of the brain and body between personalities, meaning linguistic skills, learning patterns, chemistry, mental and emotional development, facial structure (sometimes). It's not uncommon for personalities to have allergies, food intolerance, pain levels (very common), etc., that the others do not share.

D.I.D personalities can have their own biological differences, whereas Id,ego & superego only exist in the mind.

Id-the impulsive, child-like portion of the psyche that operates on the "pleasure principle" and only takes into account what it wants and disregards all consequences.
Id is equivalent to the devil sitting on one's shoulder.

Super-Ego-plays the critical and moralizing role in the psyche, aims for perfection, includes ego's ideals, punishes misbehavior with feelings of guilt.
Super-ego is equivalent to the angel on one's shoulder.

Ego- the organized, realistic portion on the psyche that acts according to the "reality principle" and seeks to please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief.
Ego is equivalent to one's conscience.


http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/peek-into-id-ego-and-super-ego.html

Room booking

I emailed Tobi today to book a room for wednesday. I'm hoping wednesday will help us settle on an idea, I know i need something visual to refer to as i feel a bit confused on our idea right now

More Ideas

After discussion today, my group and I have decided that the pieces of material we are projecting onto are now going to be portrait instead of landscape. This will help portray the whole body of each personality rather than just the head/shoulders. When we agreed this I immediately thought of Bill Viola's piece Martyrs. Instead of the people being 'attacked' by the elements, for our piece our subject could be attacked by their other personalities.
I like the idea of one of the personalities being quite psychotic/angry. The actor could be screaming/ acting very irrationally - throwing their arms around or pulling their hair. Another personality could be a more depressed/defeated one - falling to their knees, giving up.
A common personality in people with D.I.D is a child like figure - perhaps we could portray that? I'm not sure how i feel like we'd need props.

Group Meeting

People with D.I.D can't control their Ego & Super ego's - so they become unconscious - different personalities. 


Group Meeting:

• Tested 3 different chiffon material, plan on using the white and off white chiffon.
• Went to fashion dept to ask for spare material to test on - found a nice black material that is perfect to project on. (ask fashion what material it is so we can buy more)
• Continue research cloth/material
• Definitely 3 layers (id, ego & superego) maybe 4
• Human sized pieces of material -portrait rather than landscape
• Considered distance & angle of projector - further away is better, perhaps angle projector from above
• Material hanging slightly above the ground to make it as realistic as possible
• Play with editing as if the personalities are morphing
• 2 Projectors? - images will overlap
• Audience can only walk round the sides but not through coz they will block the images
• Look at venues
• Material size : 5-6ft tall, 3-4ft wide - need to measure the actor 
• Where can we get our projector from - ask ryan
• Expression through body rather than just face - how much will the actor move around
• Bright colours- vibrance
• Photography studio as our installation space? our space will need sockets 
• Back projection is the strongest, while front is the weakest/ less clear
• Perhaps use grey material in the middle
• DECIDE ON CONTENT QUICKLY
• Ask peter if he knows anyone from fashion that can help us with materials

Actions for next week:

• More material
• Pick a room
• Test shot in room
• Confirm an actor
• Dedicate a day to try everything - Wednesday

Test Shots

Today we met up to conduct some test shots. Sunny bought some fabric (chiffon/organza) in blue, white and off white. We used J1.17's projector to test out our fabrics by attaching the fabrics to the ceiling.


Because the materials are so thin and light we will need to stretch them tight to project, meaning we will need to fasten them to the floor as well as the ceiling. I liked the material, it had a nice shiny tone to it which created lots of different colours on the projection, the only negative is that it could perhaps be a bit thicker so it isn't as transparent.
We went to the fashion dept to see if they had an scrap pieces of material & we found a really nice black material (see below). This material is perfect to project onto and we're thinking of using it as our back layer as the image is the clearest. We also found some patterned material but decided against it because it wasn't transparent enough.
After lots of tests it looks like we are going to have to make the clips very bright and vibrant in editing for them to show up properly on the fabric.

These were the fabrics we started with.

  

We held up each material to see how transparent they were. The first 2 materials are the first 2 layers and the black is the 3rd.

As you can see the shiny-ness of the material creates a really cool effect on the images, without ruining the quality, it enhances the colours.









The clarity of the images surprised me, I was quite skeptical about how well the projection would work. We also figured out the further away the material is the clearer the image is. The only problem was the creases in the material & because we couldn't fasten them properly to the ceiling they kept moving. The fabric will need to be ironed before we present.





In the shot below the second layer is using the blue fabric. At first we thought it was effective but then we realised that it looks like we've put a filter on the image and it looked strange if just the middle image was blue, so we decided against coloured fabric. Neutral colours will work better, especially as we are planning on the video image being very bold and colourful.

After lots of experimentation it was decided that the white, off white & black fabrics were going to be used for our project. More experimentation with other fabrics is necessary, but for now I am happy with using these materials.

Id, Ego & Super ego Artwork

I found some artwork online based on Id, ego and superego. They were surprisingly all very similar.

I think because we are representing these 3 elements of the psyche we should take inspiration from these images. It looks as if the ID is the 'main' personality and the other 2 take more of a back seat.

I particularly like the first image, I like how the Id almost looks like a monster, the ego the angle or peace maker and the ego alien like. Its a nice representation of each and makes the stand out from each other. Its a very futuristic approach, which is quiet different to the usual.

This image feels a lot more like she has an angel and a devil on her shoulders, especially with the colour scheme. I like it but it seems a bit too obvious or basic.

I also like the bottom image but I feel its more representing live and death rather than our psyche.

Id, Ego & Superego

Perhaps Freud's single most enduring and important idea was that the human psyche (personality) has more than one aspect. Freud (1923) saw the psyche structured into three parts (i.e. tripartite), the id, ego and superego, all developing at different stages in our lives.

These are systems, not parts of the brain, or in any way physical.

Although each part of the personality comprises unique features, they interact to form a whole, and each part makes a relative contribution to an individual's behaviour.

THE ID

The id is the primitive and instinctive component of personality. It consists of all the inherited (i.e. biological) components of personality present at birth, including the sex (life) instinct – Eros (which contains the libido), and the aggressive (death) instinct - Thanatos.

The id is the impulsive (and unconscious) part of our psyche which responds directly and immediately to the instincts. 

The personality of the newborn child is all id and only later does it develop an ego and super-ego.

THE EGO

The ego is 'that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world.'

(Freud [1923], 1961, p. 25)

The ego develops in order to mediate between the unrealistic id and the external real world. It is the decision making component of personality. Ideally the ego works by reason, whereas the id is chaotic and totally unreasonable.

The ego operates according to the reality principle, working out realistic ways of satisfying the id’s demands, often compromising or postponing satisfaction to avoid negative consequences of society. The ego considers social realities and norms, etiquette and rules in deciding how to behave.

Like the id, the ego seeks pleasure (i.e. tension reduction) and avoids pain, but unlike the id the ego is concerned with devising a realistic strategy to obtain pleasure. The ego has no concept of right or wrong; something is good simply if it achieves its end of satisfying without causing harm to itself or to the id.

THE SUPEREGO

The superego incorporates the values and morals of society which are learned from one's parents and others. It develops around the age of 3 – 5 during the phallic stage of psychosexual development. 

The superego's function is to control the id's impulses, especially those which society forbids, such as sex and aggression. It also has the function of persuading the ego to turn to moralistic goals rather than simply realistic ones and to strive for perfection.

The superego consists of two systems: The conscience and the ideal self. The conscience can punish the ego through causing feelings of guilt. For example, if the ego gives in to the id's demands, the superego may make the person feel bad through guilt.

The ideal self (or ego-ideal) is an imaginary picture of how you ought to be, and represents career aspirations, how to treat other people, and how to behave as a member of society.

http://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html

Group Meeting

To do list for tomorrow:

• Go to 3D workshop ask about materials & infrastructure
• Email peter to find a room with a projector 
• Test shots
• Look at potential spaces 
• Play around
• Most physical stuff
• Meeting at 11am tomorrow 

Continue with research throughout the week. Look at ID, ego & super ego. 

FREUDS THEORY LOOK!!!!!

Talked about writing character profiles to go with our installation. 

Gabie's going to email possible actors, I'm going to post in the Facebook group to ask people.

ID, ego & superego will be our personalities.

Questions to ask Lydia;

• How commonly do your personalities fluctuate?
• Does she define them as characters?
• Is she scared that she doesn't know which personality is her own? how does she define it?
• Does she remember the first time it 'happened'? 
• Does she know why she has it?
• Can you distinguish between each personality, or are they all very different?

I found this image on pinterest and I find it super interesting. I think we could create something like this. This image plays more with mirrors whereas ours will be with material.

I really like the amount of strings and different squares, its very layered and complex.

Tonight I'm going to do some in depth research on Freuds theories and continue watching Me, Myself & Irene. (a film about multiple personality).

Me, Myself & Irene

As part of my research I was looking for films about D.I.D or split personality, one that caught my eye was 'Me, Myself & Irene'. This film is a comedy film starring Rene Zellweger and Jim Carey. Me, Myself & Irene is about 'A nice-guy cop with dissociative identity disorder must protect a woman on the run from a corrupt ex-boyfriend and his associates.' (IMDB)

The main character is called Charlie and his other personality is called Hank. Charlie is a state police man and a genuinely nice guy - bit of a pushover. Hank is a cocky, arrogant jerk. Charlie seems to get pushed around a lot but is too polite to say anything, so it seems as if Hank expresses all of Charlie's suppressed emotions. Hank is extremely confrontational whereas Charlie tends to shy away from conflict.
Charlie's wife cheats on him and leaves him, perhaps this trauma is what started the D.I.D. Instead of dealing with the anger and sadness he ignores it and tries to carry on with his normal life.

Throughout the film it becomes more apparent that Hank is extremely aware of Charlie, but Charlie doesn't seem to understand Hank very much, at one point in the film Hank says 'I stay out of his business and he stays out of mine', showing the understanding they have towards each other.
Towards the end of the film Charlie is extremely aware of Hank and even has a physical fight against him (even though he is punching himself). Charlie manages to gain control over Hank and make him disappear. 

After watching this film I thought about showing how my characters/personalities in my project are aware of each other? perhaps with some side ways glances or conflict between them, I thought it could be interesting - as if they were battling each other for the 'main' personalities attention.

Tutorial with Peter

After our tutorial with Peter i've realised we've got loads to do next week. I'm pretty happy with where we are right now in terms of research & planning. We've got loads of different ideas between us, so i think we should try to narrow it down to one or two to make production easier. Experimentation is vital right now. Use of multiple screen is definitely set in stone now, we are all certain that we will be doing it. An idea we've come up with is projecting onto pieces that are spaced out rather than layered in a line. This means we could be projecting around the room, meaning we'll need a few projectors. I like this idea but I think for it to work all the projections will have to be of the same image & they will have to be synchronised perfectly.

I'm really happy with our group and I'm so excited to start making this project. All the ideas we are throwing around sound so creative and interesting and I really do think we are going to create something amazing!!

Things to do for next week;

• Build a mini model of our installation - Wednesday
• Buy material muslin from boots
• Borrow a projector
• Define the 4 personalities we want to portray
• Ask lydia more in depth questions, try to get a better understanding
• Define & narrow down our ideas

24/11/16 Gallery visits

Today we spent the day going round London and visiting galleries for inspiration. We went to the Tate Modern & The Wellcome Collection at Euston Square. We were supposed to see Donna Huanca's work but couldn't find the place so didn't end up going.

Reflection from today:

• After visiting Bedlam: the asylum and beyond, we thought it could be cool to use masks to represent the different emotions rather than facial expressions. - I really like this idea, I think it would work perfectly with multiple personality.
• At the Tate we found lots of possible ways to suspend our piece (check pictures below), and different types of materials we could potentially use.
• Recorded a sound effect we could use to represent the projector opening and shutting (found at Marina Abromovic 'Rhythm 0') - its the audio of the projector changing each image.
• We found a piece of work that was suspended perfectly from the ceiling (pics below). So I think we should star experimenting with wire & materials.

I really liked the way this piece by Cristina Iglesias was set up. It's hung using really thin pieces of wire coming from the ceiling. I think we should use very thin pieces of wire for our piece so that it isn't obvious. I want our piece to feel as if its floating in the room.

 I really like this please interact sign and I think we should put one next to our piece, but one that says please look around, but don't touch, just in case someone breaks our construction.

We found a room full of suspended projections, I took some pictures of how they were hung but the flash ruined the pictures. There were a few different ways of projecting/ suspending. I really like the way the artwork in the first image is presented. It was hung with wires from above and there was also wires underneath. It has speakers either side to project the sound. This piece was projected onto glass, which we talk about potentially using, but we realised how difficult it would be to use for multiple screens. The simplest form of projection was the bottom piece, it was just projecting straight onto the wall. Our piece will require something more complex than this.

I found a piece of art work that was painted onto material (silk screen print on canvas), which I thought was interesting to look at for potential material. The material was very thick and heavy, which means it probably wouldn't work for our piece, I don't think you would be able to see the projection through it.

Primary Research - Lydia

I put a Facebook statues asking if anyone knew anyone or was willing to openly talk about split personality disorder and a girl I went to school with messaged me saying she is living with it.

Here's what she said:

• Conversation started today
• 

  18:40
  

  Lydia 
  

  
  

  
  

  Surprising enough I actually suffer with split personality disorder!!
• 

  18:41
  

  Jess 
  

  
  

  
  

  yeah?

  
  

  that's interesting!! so basically i'm doing a project on it for uni, do u think you'd maybe be able to explain it? like how it works etc? x
• 

  18:56
  

  Lydia 
  

  
  

  
  

  You know what it's actually really bloody difficult too live with, I never really understood it until a few years ago when I was actually diagnosed, it's pretty hard to control also, Like some days I'll be completely fine like no one will know, but for me when I have been triggered which could be anything from like an argument or just waking up and being completely different, Like when I swap over I turn into a very very spaced out person, it makes me feel like everything I'm living is fake nothing really seems real, it feels like I'm living in a dream world and from what mum has said she notices when I've changed but I don't always realise I'm doing it, I get really on edge, very violent and also my voice changes, in my head I feel younger and also act childish without realise as too the way I don't understand people's emotions one day but the next day I'll understand completely, even some days it's gets SO bad that I can sometimes forget the existence of my real self, it makes me depressed and also feel lonely because I feel like I'm not myself, and it also triggered my eating disorder because I focus so bad in trying to come back too the reality. It's affected me in holding a job because one day I'm really on point and can focus and then next day I swap back too the side of a younger girl with a majority of problems and end up failing and walking out, which has made me loose 3 jobs infact, then the next day I'll be back too normal, it's kind of a hard things to explain without seeing me one day and seeing me when I switch, but the 2 sides of me seem too be the normal me who can hold down a job can cope with everyday situation and the other side of me is very very young and can't cope with anything, it's caused me too take 15 overdoses in the space of 2 years due too the stress it's caused not only too me but also my family, im starting too too do counselling too help me cope, but honestly itnlike the worst thing ever, I can't even explain the shit that goes on in my head, but I can say it makes me perceive life very very differently, But idk what sorta questions you wanna ask but go ahead I'm willing to answering anything :) it's a difficult thing too basically write down what it does too me x
• 

  19:01
  

  Jess 
  

  
  

  
  

  wow that explanation was amazing, will you be okay with me using it as research? i'm so sorry to hear how badly it's been effecting you 😞 i really hope counselling helps you and helps you feel more in control that must be terrifying. I'm just wondering like when u change do u feel like a completely different person, or deep down do you know it's still you?
• 

  19:19
  

  Lydia 
  

  
  

  
  

  Yes thats absolutely fine :) I hope it's helped I do too:( it's been a really difficult few years If I'm honest not just for me but people around me, Like when I change I don't realise it until I'm coming out of it, I feel like a completely different person, it takes a while too come back too reality, then when I'm back to normal it all feels as if I've been in a dream, just repeats and repeats over and over and it makes me feel so confused!! X

  
  

  
  

  I asked Lydia if she would be happy to answer more questions and she said she'd be more than willing, so I am going to make her the subject for my primary research. Its interesting that Lydia has split personality, she had a pretty traumatic time when we were in school - which is usually one of the leading causes of split personality. Her father died when she was around11/12 and she's battled an eating disorder for as long as I can remember, I wonder if these factors have contributed to her multiple personalities? Knowing Lydia personally and being a similar age to her is exactly what I need for this project. Instead of researching online and finding points of view from mainly adults, I want to have an understanding of how its affecting somebody my audiences age. This will give the piece more depth and potentially make it more relatable.

Artist research

I'm really interested by Donna Huanca's work. I think she was good to research because we have spoken about theatrical performance & even sculpture work for our piece.

I particularly like that her work focuses on skin & the human body, It feels very personal. 

Tomorrow we are going to see Donna Huanca's work, we are seeing the Zabludowicz Collection! 

Timeout.com wrote this about the exhibition;

'They move around this old chapel in ultra slow-mo, smooshing their bodies into panes of glass, leaving smears of paint behind. At one end of the room there’s a three-storey glass structure, which the models clamber through and lie in. At the other end, there’s a wooden platform covered with speakers, throbbing with an endless drone. In the centre there’s a big white sandpit covered in footsteps. Thick incense fills the air, sound shakes the windows. 

You can watch from the safety of the mezzanine above, but you’d be missing the point. Stay downstairs, be confronted by the nudity, the achingly slow movements, the stillness in the air, the scent, the noise. It’s heart-racingly weird to stand there as the performers walk past you, lost in their dazes. It’s so removed from a normal everyday experience that it’s almost transcendental for you too.' (http://www.timeout.com/london/art/donna-huanca#tab_panel_3)

I'm really excited to see this piece, i've never seen 'live' art before.

http://www.arttherapyblog.com/featured/artist-harli-tree-from-england-with-multiple-personalities-dissociative-identity-disorder/#.WDXZnHeca3U

LATC Harli Tree Exhibition from Arttherapy Centre on Vimeo.

Sunny found an artist called Harli Tree who actually has D.I.D. Her work is featured at the London Art Therapy Centre (perhaps somewhere we could visit).

I find this image extremely interesting, it's quite similar to how we are imagining our piece at this point. The use of the same face, but slightly different and getting more blurred as it fades out. I also really like that the 'main' or middle mask/face is a different and lighter colour to the rest- maybe we could play around with colour when filming, or in post to re-create this. I'm really drawn to the purple, its an extremely calming colour.

22/11/16 THINGS TO DO & GROUP MEETING

Group Meeting

• Sent out casting call 
• Discussed ethics - need to research
• Following Peter's feed back- filming body not just face, trying to be more ambitious
• Planned trips
• Discuss audio - ambient piece
• After visiting the freud museum tomorrow we will decide on the personalities we want to portray

HOMEWORK

• contact people- Facebook statuses, look for charities/support groups 
• Research people we are going to see at the exhibitions- go to gabies plan for thursday
• Fabric shopping
• Actors - casting
• Logo design - ask josh

Casting Call: