For my practical response I am going to explore the theme of youth, particularly the identity of young people and how this is can be presented abstractly. Being young is a mutual experience shared by everyone and so I want to create a body of work that resonates with people but presented using a less traditional, obvious method.
'we are family'
'We Are Family' is an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery showcasing work that explores the variations between families across the UK. The series was taken by British photographer Sian Davey who provides a thoughtful insight into the dynamics of one of the most integral structures within society. The portraits document family meal times specifically, capturing people unposed and relaxed in a setting familiar to them. I liked Davey's use of natural light to frame aspects of her photos and so will try and apply this when producing my response to my brief. The people featured in the images also appear unaware or uninterested in the camera's presence producing a pure and genuine reflection of family life. When responding to my brief I wish to present an honest depiction of teenagers and so will encourage people to be uninhibited by the camera.
Response one
Addriene salinger
Salinger's series 'In My Room' takes an insightful look inside the bedrooms of teenagers in the 90s. Her aim when capturing the images was to challenge stereotypes presented in the media at the time that reduced young people down to categories. Salinger saw the importance of the transitional period of adolescence and wanted to prove that young people had their own individual identities. When taking the pictures Salinger would spend about six hours with each person, two of these hours was spent interviewing them, collecting their stories. Reading the interviews alongside the photo of each teen makes the series far more personal, the judgment you make when looking at one of the photos is often forgotten by the time you've read their words. This was an important aim for Salinger, she wanted to prove that teenagers are more than the stereotype you may attribute to them. In an interview with i-D she says "These are people. The way teenagers are reduced to a one-liner is such an error in the way we look at things".
Salinger's series is striking. This is partially due to the intensely decorated bedrooms of the teens captured in the images, posters adorn wall and ceiling and bright paint covers every other visible surface. You are forced to stare curiously at each image, panning slowly so as not to miss anything. For my first response to my brief I want my images to captivate viewers in the way Salinger's work does. To do this I will frame my photos in a similar way with the room being central focus but having the young person present, interacting with their environment in some way so as to appear natural and unposed.
my response
The first response to my brief looks at young people in an environment familiar and personal to them, their room. How a person chooses to design their room is an immediate form of self-expression, giving those that see it an insight into the personality of the owner. My series looks at the identities of young people by documenting their rooms and how this varies between people.
selects
edits
Amy, 17
Isabel, 16
Tabitha, 17
Reuben, 14
Alice, 17 and Emma, 15
evaluation
I think I was able to successfully capture the rooms of the young people, giving viewers a clear picture of who the person it belongs to might be. However, I don't think that having people sat in their rooms necessarily contributes anything to the picture other than putting a face to the place. It may have been more effective to have just photographed the rooms and left the young people anonymous, forcing viewers to think more imaginatively about who lives there. Some of the images also look very posed which defeats my aim of replicating the natural, comfortable atmosphere in Sian Davey's work. To combat this I could have taken the photos in a more informal setting as people may have felt more at ease.
response two
my response
The second response to my brief looks at objects people feel represent them or that they value. This had a similar aim to my first response, to explore the identities of young people and how they present them. Although I wanted it to be clear what the objects were I also wanted to photograph them in a way that makes them slightly ambiguous at first by playing with angles and light.
selects
edits
Isabel, 16
Tabitha, 17
Alice, 17
Emma, 15
Evaluation
I think I was successful in photographing the objects abstractly and I was able to increase their ambiguity by putting them in black and white and increasing the contrast. However, I think that the images are uninteresting individually and would be more effective if paired with other images such as the pictures of people's rooms. I could do this on photoshop or by hand using a collage method.
response three
my response
I used our trip to Berlin as an opportunity to photograph young people in the city hoping to draw comparisons and similarities between them and youth in other countries. This response examines the way people choose to present themselves through clothing and how they interact with others and the environment.
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evaluation
I was successful in photographing people naturally, unaware of the camera and so uninhibited. However, this response is very literal and so does not link to my brief which is to explore young people and their identity abstractly. To improve this so it adheres more to my brief I could use a less rigid photographic approach such as zooming into peoples faces or producing a double exposure, layering pictures of different individuals on top of each other. I should also include images of young people from different countries so people are able to see any comparisons or similarities.
response four
my response
My fourth response contains images from a 'Reclaim the Night' march which was protesting violence against women, particularly the abuse they face when walking streets at night. It was a women's only march and majority of the participants were teenagers. I felt it was important to capture the active involvement young people have in politics and important social issues as they are often dismissed as being uninterested, which is far from the truth.
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evaluation
To improve I should have brought a tripod as the march took place at night and so I needed a longer exposure resulting in some of the images appearing blurry. I should have also taken more portraits of the young women taking part as well as possible filming short clips to capture the atmosphere.
development one
For this development I combined the photos I took of young people in their rooms and the objects they selected that represented them to form three collages. The aim was to create a single image that encompassed key features of a person's identity. I chose to do this by hand as opposed to on photoshop as I felt it gave me more freedom and flexibility in arranging the different components.
evaluation
I think I was successful in creating the collages. I incorporated the separate images in a complimentary way and presented the identity of each person. If I was to develop this further I would plan each composition more in advance. I would think more in depth about the scale I want for each image, the complimentary shapes and colours and how I can communicate the identity of each person visually. I would also incorporate relevant images and quotes from magazines and newspapers to create a more general presentation of youth culture.
development two
For the second development I'm going to take portraits of my grandad and project them into rooms and onto objects in his house. This is an alternate method to collaging but with a similar aim- to contain elements of a person's identity in one photo. I'm going to put the portraits in black and white as it will emphasise his features as well as making the images more visible when projected. I photographed my grandad to present how identity and what we feel represents us changes as we age. It will provide a contrast when compared with the images of teenagers.
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evaluation
I was able to successfully project the portraits onto objects personal to my Granddad. The coupling of the photo and item created a visible symbol of an element of his personality, communicating with the viewer an idea about who he is without the need for words. I am going to repeat this task focussing on different people, particularly teenagers to return to the key theme of youth.
I think the images where in which his face is distorted, such as the one above, are the most effective in terms of appearing to be abstract. I also like the way in which the portrait seems to become part of the environment- a physical representation of how our hobbies, likes and dislikes amalgamate to form our identity. I am going to try and apply this same technique of distorting the portraits in my next development.
further development
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evaluation
I found taking self-portraits more difficult than images of other people as I was more critical of the images of myself and it required me to reflect on my identity and how I express it. For both the images of myself and my friend I need to project them onto more interesting surfaces instead of flat walls in order to distort the faces to create a more interesting, abstract composition.
Development three
For my third development I am going to project images from my childhood and of family members onto myself. The aim is to demonstrate that experiences and people have a large impact on the formation of a person's identity by presenting the past intertwined with who I am today. The pictures will be distorted when projected onto parts of my body however I will emphasis this by changing my position, blocking and framing particular elements.
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evaluation
Projecting images onto a body allowed me to distort them more compared to when it was onto a wall or objects resulting in more abstract pictures. However, it was difficult using the camera on a timer as I was not always in shot or the image was not visible, if I repeated this response I would use a remote release to make the process easier.
final piece
One reason adolescence is such a significant time is because it is when people begin to explore who they are and form an identity. Taking self-portraits made me reflect on who I am and what I feel has shaped my identity. For my final piece I am going to compile different elements that have contributed to the formation of my identity such as images from my childhood. I will print these onto acetate and arrange them around a light so shadows are cast on surrounding surfaces in a similar way to 'Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View' by Cornelia Parker (seen below).
Cornelia Parker is a British sculpture renowned for her large scale installations. 'Cold Dark Matter' is a collection of the contents of an exploded shed. The debris is suspended as if caught mid-explosion and a light at the centre casts shadows onto the surrounding walls. In an interview with the Tate Parker describes a shed as being "a safe place... of secrets and fantasy... where a personal history of objects no longer in use – but not quite finished with – is stored". A likeness can therefore be drawn between the concept of a shed and identity. The external walls represent how a person presents themselves to people around them and the contents-old tools, toys, clothes and books are memories, experiences, thoughts and opinions. By blowing up the shed Parker is revealing it's private, personal contents, revealing what has been hidden or forgotten. The objects appear to be frozen in time encouraging attention to be paid to each component, representing memories and experiences, before the explosion resumes and they are lost forever.
The acetate prints will be different shapes and sizes ranging from A5 to A3 to create more interesting and varied patterns of shadows and to highlight how multiple different components contribute to a person's identity. The hanging pieces will be made by sticking two acetate sheets together, one blank and one with the printed image. A small strip of perspex at the bottom between the sheets will act as a weight to prevent the images from curling or folding when suspended. I will use nylon thread to hang each image, it will be colourless to prevent it interfering with the images and create the illusion that each photo is floating. Initially I was going to use three hoops of decreasing size and connect them using thick strips of plastic however the school technician was able to cut a structure out of wood which will provide the strength needed to hold the prints. I will attach the images using a staple gun so they fall at different heights around the light.
I found it was necessary for me to create a more detailed plan for this project compared to ones I have done in the past due to the scale and complexity. Making a prototype for the acetate prints enabled me to work out the best way to hang them so they were supported in an efficient but subtle way. It was also useful to have drawings and the printed contact sheets as it helped me visualise separate elements as well as gain an idea as to how the completed structure would look. Above are contact sheets used to plan which images to use and how to display them as well as simple diagrams of the original structure. The prototype for the acetate prints can also be seen that I based the design off of. For the exam unit I am going to plan to the same extent that I did for this project as as it reduced the amount and severity of problems I faced.
My final piece can be seen above however I was unable to hang it and secure the light so will update the images when this has been done.
evaluation
I was well organised, creating plans and diagrams, which meant that I was faced with only minor problems when constructing my final piece. I feel as though I successfully explored the key theme of identity, particularly in relation to myself and the elements that combine to form who I am. However, my response is too literal and to improve I would try and explore my identity in a more abstract way perhaps through manipulating the images in a dark room or by exploring the less obvious components that make up an individual. There were also issues with some of the practicalities, for example some of the acetate prints had begun falling off the nylon thread. I used double-sided glue dots which may not be strong enough to support the prints and so I may need to apply super glue to prevent them from falling.