Week 10 Project Concept + Process
Project Concept：
What is first love?
In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the first person one loves in a romantic way is explained as the first love.
At the bottom of the explanation, the phrase “You never forget your first love. This is an indication of the importance of first love in people’s minds.
In the course of my research, I also realised that the place of first love in people’s hearts is unshakable. However, each person does have a different definition of first love. Lang Leav says “your first love isn’t the first person you give your heart to-it’s the first one who breaks it.” Benjamin Disraeli says “The magic of first love is our ignorance that it can never end.” A thousand people have a thousand interpretations of first love, some people think of the first person they fell in love with as their first love, perhaps a youthful crush, others think of the first relationship as their first love, and still others think of the first person they really, truly, deeply fell in love with. I think that’s what makes this theme so fascinating, because everyone has this unforgettable story.
Why is first love always particularly memorable?
As the famous quote says: “First love never dies.”
Love as a romantic relationship affects our consciousness, our lives and our relationships. And first love is undoubtedly the most important and memorable relationship in everyone’s heart. The memory of the person we love never dies, as this memory as well lives on in our hearts and thoughts. The very mention of him/her conjures up a picture in our minds that takes our thoughts back to those wonderful times. So, why is first love so unforgettable?
First love is simple, beautiful and not based on any interest factor
The first love of a young boy or girl is the ’emergence’ of love, not sex per se, it is often a one-sided, psychological, emotional love, a pure psychological love. This psychological love is often heavily tinged with fantasy, unrealistic and fragile. It is like a fun game that leaves an affectionate and sweet memory (Baidu Encyclopedia).
The first love of a teenage boy or girl is pure adoration, a spiritual, unreserved and uncritical affection.
Love in adulthood, on the other hand, tends to take into account practical considerations and weigh up the pros and cons.
First love is the foundation of all relationships and leaves an imprint on the brain
Cognitive scientists at MIT explain that we experience a peak in processing and memory around the age of 18, which is when we experience many firsts, including our first love (NEUROPSYCH – MARCH 21, 2022).
Jefferson Singer, a psychologist who specialises in autobiographical memory, says that most people experience a ‘memory shock’ between the ages of 15 and 26. This memory shock occurs when we experience various firsts (driving a car, having sex, falling in love, etc.). Later in life, these memories tend to be more influential because they occur when our memory is at its peak (NEUROPSYCH – MARCH 21, 2022).
First love has a lasting effect on subsequent relationships
Reported to April Davis, a matchmaker and founder of LUMA (Luxury Matchmaking), first love is often felt so strongly that some people think they love their first love more than others. They will long for the strong feelings they had in their past relationships and look for them in everyone they meet. When they cannot find it, they may find themselves wanting to rekindle their old love with their ex (Nikka Celeste, 2023).
Why did I choose ‘first love’ as the theme?
Project Process：
Constructing connections between artworks:
Falling in love is a long process, and while there is no conventional time frame for falling in love, there are different stages of falling in love. Through a mixture of physical and emotional indicators, it is fascinating to note that this core emotion can be broken down into five different stages: Stage 1: Butterflies. Stage 2: Building, Stage 3: Assimilation, Stage 3: Assimilation, Stage 4: Honesty, Stage 5: Stability.” So, I wanted to express the different stages of the relationship process through artwork, but not according to these five stages.
Firstly, I placed the artwork ‘Love Letter’ at the beginning of the exhibition. As love letters are the most common way of expressing one’s love to one’s beloved, I thought this would be the beginning of first love.
Secondly, I will be exhibiting ‘Love You’, a photographic work that captures the artist on a date. Dating is a very important part of a couple’s relationship. In the early stages of love, young boys and girls look forward to meeting and spending time with their sweethearts on a date. So, after a relationship is established in a “love letter”, dating happens immediately afterwards.
I will then present the illustration ‘Embracing in the Snow’. This work was inspired by the Japanese drama ‘First Love’, in which the hero and heroine embrace. I wanted to use this piece to represent the stage of passionate love, where couples are already engaged in intimate behaviour.
Then ‘Take My Tears’ was shown, which is a reflection of the artist’s thoughts on the emotions of sadness in intimate relationships. The artist found that sometimes boys and girls are unable to understand each other’s emotions and needs when something happens. Most of the time, girls are used to crying to express their feelings. The next stage in the passionate love period would be the bonding between the couple, a period where there is a lot of arguing, crying and so on, so I placed this work in this stage.
The next piece on display is ‘I Love You’. This piece expresses the idea that “the more I love you, the more I lose myself until I disappear” through images, expressing the idea that most couples lose themselves more and more as time goes by. I think this is also a time of introspection and calmness for couples after constant arguments, when many will think seriously about the relationship, yet this is also the time when people find themselves unable to let go of the relationship, also because they have become attached to each other.
Finally, I will present the interview piece ‘Let Me Go’. This is a piece I have made where I interviewed different people about their first love and listened to their first love stories. By watching the video interviews, the viewer can feel that it has reached the stage of letting go. Therefore, I have placed this artwork at the end of the exhibition.
Reference list :
1.Bell, J. (2022, March 22). The life-long psychological effects your first love has on you. Big Think. Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/psychological-first-love/
2.Celeste, N. (2023, January 11). What’s The psychology behind first love? Psychreg. Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://www.psychreg.org/psychology-first-love/
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