Michelle Sank was born in Cape Town, South Africa. She left there in 1978 and has been living in England since 1987. Through her images she tries to get across the issues around social and cultural diversity and she has done this within many different photography projects. Some of Sanks most recent achievements were a UNICEF honorable mention in 2012, a gold award in San Francisco International Photographic Competition in 2013, winning the Kuala Lumpur International Photo Awards in 2016, and a honorable mention at the IPA Awards in 2018. She also has done a multitude of solo and group exhibitions.
Michelle Sank’s ‘MY.SELF’ Series 
photo analysis;
The photograph that I have chosen to analyse is this photo of, it appears, a young girl in her own bedroom from Michelle Sanks ‘My Self’ photography series. Visually the colours in the background of this image are mainly grey and white, appearing very subdued and creating quite the contrast between the extravagant harsh black and bright pink clothing that the subject is wearing. You would assume that the young girl is upper class due to the detail and quality of both her clothing and makeup, both of which would be seen as glamorous, suggesting wealth. The positioning of the model could also suggest this as she is sat up extremely straight with very good posture. Technically, this photograph was taken from an angle straight on the model, creating simplicity and ensuring that she is the main focus point and subject of the image. The concept behind Michelle Sanks ‘My.Self. project was to document diversity between young people living in today’s society and what it means to be a young person in today’s society, she wanted the subjects photographed in their bedrooms so that the items around them became metaphors for their individuality and cultural contexts. Contextually I believe that Sank has done this extremely well, with the ‘out there’ clothing and cushions behind the subject possibly suggesting that she can be ambitious and outgoing, with the trophy’s on the shelf above her giving the viewer the impression that she does achieve.