We were given an hour in class to write the first two paragraphs of our photographical essays. We were meant to come up with some possible essay questions and then base our two paragraphs upon this. So this a good starting point for writing our essays.

Posible essay Question :How chronic illness inspired Joe Spence to document her story through documentary photography as a way of healing and expression/ showing the media what real women look like? 

‘Influential photographer Jo Spence’s (1934–92) work documents her diagnosis of breast cancer and subsequent healthcare regime throughout the 1980s.’() Her raw and confrontational take on chronic illness is profoundly documented in her photography. She hons in on the self-portraiture and body shots to document how breast cancer has disfigured her body to become unappealing to mainstream beauty standards. ‘In all of her work, Spence confronted us with the things society tries to conceal – not least women’s unconventional physiques.’()  Through all her pieces of work there is a sense of power and stability though the positions she is standing in which can I feel be empowering for both men and women alike. ‘In The Picture of Health she upped the ante, bringing disease into the frame. In one bare-chested photo, she stands before a mammogram, her breast laid out between its slabs like a separate entity. Later, she poses in a biker’s helmet, holding up her arms to reveal battle scars.’() The way she gradually reveals herself more and more through her work could show that she is coming to terms more and more each day with her illness and not treating it as something to be ashamed of or a burden. Consequently, treating it as something liberating that others can seek sanctuary within her work and learn from her experience meaning they can find a way to come to terms with their own health problems. Her works intention was to give people in similar situations a sense of self-worth and being able to reappreciate their own body’s again.  

‘Undoubtedly, her most heroic work was The Picture of Health, in 1982, which she began after being diagnosed with breast cancer. This series of self-portraits is both alternative therapy and a critical response to modern medicine, with Spence regaining ownership of her body by documenting her treatment.’() Her photography before her encounters with cancer were never as well known. She is known as a ‘influential photographer’ because of her works with chronic illness. I think this was because her approach to documenting her journey was so abrupt and real that people connected to it so well because of the rawness and how prevalent cancer is today. She explores alternative therapy and modern medicine, how these differ but have the same intention. You can see Jo ‘regain ownership of her body’ and coming to terms with the physical and psychological scars much like how I intent to peruse my own work. This was something she learned when going on this photographical documenting journey and I feel her work isn’t just about the product, it is more about the emotions that have built up to the signal piece. Each image can be unpicked to unravel every base idea behind it. There is no complex subplot for these images, or an indefinite answer left up to the audience to decide the whole main meaning of the image. This I believe is why her work became so well-known because it was graphic blunt images that were straight to the point and I feel people really could connect with this. It was a real break from the arts modernistic works where they make you question everything about the works even your own interpretations. People liked it because it was simple to grasp the concept of but has real emotional value which can be connected to by anyone who has experienced cronic illness or externally been affected by it e.g relatives family or friends.  

References need to be put in as they are saved on computer at home.