Artist: Laura Blight

Laura Blight specialises particularly in photography as well as being a visual artist from Essex and is currently working I London. Laura Blight’s work adopts a more curious and intuitive approach to the imagery she creates where by making a presence or even an absence is evidenced summoning the strange from the everyday; opposing a representation of abstract work and opposites. This includes traces left by human activity and is a recurring theme throughout her work and the idea of exploring the play between the strange and familiar in domestic environments; normally unstructured with many dynamic obstacles, yet again support a more obscure and abstract t approach to photography that she is presenting. Laura Blight has created many studies and collection but in particular I will be looking more closely at her more recent publication called ‘Residue Studies’ which she carried out in 2019. With this particular section Blight goes on to discuss the studies mentioning that they are hand-made paper works incorporating domestic dust that she had personally collected from different sources including her own family home. Although at first glance from these images someone may not understand that in fact Laura has added a personal touch which helps provide great contextual information towards her work. redacting a narrative. these works are continuation of her exploration with dust, where this waste material connects me to the mystery of past events. Printed onto the paper are close-up digital images of skin photographed by Lucas Gabellini Fava as part of a collaboration project with Pic London who she has worked multiple times with in October 2019. Below are her main images that she presented from this particular expedition. From her I have grasped a sense of inspiration where I will soon go on to recreate my new images, so therefore it was important to me to analyse one of the images to get a better overall understanding of the type of photography she produced in this collection.

When analysing this image it is important to investigate and look closer at the image in terms of technicality, visually, contextually and conceptually. By doing this I hope to grasp the better understanding for the type of images she create and why and then eventually help me produce my own where I can answer the same questions for my own photographs that I produce. this is an essential step to consider as it will help me with evaluated my work and creating my own concepts of how I want to relate my own work to my main title which relates to liberation through dance.

Initially the best way to get an understanding for the imagery is to first look at the images visually, in terms what you actually see. Evidently the colouring of this image is an important aspects with colours including blush, flamingo, peach and hints of a dirty yellow and light brown. These colours are evidently all spread and merged together with in the image which helps create the rustic look and supporting the idea of high level textures which are presented through the contextual meaning. Overall through the specific colour which are presented this aids the tone of the image and creates a much lighter representation as the colour themselves are fairly bright and therefore illuminate the whole image itself. Although the photograph is evidently 2D the detailed textures that are used helped add demential aspect with the image and therefore creates more interesting and abstract features to it. Furthermore, in terms of patter there is no obvious patterns in terms of the colour however there is a consistent textured pattern seen throughout the photograph which help present a level of compatibility. From doing my own research the layout of the image is simple but effective, with all four image being similar to the others and stacked on top of each other a straight line and mounted on a wall which goes well with the theme creating an abstract views to its audiences. This the of layout is important to consider as it helps the idea of the images having a symmetrical layout which aid an ascetic perspective to the photographs. on the the other hand, someone may critique this idea of having four images as it goes against the ‘rule of thirds’ which suggest sieges to go in set of three; this provokes differentiations individuals opinions to be presented on how they feel about the visual aspects of the image.

Secondly, now there is an understanding of the visual aspects go the image it is key to follow this with more technical aspects that are presented within the photograph. For example, the image has bright lighting which could be reprinted through the use of natural light as there is no specific tones of unnatural lighting being presented; as well as the fact that there has been no flash or reflection presented or used. There is no tonal range as the image is not balks and white as well as the exposure is not to low nor too high as the image doesn’t present features of being to bright of white. There is a high intensity distance as the image is clearly very close up and therefore presents lots of high levelled textures. I continued to do some research online about the type of camera and camera setting Blight used however I couldn’t find much so I used my own knowledge and assumed the types of lens and setting that many have been use to help create this image. In terms of the aperture its likely the lens size was around 100ml which would have aloud for the close up and clear detailed textures of the image, with the use of a macro lens. The focal point would high if not the maximum of the camera this is suggested through the features of the image which suggest it is only a small snip it of the whole area of dust that is photographed. the focal point would have been large which would enable a close up area of a large area. The image has a low depth of field as it doesn’t cover large areas and there is a sharp, focused and short features presented and seen in the image. In addition, the shutter speed most likely would have been high in order to capture the correct details with an average level of exposure which would have depended on the type of light that was used; as well as the IOS which relates to the light sensitivity which I would suggest to have a higher setting due to the grainy features and texture seen in the photograph. the temperature of the image have a warmer accuracy due to the tone and specific colours presented.

Contextually it is important to understand what the image is actually showing. Laura Blight explained that it is hand made paper works incorporating domestic dust that she has collected from different sources including her own family home. These works are a continuation of her exploration with dust, where this waste material connects her to the mystery of past events. This clearly shows that there is a much deeper and personal aspect to the image. Although a view may just see textures to Laura Blight and what she is actually trying to present is much more; to me I could see this as the idea of reflecting abstract aspect fo life at home and maybe the textures and colours present different types of meaning and feelings within her family. Laura Blight went on to explain her work that she produced by stating ”Just like dust contains particles of skin, interwoven with memory and traces of people, paper is also a material full of meaning. I have been experimenting with a variety of paper types and weight to achieve different textures. The close-up images of skin printed onto the paper resemble those of microscopic images and bring out the tactile nature of the paper to reveal its skin-like quality. Paper has always been something to communicate with, it is never a neutral surface. I had the urge to make something where substance, form and object were the focus whilst totally submerging the dust in the process. The work also questions the potential of everyday, disposable materials and in a broader context, one that is environmentally sustainable and eco-friendly, rejecting mass production and returning to the intimacy of the user.” (Blight, L. 2019, https://www.laurablight.co.uk/dust-paper-and-skin-coming-soon)

When looking at Laura Blight’s work it important to see other conceptual factors that could have influenced her worker led to her end photographs and her complete ideas of creations. the particular study that I was looking more closely at the residue studies (2019) and as previously mentioned the works are hand made paper works incorporating domestic dust that was collected from different sources including from her family home. The process of sourcing, collecting and assembling the assembling the material is a personal ritual connecting Blight the mystery of past events. Printed onto the paper are close-up digital photographs of skin photographed by artist Lucas Gabellini Fava in a recent collaboration project titled ‘Collective Strategies’. In The Senses are Still (1996), anthropologist Nadia Seremetakis writes ‘dust is the perceptual waste material formed by the historical-cultural repression of sensory experience and memory’. Residue Studies also symbolises the psychological burden that lives under our skin in the form of repression. Just like dust contains particles of skin, interwoven with memory and traces of people, paper is also a material full of meaning; it is never a neutral surface. Laura went on to have had the urge to make something where substance, form and object were the focus whilst totally submerging the dust in the process.

ACTION PLAN:

After going into great depth and investigation into Laura Blight and her up close photography it is now time I create a photoshoot and reflect on her work whilst considering my title. For this photoshoot I intend on taking close up textured images of subject and objects which help present my title of liberation through dance. For example, the textures of old tap shoes compared to my new taps shoes and reflect on possible deeper meaning that could be projected from this photoshoot. Whilst carrying out this photoshoot it is import to consider what I have learnt from Laura Blight and how she uses her camera to get the best types of images whilst remember why she is photographing what she is; this therefore creates a forum and narrative as well as prodding a more abstract approach.