Canadian photographer Jeff Wall focuses much of his work around conceptual photography, and in doing so focuses largely on the metaphorical symbolism that can be found in photographs. Wall’s work is often brightly lit, and makes use of bold colouring, and often his work can fall into the category of tableaux, with each piece of work referencing a concept or idea that Wall witnessed in his own life. His work has been described as tackling the subject of “overt social tension and unease”, therefore emphasising the strong conceptual meaning behind many of his images. Wall’s work, at a first glance, resembles street photography, with his subjects often looking to be involved in an action, with some images seemingly taken covertly and without the subjects knowledge. However, Wall actually takes great care in staging his images, and makes sure to capture what looks to be a natural scene, while making sure to incorporate the meaning and concept behind his image.

The above image is a well known example of Wall’s work. It depicts a reflection of the scene itself, with the subject, the woman, towards the left side of the image, looking at the viewer, and with Wall himself, seen to the right of the image, posed with the shutter-release cable of his camera in his hand. In the way that Wall has placed himself in his own image, he is directly placing the usually unseen face of the photographer/artist/creator in the forefront of the image, forcing the viewer to take into account the contributions and work of the photographer themselves, while allowing the viewer to associate this hard work on behalf of the photographer with the beauty and professionalism of the final product (reflected through the focused professional lighting of the female subject, in contrast with the shaded appearance of Wall). In this image, Wall is directly challenging the belief that the only subject to be witnessed in an image is the subject themselves, and is instead emphasising the role of the photographer and scenery in the creation of an image. Wall therefore focuses on the background behind the image, and emphasizes that “[Wall is] looking for ways of showing, ways of creating an appearance of something, whether its a scene of tension or of something else”. Here, Wall is emphasizing the importance of the experience and meaning of the image, and therefore the inclusion of his own figure in the image helps to emphasize the background and context of the work itself.

The concept behind “Picture For Women” is to challenge the controversial debate of the “male gaze” in artwork; a term used to describe the way in which women in art are portrayed by men as objects, and are included in images in order to please the male viewer. In this image, Wall has taken inspiration from Édouard Manets “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère“, which depicts a bar maid looking directly at the viewer, with a male bartender gazing at her in the background. This image represents an example in which the “male gaze” is portrayed in art and culture, and therefore Wall created his final image in order to draw the viewers attention to the historical context o the “male gaze” in media and artwork, and therefore allows the viewer to question the modern implications that this way of displaying women in images has in current media and artwork. In this image specifically, Wall is able to portray his theme of causing an “Overt social tension of unease” in his imagery, by making the “male gaze” the main subject of the image, and drawing attention to it’s controversial historical context.

Through using this specific camera angle and placement of subjects, Wall allows for the viewer to witness the male gaze first hand, as they are present for the male subject viewing the female subject s her back is turned, and at the same time incorporates the viewer into the image itself, by placing the camera in the forefront of the image, allowing the for viewer to feel as if they are participating in the act of watching the women, just like Wall is in the background. This concept highlights the importance of understanding the historical context and modern implications of the “male gaze” in artwork throughout history. The decision to create this image specifically as a tableaux has made use of a studio setting, which is used to control all, variables and factors of the image, while still allowing it to seem natural. Wall himself believes that a studio “…space presents a constant set of possibilities that don’t rely on some occurrence in an unpredictable world of occurrences”, therefore allowing him to control and manipulate all aspects of the image without the possibility of unpredictable occurrences.

English photographer Phoebe Jane Barrett focuses on showing the power of human connection and compassion in her photography, and much of her work powerfully portrays the importance of relationships and emotion. In one of Barrett’s projects, she focused on reestablishing the definition of masculinity, and showing the fragility and vulnerability that many men feel, but are forced to hide behind societies definition of masculinity. Phoebes opinions on masculinity contrasts societies more stereotypical beliefs, believing that “The stereotypes around masculinity are damaging to men, women, and society as a whole”. This quote encapsulates Barrett’s belief on the toxicity of stereotypical masculinity towards both men and women, and the way that it negatively impacts society from multiple different angles.

Phoebe uses a range of male subjects in her work, and places them in what may be classed as more vulnerable and stereotypically “feminine” positions and environments in order to challenge the public’s perception of what masculinity is. These subjects are all men, and yet the way they are displayed and positioned in the images brings a sense of vulnerability and delicacy to the images.

Barrett brings the concept of mental health into her work, and allows for her photography to act as a method of rebellion against firm and outdated social constructs that focus on the unemotional, strong attributes of a man, and ignore the mental health problems that can develop as a result of repressed emotion and an inability to vent frustration and emotional pain without being judged and stereotyped. Barrett makes reference to the disturbingly high suicide rates of men around the world, and focuses on the importance of developing an environment for men to voice their problems and express their vulnerability, without being labelled “weak” or “feminine”.

 Barrett also makes reference to facts and statistics in the context of her work, drawing the concepts and contexts of her imagery into reality, as they are backed up with solid, disturbing fact. Barrett draws attention to the fact that, “Men who have this rigid, fixed idea of what a man is supposed to be are more likely to be depressed and emotionally repressed, suicide rates are higher for men. I think that’s why it’s important to redefine masculinity, so that we can have a healthier notion of what being a man is. Redefine it to include more empathy and compassion, and enable men to be more open emotionally.” Here, Barrett refers to the consequences of societies strict ideals of masculinity, and acknowledges that these ideals severely damage many men and their ability to express genuine emotions.

During my personal investigation based on Occupation and Liberation, I was able to learn a range of invaluable skills that I can transfer onto further projects and my own Personal Study. During the course of this investigation, I was able to develop my understanding of how the concepts and historical background behind images can help to develop a narrative/sequence, and how the process of editing can help to build bridges between the historical context of an image, and how it is relevant and applicable to modern ideas and concepts.

As my Personal Investigation was mainly based on the Occupation and Liberation of Jersey during WWII, I have decided to extend the theme of Occupation and Liberation to a concept that I can more personally relate to (as I have no family left who can recount the war, nor do I have any historical tie to the island itself). I have decided to extend the theme of Occupation and Liberation, and develop it into an investigation into the influence that gender norms and stigma can have/have had on different generations, and the concept of how “liberating” individuals (allowing them to express themselves freely without the weight of gender norms) is, although making progress, still a taboo topic that carries its own stereotypes.

During my investigation into the Occupation and Liberation of Jersey, I was inspired by a range of themes, photographic skills and artists that helped to better shape my understanding of developing a project around a certain theme, and keeping in mind a narrative that can be applied to the final layout of images. During this project, I had the opportunity to photograph archival objects from the Occupation, individuals who lived through the occupation, and a range of settings from bunkers and Jersey’s War Museum. Studying a range of artists such as Rafal Milach and Klaus Pichler gave me a broad understanding of the different methods of developing images, and the different subjects that can be used. Milach allowed me to develop my photo-montage skills (an expression of art that I really enjoy), and Pichler allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which concepts and the historical context of an image can be shown clearly through the use of photography. I feel that the portrait approach towards our project (in which I was able to photograph Joan and Henley (survivors of the occupation)) inspired me the most, as I feel that being able to learn and understand their stories, before having the chance to photograph them in a very personal, up close manner, allowed me to develop a deeper link between myself, the subject and the photograph.

I also enjoyed object photography, in which I had full control over the objects in the image and was able to create images using layouts of objects that I felt best reflected a certain concept/showed the best shapes, angles and contrasts. I feel like the portrait aspect of my Personal Investigation, along with the camera skills I gained (using a tripod, using different lighting and taking images effectively inside and outside of studio settings) will help me to begin a successful Personal Study, in which I wish to focus on people and objects to fully highlight the concept of gender within the theme of occupation and liberation.

Below are some examples whereby I have developed skills and used them to take and edit images:

Above are examples where I have created photo-montages, allowing me to develop my editing skills and narrative skills, as I had to find ways to lace images and concepts together to create a narrative for the image itself.

In the above images, I have developed my portrait taking skills (a skill that I will use in my Personal Study) – I have been able to develop my understanding of how a studio setting (lighting, angles etc) effects the final outcome of an image, and I was able to gain confidence in my ability to make decisions about the poses and positions of subjects within the frame of the image to better draw attention to certain features.

In a practical aspect, I developed my understanding of different software such as Photoshop, and was introduced to and developed my skills in Light-room. I also developed my ability to form narrative and sequencing after developing my second zine, in which I more carefully selected the sequence of images and narrative.