“This work was a way of getting to know Claudia.”

Philip Toledano

Toledano was born in 1968 in London, to a French Moroccan mother and an American father. He grew up in London and Casablanca. He received a BA in English literature from Tufts University in Boston. Toledano considers himself a conceptual artist: Everything starts with an idea, and the idea determines the execution. Consequently, his work varies in medium, ranging from photography to installation, sculpture, painting and video.

The image below comes from a set of images produced for an album by Philip Toledano called “When I Was Six” I chose this image to analyse as it is not the area of photography that I look most into. I have always enjoyed taking portraits and engaging with the subjects, however, after looking into the meanings of these photographs it has shown me that they can potentially be ore powerful and have more meaning.

The lighting in this image seems like a glimpse of natural light, possibly coming through a window creating the shapes of the shadows on the subject and background. There are shadows created by the positioning of the image and it gives the impression that the envelope is floating. The shadows in the background are out of focus however the envelope is sharp and clear creating a macro effect. The photo seems as it has been taken using f4 considering the background and middle ground is blurry with a short depth of field. The shutter speed could have been set as 1/30, allowing light in the photograph but not until it becomes highly exposed.

The image does not have a filter nor does it seem like it has been manipulated after being taken. The focal point is the envelope and the black background maintains this focus. I would say this photo has low light sensitivity and it is clear and focused rather than grainy. The textures are not enhanced due to little contrast, however, it is clearly shown that the envelope of completely intact after over 40 years which portrays the fact that all his sisters belongings were well looked after and cared for. The simplicity of this image is what makes it most powerful.

“…things I’d never seen before, neatly packed away, a museum of sorts, created by my mother.”

Philip Toledano

After researching more about this image, I found that Toledano had bee going through things, possibly a clear out of the things left behind by his family as he says that he found a box of his sisters’ things after both his parents passed away. This shows that he could potentially be photographing these objects as a form of closure, after being very sensitive he found himself ready to explore things after being alone. In my opinion, I think that he took these images to remember his childhood and is grasping on to these belongings as his loved ones are no longer around. I though thsi images was very inspiring as the letter is addressed to his parents regarding the death of his sister and so capturing images of these belongings and working with them, made him feel almost as if he was with them again.

He says that “Claudia (his sister) was a constant but unknown presence” in his life which for me, emphasizes the idea that he was ready to find closure, and as if he had nothing else to lose now. He also talk about these images being a way of getting to know his sister, as he was so young when she passed but grew up suffering with the loss in the family.