Manifesto Evaluation

When I first began this project I thought that I would be looking into gender and identity. I began looking at theorists such as Judith Butler and artists such as Iris Ray. I set up a photoshoot and really liked the outcome of my images, but I quickly realised after subsequently changing my idea for context of practice, that I wasn't going anywhere with this part of the project.

I began then thinking about what was really important to me and from there I began looking at feminism and inequality. I wanted my work to be based on real life experiences and it was a conversation in a tutorial to look into an artist called Laura Pannack. Focusing on Brexit Laura creates really moving images of two people in love who are at risk of being torn apart by brexit. I really liked how she used a barrier in her images as a metaphor of them being taken away or blocked from seeing their loved ones. I began thinking about how I could relate this to my work and found that using this type of symbolism could be really beneficial in my work.

Using a female muse I shot multiple images with a sheet over her head. A metaphor for female oppression, the act of being weighed down and like in Laura Pannack’s work a barrier and lack of freedom. I used this series of images for my ‘Silhouette’ book project for the warehouse space. Although I was not making any massive sculptures or pieces like other people from my group, I felt as though for me a more intimate way of working was most appropriate. It gave me the opportunity to really understand how I want my work to be seen and the impact this has on others.Sat on a desk in the corner of the room I began making my very personal handmade book. I used materials brought in and began exploring different ways of making my book. I decided upon printing my images on acetate and placing white card in between the sheets creating a very inventive way of viewing a book. I wanted it to be different to anything I have ever done or even seen done before. I also decided that I would explore other artistic avenues by designing my front cover myself. Sketching out my image was probably the most challenging part for me as I wanted it to be perfect and feel natural within the piece of work. After warehouse week I had the opportunity to take my work to the next level. I enjoyed being able to experiment making a book but I felt for the next idea I would like the book professionally made.

Over easter break I began what was to be my final idea for my project based on feminism. The break also gave me the freedom and time to travel back to London where I could take my images for my new idea. I wanted my work to be based on different generations views on feminism. I particularly wanted them to be based on the views of my family as I thought I could learn and engage with my family on a different level than I could before. I decided that I would interview three members of my family, my nan, grandad and my mum. I liked the idea of having both a generations perspective but also a male female perspective too. When it came to the interviews I knew I had to pre plan my questions or I would forget the most important topics. Heading in to a small room with a single member of the family in an interview style is a surprisingly daunting experience. I began by starting my voice recorder so I could listen back and analyze the conversation as well as use it to type up my responses. It was a challenging experience interviewing as it is not something I had really dabbled in aside from the odd personality questionnaire during primary school. But it was definitely a rewarding experience. After my interviews I began taking pictures of my family as naturally as I could. Although hard to miss me running around with my camera my family did great at just acting natural and chatting away between themselves. With inspiration from the works of Sian Davey’s Martha I tried to take intimate portraits with natural lighting. Also the books, Pictures of my family by Larry Sultan and Ray’s a laugh by Richard Billingham were major influences.

After getting my film developed and scanning for hours. I was over the moon with the quality of most of my pictures. I felt as though they really captured the personalities of my family members. I began then sorting them and whittling them down to my favorite images, which was quite difficult. In indesign I began creating my book. I initially was going for a square format hardcover book but changed my mind last minute. When I had decided upon using A4 portrait I looked into some magazines. I looked at both Vogue and Amature Photographer to see the different layouts and styles they have. Most important to me was how they designed their interviews and what kind of images they put alongside the text. After many hours of moving things around and changing layouts and fonts I finally decided on my final design. I printed a rough copy off my printer at home, made slight adjustments and sent off for a professionally made brochure/ magazine at a company called Doxzoo who I used to print the paper for my books last year. I recently received them in the post and although I am extremely happy with the outcome I would change many things about it. However, I try not to dwell and I am extremely happy with how my project turned out. I will hopefully continue this type of project again as I really loved the interviewing and designing side of things, alongside taking the photos.