Internship

Today was my first day as an intern at the Société Jersiaise Archives. I am undergoing a 6 week internship (over the course of half term). The idea of the internship is to spend a couple of hours each week down at the archives, in order to aid my studies for my Personal Study project.

I am working with the Société Jersiaise Photographic Archivist Gareth Syvret. He is assisting and guiding me in my studies and providing me with resources the archive has to offer with relevance to Le Feuvre family.

Review

This first session was very much an introduction to the course of the six week internship.

To begin with Gareth showed me a copy of two photographic books. The first book was by French photographer Camille Silvy who took portraits of around 17,000 people in London during the Victorian Period. For comparative purposes Gareth then showed me another collection of photographs, this time by Scottish born Jersey based portrait photographer William Collie. Gareth explained the difference in the two photographers in how they documented their work. While Silvy made his photographs in chronological order with specific dates and a coding system to organise the archival documentation of what was made, Coille was perhaps more artistic in his approach – ordering the pages of his album in terms of status order in which the highest status individuals in Coille’s opinion is at the front of the album, descending down in terms of wealth, power and importance as the book progressive – On reflection whilst it can be argued that Slyvie’s is a collection of images is simply an objective documentation of who lived in London at the time, Coille’s collection on the other hand can be viewed more subjectively from a socio-political stance, his own artistic interpretation being used possibly to challenge and drew questions surrounding the nature of class division within 19th Century Jersey Society.

After this introduction to how the archives operates, we then sat down at the Archive Database in an attempt to uncover archival information about my Grandfather. After a few minutes it was apparent that  we couldn’t find much out about my Grandfather. We instead decided to find out information about his father, Francis Vibert Le Feuvre.

A lot more information about this ancestor (my Great -Grandfather) could be sourced. It was revealed that my Grandfather was born in St Peter, Jersey – 1871. In a short space of time we found a stack of archival material relating to my Great Grandfather and other members of his family. In total we found  the following;

• 4 Census records, ranging from 1881-1911.

• The Resigration Card of Francis Vibert Le Feuvre (Ordered)
• The Will of Francis Vibert Le Feuvre (Ordered)
• List of Jersey Jurats 1665-1972

• Group Portrait of Francis with fellow Jurats in 1910

• Documentation of Francis’ membership in the Societe-Jersiaise 1933

• Group portrait (potentially) of three of Francis’ son Phillip, Edward and Jack – need to check authenticity

Quick Biography of Francis V. Le Feuvre

1. From what we have gathered he was the son of Philip and Ester Le Feuvre from St Ouens.
2. Born in 1872 or 1873.
3. Philip died some point in the period of 1881-91 – lived alone with mother Ester in St. Ouens.
4. Francis began to work as a farmer at around the age of 18 (as shown on the 1891 St Ouen’s Census).
5. Married  Lydia Vibert in 1903.
6. (According to 1911 Census) 5 children; Jack (not mentioned on Census), Dorothy (7), Enid (6), Edward (3) and Edna (1).  His mother, Ester Le Feuvre and aunt Elize Le Blancq + 2 servants also lived with the family.
7. Occupations: Farmer ( Listed 1891 + 1911), General Merchant (Listed 1901)  + Chief de Police = Honorary Police Force (Listed 1911).
8.  My Grandfather born 1921 – youngest of 9 children.
9. Became ‘Jure-Justicier de la Cour Royale’ (Jurat of the Royal Court) in 1931.
10. Died 1952 (age 79).

Evaluation

I found this research to be extremely useful and interesting. I have seen first hand the effectiveness of using archival material to get accurate and clear evidence. It is also very interesting to see this evidence directly – documents from the past have a certain haunting presence to them, the sense of re-animating the past into the present. The document which I found particularity interesting were the series of 3 Census’ which Gareth uncovered, ranging from 1881-1911. It was really fascinating to see this Census document because it showed direct evidence of the ages, occupational and status of my ancestors. Which family members (and others) lived in the family home at particular times is a useful indication of how the structure of the family unit operate at different times, and thus how various circumstances effected this.

“Why would you photograph in black-and-white if the world is in colour?”

“My work, in one way is rooted in reality but on the other level it is all about fantasy.”

Biography

Julian Germain, born in London, 1962 started photography at age 18, taking it up as an extra O Level option at his Sixth Form College. Germain became inspired by the work and practise of his photography teacher, known for his eccentric and subsersive artistic nature. As Germain describes, “he was the first person who got me interested in art and using creativity to get your message across”

Germain then when on to study photography at Trent Polytechnic in Nottingham and the Royal College of Art in London.  During this time he became interested in the work of a variety of photographers including, Paul Strand (Time in New England), Robert Frank (The Americans), Gary Winningram (The Animals), Nan Goldin (Ballard of Sexual Dependency), and Chris Killip (Isle of Man: A Book about the Manx).

Germain’s style is very poetic and metaphorical. I would regard his style as something in between formal and vernacular photography. He is one of the earlier colour photographers in Britain and contributed greatly to the transition of British Art and Photography in the 1990s, along with other artists including Richard Billigham, Tracey Enimem and Damien Hirst. He is perhaps however, not as recognised as some of these artists, but nevertheless credible and noted greatly for his contribution.

He regards himself as a documentary portrait photograph, working with subjects to create a narrative on different themes and subjects. Interestingly, he was one of the editors of Richard Billigham’s extremely famous ‘Rays a Laugh’.

Here is a list and brief overview of different publications by Germain.

‘Steel Works’ (1986-90)

In this series Germain looks at the post-industrialisation of Britain in the period of the early 1990s. The series  is a look of the effects of Thatcherite Britain (1979-1990) on the working class. The series presents combination of Germain’s own photographs, alongside historical images and pictures from various sources including family albums. It examines the effects of the closure of Consett steelworks as well as broader issues of post industrialisation.

“I was photographing something which wasn’t there”

“I collected pictures on the way. I realised that they were just as much a part of Consett as my pictures were”

Soccer Wonderland’(1994)

Soccerland is a photo-book exploring the theme of ammeter football. It is an extensive look at all aspects of the sports: players, fans, community involvement, groundsmen, park football, football games, traditional history, local rivalry etc.

“Germain offers his audience a multi-layered view of the subject of football. Like a good piece of drama, we are encouraged to consider the subject from a range of different perspectives – we can for example choose at any one time to empathise with the young football fan obsessed with her hero or that of the football “widow” immortalised in her red and white garden.” –

Brett Rogers, In Soccer Wonderland exhibition catalogue, the British Council, 1995.

Face of the Century ‘1999’

A series of chronologically sequenced portraits of 101 individuals, commencing with a 100 year old, ending with a newly born baby.

“Very nice and easy to do”

“I just hung around on street corners. I would just stop people”

Classroom Portraits ‘2004’

This ongoing series began began in schools in North East England in 2004 and was extended to schools throughout the UK the following year. Since 2005 the archive has grown to include schools from North and South America, Europe and the Middle East. The children are photographed in their classrooms oppose to the whole-school portraits which does not actually reveal anything about the classroom.

“I wanted this be be an examination of the school”

“I wanted to challenge traditional school photography”

“It is a unification of different cultures”

Generations

Generations was inspired by Germain’s previous ‘Face of the Century’ project, engaging with similar themes concerning the life cycle, the ageing process, human biology, characteristics and questions of nature and nurture. It specifically and sequentially records direct biological lines of descent.

“I wanted to show a clean, genetic line”

“The clothes of the different generations are wonderful, they add to the story a lot”

“Nature and nurture come together in this project in a really beautiful way”

For every minute of anger you loose sixty seconds of happiness ‘2005’

A series of photographs made over 8 years of the quiet, contemplative existence of Charles ‘Charlie’ Snelling, an elderly widowed man living alone in a small house in Portsmouth. Charlie was an elderly shopkeeper selling plants. Germain visted the shop in 1992 and befriended him. He visited he over the course off 8 years, photographing him during this time.

Charlie died in 2000. Germain then went through all the images he took of Charlie, and in 2005 produced a book and exhibition.

“he showed me some photo albums. I was very touched by the way he photographed his wife – very intimate, open and totally unpretentious.”

“I visited Charlie off and on, occasionaly for about 8 years.”

“I wasn’t working towards anything, I was going to see Charlie.”

“I loved the way he dealt with the world.”

“Charlie would leave little notes to let customers know where he was – he would save the notes and use them for another time.”

“One of Charlie’s notes inspired the title of the project. He had a a lot of wisdom did Charlie.”

“I monumented the photo-album. They are such an important part of all our lives so I thought it was an appropriate thing to do.”

I found these two talks by Julian Germain to be very interesting and helpful in finding out more about him.

“….‘For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness’ is a template model for what critical engagement should try to achieve in our day and age: forget the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ and provide examples of people who operate in a different forcefield. People who are not grasping, not filled with self-importance and not embittered, people with a profound understanding of who they are and what they stand for, something that cuts across all cultures.”   – Hans Aarsman

Background

‘For every minute of anger you lose sixty seconds of happiness’, is a  photo-book made by British photographer Julian Germain, published in 2005. The subject of the photo story is a man named Charles ‘Charlie’ Snelling, an elderly man who owned and lived in a small house/flower shop.

Germain meet Charlie in April, 1992. Germain, on his way to a football match to photograph, stopped into Charlie’s flower shop because he was attracted to its unusual orange and yellow colour. He brought some flowers andd started chatting to Charlie, who inivited Germain to look at some old photos he took of his late wife. Germain stated later on: “I was touched by the way he photographed his wife. It seemed to me to be very intimate, open and totally unpretentious” .

Charlie was an elderly man who lived alone since his wife died. Charlie lived a very simplistic life, with passions for flowers, music, crosswords and photography. Charlie, as Germain remarks “was a simple, gentle man. He loved flowers and surrounded himself with flowers. He loved colour and surrounded himself with colour”. Charlie lived out the last years of hiss life in his small seaside town, a quiet and contemplative existence. He collected flowers and studied the names of flowers, as well as collecting old polaroid snaps he took of his wife ad putting them into colourful photo albums.

Over the course of 8 years, Germain visited Charlie off and on, sometimes a week at a time, and sometimes going months without seeing him. Germain claims that the photographs he took were not for a specific project but meerly for fun, documenting the time he spent with Charlie.  When he died in 2000, Germain started the process of gathering the images he took during his visits to see Charlie. Germain finished this process a few years later and published his final images in 2005, entitled ‘For every minute you are angry you lose sixty second of happiness’, one of Charlie’s regular sayings.

‘For every minute of anger you lose sixty seconds of hapiness’ is considered one of Germain’s most famous series. It is a very personal and inspiring account of his close friendship he gained by chance with Charlie, a shy, quiet old man. Charlie left a personal mark on Germain: “He showed me that the most important things in life cost nothing all all. He was my antidote to modern living”.

Style of Photography

The style of photography by Germain in this book is Vernacular, a deliberately ‘amateur’ appearing, rustic style. Vernacular style photography is done to evoke a raw, subjective mood into images, making them powerful in terms of the mood and feel they evoke not meerly aesthetic considerations. It is quite hard to pull off successfully and requires careful planning/consideration.

Unlike some vernacular photographers such as Richard Billingham (Rays a Laugh), Germain has a much more subtle and considered approach to taking vernacular photographs. In contrast to Billingham for example, Germain will stage his images beforehand, creating his desired composition, whereas Billingham will shot candidly, relying on accidents to make his work interesting.

Overview and Evaluation

Germain’s images in ‘For every minute a anger you lose sixty seconds of happiness’ are very subtle and poetic in what thy convey. It is a sensitive interpretation of a man in his final years of life, living alone but contended in his simplistic way of life. The theme of flowers is a recurring theme in the story and Germain uses it as a basis to tie different directions/themes of the narrative together.

I find the story conveyed in  ‘For every minute a anger you lose sixty seconds of happiness’ to be very entertaining. There is a very natural flow to the storyline, achieved through the subtly of Germain’s style.

The story is very much a retrospective look into Charlie’s past, and the inclusion of archival photographs which Charlie took himself is Germain’s way of representing this concept. Archival images a synonymous with Germain’s style and it is not the first time he has used it. Germain’s use of archival images in this book is something which I can explore for my own study as like the story, mine also incorporates a retrospective look into the past.

Analysis of Images

This photograph is a portrait of Charlie holding two flowers. It is a formal portrait, carefully considered in terms of form and composition. It very much relates to the theme of flowers, a passion of Charlie’s.

The lighting in this image is soft. This is caused by the curtain restricting how much light enters the room, and subsequently diffusing it. The softness of the light makes for a light and positive atmosphere. This mood evoked serves to reflect the optimism which Germain acclaims Charlie to have. It is a very ‘happy’ image, firstly through the mood it evokes and secondly through the direct and confident manner in which Charlie holds up the two flowers. It is clear that Charlie enjoys collecting and looking at flowers, a personal hobby he entertained a great deal of his time with. Therefore this image is very positive because it represents Charlie as happy and enjoying himself.

There is a vibrant and colourful mood created as a result of various different components of the image, such as, the flowers and wallpaper. The colourful atmosphere is visually striking and establishes a sense of depth to the image. The presence of these bright, vibrant colours serves to maintain the positive atmosphere created through the lighting.

The style of this image is very simplistic. This is attainable because of the formal manner in which Germain has considered composition. He has created a sense of structure and order; firstly through positioning the subject in the centre of the frame; secondly through the sense of balance created through holding up the two flowers on either side; and thirdly because of the fact that the image is composed with a clean and minimalist background. These components make for a well balanced and orderly image that nevertheless evokes a strong mood.

This is a still-life image of Charlie’s dresser. In this image is a flower-themed wallpaper, a note by Charlie and an old polaroid snap of Charlie’s late wife.

This photograph incorporates to different contexts, the polaroid snap and the hand written note. This effect is known as ‘layering’ as the photographer is combing two separate objects to create a single image. This makes for a  somewhat complex image as the viewer’s focus is constantly shifting to-and-throw from the different themes. The strong background (orange at the bottom and the flowery pattern at the top) helps to link this to themes together by creating strong visual base.

This polaroid snap of Charlie’s wife is an example of Germain making use of old archival images to enhance his visual narrative of his photographs. He is engaged in the archive in a creative way, photographing the pre-existing images he has, thereby including the image as an aspect of this new, original image. By engaging in the archive in this contemporary manner, the photographer is bringing to life these retrospective themes. On a deeper level, this is interesting because the photograph in question, a portrait of Charlie’s dead wife, is metaphorically being ‘brought back to life’.

The handwritten note is one which Charlie wrote himself as Germain recalls”Charlie would leave little notes to let customers know where he was”. The note therefore is a way of the viewer gaining a sense of the quirky and gregarious nature of Charlie, steep in politeness and tradition. The fact the note is handwritten means that it is very personal. It also gives Charlie as sense of direct input into the photograph because what he has written has gone into the image thus effecting the viewers interpretation of such. Along with the polaroid this image is very much a construction of Charlie input as observed by Germain.

Chance, Challenge and Change

1.Reflect on your previous projects/modules and write and overview of what you learned. Link your chosen area of study to your previous work, knowledge and understanding based upon your chosen theme of FAITH, FAMILY and COMMUNITY. Include examples of previous work to illustrate your thinking.

Part 1 – Chance, Challenge and Change

Our first A2 module was set in June, entitled ‘Chance, Challenge and Change’. For this module we had to explore these three different concepts, using the idea of ‘subversion’, incorporating this idea in our study. The idea was to learn about the idea of ‘Performance in Photography’, making a series of outcomes at the end of the six weeks.

The 2015 Archisle Photographer in Residence Tom Pope worked alongside us in this project. We went to St Malo half-way through the project to see first-hand the type of work that Tom does, whilst making our own responses at the same time. Tom was very much a case study which we used to learn about the core characteristics of the topics.

On reflection I struggled a lot with this topic. I found it quite hard to create ‘performance’ in my work and my overall outcomes were not outstanding. I enjoyed some of the work we did, for example learning about some of the early 20^th Century artists movements such as Dadais, aswell as learning about the work of comtemporary artists/dramatic performers, Remy Gillard and Dynamo. All in all however the work we did I found challenging and it was definitely at steep learning curve.

This was in my opinion, my most creative outcome from this module

Part 2 – Family and Community

I have enjoyed the most recent module a great deal more than the previous.

The concept behind ‘Family and Community’ was to study these two themes and then make a series of responses related to one of the two. Before this however we looked at a mini-topic entitled ‘Documentary Photography and Photojournalism: Standards and Ethics’. In this project we looked at definition/principle of photojournalism, and researched the history of this photographic genre. We then explored the ethical questions and concerns of photo-journalism. My favourite outcome of this topic was a news article style blog post I made. I think it was creative, thorough and well argued.

https://hautlieucreative.co.uk/photo16a2/2015/09/16/news-or-propaganda-everyone-is-a-journalist-so-what-can-be-trusted/

Family

I studied the theme of family to begin with, looking at the work of photographers such as Yury Toropstov and Richard Billigham. During this period I started to explore the style of vernacular photography, which over time I have continued, practised and improved.

The basis of my photographic response was the continuation of part of my AS Photography task where I visited my Grandma (as a do every Wednesday) and made photographs of her and her house. I have completed a variety of shoots during this time (including an audio recorded conversation) and have an extensive both of work, which I will continue for my personal study.

During this time me and Mr Toft came across a concept to explore, a retrospective exploration of my Grandfather who died 30 Years ago. The basis of this project is to learn more about him.

I enjoyed this topic and have improved greatly as a result.

This is my favourite image from the topic. It is an environmental portrait of my Grandma in her Salvation Army Uniform.

Community

After ‘Family’ I then studied then explored theme of Community. As I had already (more or less) decided that I wanted to continue with my Grandfather project for my personal study, I therefore didn’t make any direct responses to the theme of community – expect for existing street photographs I made over the course of the summer holidays, and a photographic response to ‘Battle of Britain’ day. Instead I use the theme as an opportunity to extend upon my own research and understanding in relation to my project and the theme of family.

During this topic I explored the work of photographers such as Martin Toft, Alec Soth and Jonas Bendiksen.

This blog post of a case study of Martin Toft’s ‘Altanus’ is my favourite piece of work from this theme.

https://hautlieucreative.co.uk/photo16a2/2015/10/13/atlantus-analysis/

Picture Story

For the final few weeks of this term we have been looking at the design of picture stories. We then experimented in making our own. This is one of my outcomes.

“This way of working helped us to get to know each other and me gaining his trust”

Plan

Read up on the work of portrait photographer Erin Hoyland. Then look at her latest series ‘Brother-Sister’. Make a blog post on findings, and then make a photographic response.

http://www.bjp-online.com/2015/12/elin-hoyland-brother-sister/

http://www.elinhoyland.com/

About Photographer

Elin Hoyland is a Norwegian documentary photographer, based in Oslo. Hoyland  bases much of her work living and photographing old people in Norway who have lived unusual and interesting lives.  She is best known for her publication of two books, ‘The Brothers’, 2014  (Winner of the Documentary Book award at Moscow International Photo Awards 2014), and ‘Brother-Sister’, 2014.

Hoylannd will often live with her subjects for weeks at a time, gaining their trust and making very revealing and personal images from this. Hoyland has a very subtle and poetic style, evoking the themes of isolation and loneliness in way she photographs mysterious, old fashioned ornaments and sparse, barren landscapes. This is done to highlight the emotional day to day experience of her subject manner, haunted by memories of the past and dealing with missing sometime, whilst having to cope anyway with the day to day challenges of ageing.

She specialises in still-life photography, revealing a story through details and close-up aspects of relevance to her subjects and were they live.

Mr Toft showed me Hoyland’s ‘Brother-Sister’ as inspiration for my personal study. The theme of this project going in the house of an old person who lives alone, photographing them and were they live, is exactly the same theme off my project. I hope to resonate this through my own photoggraphy over the upcoming few weeks.

What is it?

The story ‘Brother-Sister’ is very much a retrospective look into the past. It examines the bond between twin brother and sister, Edvard and Bergit, who lived together since birth in a village in SW Norway. The twins lived in an old fashioned farm house with horses, cows, pigs and hens. Bergit recently died, which meant the livestock on the farm had to be sold and rented out. Edvard, unmarried like his sister was therefore very much alone.

Originally, Hoyland was commissioned as a photojournalist to document the cottage, as it is over 200 years old. In the process, she struck up a friendship with the occupant, Edvard who told her his story. Over the course of a few weeks, Hoyland lived with Edvard, photographing him and his house.  The photographs taken during this time make up the series.

It looks at Edvard’s daily life; day to day activities, the way he lives, struggle with loneliness, and the constant reminder of his late sister evoked within his house. Many the photographs are still-life images of the house, areas including the bathroom, garden and bedroom of both twins. These image make up a story exploring their retrospective relationship, traces of Bergit are throughout the story and her presence it very much sensed.

Analysis

This photograph is a still-life image of a bathroom dresser. I find this image to be very strong and effective because of its strong colour contrasts, texture and use of reflection to evoke a mysterious atmosphere. From this photograph it is clear that the bathroom is of a traditional Scandinavian style, being therefore very personal and subjective to the subject.

The style of the wallpaper is bright red with a flowered pattern, a classic Nordic style. This bold and abrupt style gives the image a strong presence and texture, and a somewhat harsh tone. The presence of red in images often evokes strong themes, such as death, sacrifice and danger. Subsequently the presence of this colour creates an energetic and somewhat unsettling atmosphere. Therefore the viewer is very drawn into the atmosphere, however it is not inviting as it would be for example, if it was a blue colour, which is much calmer

Along with the traditional wallpaper, the incorporation of dolls connects the style of this dresser to be old fashioned. As mentioned it has a very Nordic style, and this adds to it. I find this is effective because it gives a certain character to  the image. The use of this image in the photo-book is very important because it is a visual illustration of both and age, as well as culture of the subject. The two dolls are perhaps symbolic of the subjects relationship with his late sister.

The mirror immediately links to the idea of reflection and perception. It is a metaphor both of the subject looking back in their past, as well as the present, as they look into the mirror everyday. This idea is conveyed in a very subtle very as the viewer assumes that the mirror is just an objective photographer of the mirror. However it cannot be ignored that the mirror is fogged up – this draws emphasis to the mirror and therefore conveys as sense of contextual/symbolic relevance.

This is a photograph of flowers on a table. In the background is wallpaper of flowers. The theme of flowers is clearly therefore very important and relevant to this image.

The theme of flowers establishes the subjects interest in growing/collecting flowers. This is a very simple concept to accept however it is not clear straight away why. Because this is a photograph exploring the absence of Evard’s sister, it is logical to assume that the theme has relevance to their relationship, perhaps a symbol of Bergit’s death, or a hobby they did together. The emphasis of flowers invites the viewer to ponder this thought themselves . The fact it is not clear what the meaning of flowers is, is an example of Hoyland discrete and subtle style.

Visually, this is a very unusual image. It has a strong, bold and direct pattern. The flowers merge in the wallpaper, giving a flat two-dimensional perspective. The visual merging together of different components of the image create a sense of depth and complexity. The is something very imaginative and dream-like about this image, and the symbolic theme of flower adds to this sense of mysticism. It is up to the viewer to absorb themselves into the image and to come up with their own interpretation of its meaning.

The soft lighting makes for a tranquil mood and atmosphere to be evoked. This extends the dream-like theme established through the theme of the flowers and provides  the image with a sense of calm and order. This gives a sense of lightness and to image, balancing out the more forceful presence of the flowers.

Evaluation

This is a very interesting and insightful series which looks at the theme of grievance and loneliness in a very subtle and poetic manner. The images are very ambiguous in meaning and it is up to the viewer to come up with their own meanings and interpretations. The context of this story is emotional charged, enhanced by the photographers ability/access to photograph the subject in a personal, intimate and revealing manner.

This project will be a good study to inspire my own personal study exploring the absence and symbolic presence of my granddad. In the photographs, the ghost-like presence of Bergit is present, this is similar to the signs of my Granddad at Nana’s, an invisible presence.

Other Images in Series

Still Life: Lamp Post which traditional hunting head.

Portrait: Candid portrait of Edvard, sitting on his bed.

Still Life: Ghostly, haunting image of a childhood doll.

Still-life: Edvard’s Kitchen.

Landscape: Barren, isolated landscape conveyed.

Yury Toropstov: Biography

• Born in 1974 in a small village called Vladistov, U.S.S.R
• Eastern Siberian origins.
• Grew up in the Soviet Union until the collapse of communism in Russia in 1991.
• Growing as an ethic minority in Communist Russia gave Toropstov a unique perspective of life.
• Father died when he was  1 year old, and he was brought up by his mother.
• Toropstov left Russia in 1998 to study at the New School for Social Research in New York to study project management
• Toropstov travelled to America working as a translator.
• 2004, Yuri becomes an assistant for a fashion photographer.
• Since has been working as a documentary photographer based in Paris. He has completed various projects, made into slide-shows, films and books.
• 2014 Yuri worked for 6 months in Jersey as the ‘Archisle International Photographer in Residence’. This 6 month project was finalised  with an exhibition entitled ‘Fairyland’.

Deleted Scene

• Toropstov traces his origins, going back to the Russian village he grew up in
• Respective style – Incorporation of family archive
• Documents the isolated and remote region  of Eastern-Siberia.
• Exploration of his father, who died when Toropstov was only one year old –“his untimely death turned him into an abstract character existing on the verge of oblivion”
• There is no text to this narrative, and so it is up to the reader to make up their own interpretation of Toropstov’s father based on the images they are presented with

Evaluation of Photos in Deleted Scene

For my ‘Personal Study’, an important aspect to consider will be how I design the front cover of my photo-book . I think he front cover of ‘Deleted Scenes’ is very strong in providing a clear contextual introduction. Although only showing part of an image, it is clear  to deduce straight away that the photograph is an archival image, based on the sepia tone and worn-out post-card style of the border.

However, it is not the most interesting opening.  I find it to be quite plain and dull. From a objective viewpoint this makes  for an ineffective opening because it does not attract  or excite the viewer. Athough I do not particualry likke the opening I appreciate that Toropstov has attempted to grip the reader into exploring the narrative through the representation of a mysterious, ghost-like figure. I reckon that this could have been more interesting by perhaps showing slightly more of the image and in a photo editing software, cutting the image in half. Graphically this would work well and make for a more explosive, and vernacular styled opening.

The image in question is of Toropstov’s father. The back cover of the book shows the other section of the image. This is a metaphor for the narrative of the story, because the reader is given a brief indication that the story is perhaps about this half-revealed figure, and it is implied that over the process of the narrative they will be taken on a biographical journey of Toropstov’s origins with his father as the centre-piece, therefore being able to uncover ‘the whole picture’.  This narrative technique is known as foreshadowing, and establishes rising anticipation and suspense.

This image is a ‘still life’ shot of a child’s toy, perhaps a toy from Toropstov’s own child-hood. This photograph very much highlight Toropstov’s subjective approach because it draws his own personal input into the narrative. By reflecting on his past through an image of a lonesome toy, it is suggested that Toropstov has somewhat throughout his life felt, to a degree, lonely and lost in the absence of his father. Toropstov uses chiaroscuro lighting in order to reflect this dark, sombre mood. Chiaroscuro lighting is defined as “strong contrasts of light and dark”.

There is a somewhat reflective nature to this image. The horse facing outside of the window is in itself a metaphor for reflection. The old-fashioned appearance to the toy  symbolises this reflection to be retrospective. On a more subjective level, the toy horse looking out of a window may in fact represent for Toropstov’s lifelong quest to get to know his father. Personally I find this image to be very moving because it explores the tragedy and anguish of Toropstov’s situation in a symbolic way which is very poetic and subtle.

Toropstov effectively conveys his own emotional response through this image. The representation of the childhood toy in the window links the themes of reflection and childhood together, and therefore very much serves as a metaphor for the past. As this narrative is a look back into Toropstov’s past it is logical to assume that this image explores themes from Toropstov’s own childhood, with sadness, (implicity because of the fact the Yury grew up without a father), being explored  through the sombre mood created through Chiascuro lighting. This image is therefore is very honest and personal response.

Fairyland

• Body of work that Toropstov made during his stay in Jersey as Archisle International Photographer in Residence (2013).
• Explores Toropstov’s personal view of Jersey.
• A visual narrative of his journey to fit into such a “discrete and mysterious place”.
• Inspired by 1937 Film of Jersey Battle of Flowers – young girl named Joan Ivy Vibert on the float. Link to explore “history and reality of the island”.
• Drawn into exploring mysticism within the island – viewed Jersey as idyllic and beautiful.
• Intention to uncover mystery within the island, “notion of invisibility”.
• Theme of work is very conceptual.

Evaluation of Images in Fairyland

This image shows a fraction of broken wallpaper. This is a classic detail-shot style – abstract in its close-up manner. On reflection the tear in the wallpaper resembles somewhat the shape of Jersey. Whether or not this is accidental, it is nevertheless apparent that Toropstov’s very specific style of observation comes through in this image, as he is picking out intricate details which act as symbolisations and metaphors – in this case either a direct reference to the shape of Jersey, or more poetically exploring Toropstov’s investigative nature. This is a reference to how he ‘peeling away’ at the surface of the island and uncovering its hidden secrets through the process of study and research.

The peeled away wallpaper is in itself a metaphor for imperfection. This links to the rugged and authentic feel that Toropstov attempts to convey in his work, a theme that vastly contrast with the more traditional style of Michelle Sank. It is quite  a unusual image to include in an exhibition as the context and relationship with the theme of ‘Fairyland’ is not clear. I would infer that the image has been included in the exhibition in order to break up the visual pattern of Toropstov’s style, which is very subtle.  On the other hand this is a very direct and abrupt abrupt image with a strong presence.

The formal aspects of this photograph make for a very visually strong image.

• The shadows which emerge as a result of the peels in the wallpaper give a three-dimensional aspect to the photo, providing a sense of depth.
• The white representing areas where the wallpaper is peeling off is position in the middle of frame. This means that the viewer is immediately drawn to this part of the  image as white is always the most natural shade to be drawn to.
• The dark orange surrounding  numbs the intensity of the white glare and therefore balances the arrangement of the image.

In this image the subject is sitting in his longue, looking outwards at the view from his window.

Toropstov shoots from a suitable distance to the subject, making use of space to include a series of props such as the cluttered chair, painting and blurred out books. These props help add to the context of the image, and without them the photo would be visually, less exciting and engaging. The use of space, which I have focused on in my own study photographing my Grandma, is important when photographing subjects because it immediately draws a sense of vulnerability to them. This allows for certain characteristics to be conveyed in the image, giving a more open and personal exploration of the subject.

Although staged, Toropstov presents quite a natural and informal feel to the image by making the subject look into the distance, oppose to straight in the camera. This creates a more relaxed and natural atmosphere as the subject is not drawing as much direct attention to himself as he would have if he was acknowledging the camera. This calm atmosphere is important to create because a bold and energetic atmosphere would not suit the subtly Toropstov is trying to convey in his work.

Evaluation

On reviewing Toropstov’s work it is clear that he has a very conceptual style and approach to photography. Toropstov is a photographer who likes to create symbols and metaphors in order to build up different contexts and ideas. In addition, he has a very investigative approach when photographing and likes to research his themes thoroughly beforehand, often using archival sources to inform and add to the contextual basis of his work. This exploitative approach very much reflects Toropstov’s enthusiasm to engage and get involved deeply in his projects.  In my own project I want to execute a similar approach as it makes the overall work more personal,  of deeper context, and in my opinion, more enjoyable.

Toropstov’s project ‘Deleted Scene’ will be particularly useful to inform and inspire the basis of my own work because the topic of the story is about Toropstov wanting to learn more about his father. My own project is about wanting to learn more about my Granddad whom I also never got the chance to meet. Through studying this project I hope to gain a sense of the appropriate style and mood to evoke in such a personal topic. It is interesting that there is no text in deleted scene, and subsequently Toropstov makes use of photograph as the sole form of communication.

Toropstov has an incredibly sharp eye for detail. When photographing he will usually explore a variety of different shots, ranging from the the main establishing shots to very small detail shots, for example the close up of the cracked wallpaper in ‘Fairyland’. This varied and considered approach to what he photographs gives his body of work a great amount of depth for which a broader range of ideas can be conveyed in his work. It also is gives his photographs a sense of diversity and variation, important when piecing together a photo-book – a consideration I need to respond to myself in the making of my own photo-book as a final piece for my ‘Personal Study’.

Overall Toropstov is a very good story teller. The style he uses to create his work is something which I believe would be relevant and interesting to evoke within my own outcomes. His work is very personal to him, giving the narrative a sense of subjective purpose and meaning.