The aim of the Jersey Archives is to preserve the history of the people of Jersey, and to protect the memories, events and experiences of those who lived before, and contributed towards the way that the Island is in present time. The archives inspires people, promoting their cause through sharing the stories and experiences of past inhabitants of the island, and allowing younger generations to learn from the experiences of their ancestors, while simultaneously learning the context to why their island is the way it is now.
The archives hoards a huge range of over 300,000 images and documents, dating all the way back to the early/mid 19th century. Founded in 1981, the archives have been able to successfully document, record and store priceless historical memorabilia that directly reflects the lives of the people that originally created it.
The archives preserve, document and manage the past in order to allow the people of Jersey to research and learn about their past, gaining knowledge about their culture, heritage and a sense of belonging within the community.
Michelle Sank is a South African born photographer, who’s portraiture work primarily looks into “the preoccupation of the human condition”. in this sense, Sank’s work delves into exploring factors and events such as birth, growth, emotionality, conflict and mortality, which make up the basis of human existence and are things that we as people experience in our daily lives. Sank makes a point of documenting social and cultural diversity, and allows for comparison on the varying ways in which we live out lives, through the range of different subjects from different backgrounds, ethnic groups and experiences. Below is a mood board including a range of images from Michelle’s works:
Michelle was able to identify with the camera and photography as a medium of expression as soon as she tried it whilst completing her Fine Art Degree in South Africa, and has since produced a range of projects, a website and books containing her work.
“It was almost instantaneous that I found this connection with the camera and the world around me – and so this became and has stayed my voice for personal expression.”
Sank’s portraiture often takes place in a setting personal to the subject, such as a bedroom. This can both be used to reflect the personality and belief of the subject through a single image, as the personalization of ones bedroom often allows for a persons interests, hobbies and understanding of themselves as a person can often be inferred from the style of their bedroom.
“What’s on their walls is a metaphor for their identity and personality,”
Furthermore, the location of a bedroom (or an environment personal to the subject) allows for the image to portray a much more personal, almost intrusive meaning, as the viewer is forced to observe the subject in the place they feel the safest and most comfortable, without personally knowing who the subject is, allowing the viewer to see the subject at what can be inferred as their most vulnerable.
The above image is a piece taken from Michelle’s project “My Skin”. This image (and those in the same project) is meant to represent the diversity and individualism that can be found within out communities, treating each individual subject as their own person, and exposing and celebrating what makes them different and unique. Visually speaking, the image above leaves much to the imagination to the viewer. The subject is presented as showing off the most eye-catching part of her physical appearance (her tattoos, and yet very little is included in the background/rest of the scene, denying the viewer the ability to make assumptions about the subject on anything other than her own skin. A single object is found on the far left of the image (a figuring) which indicates only a small example of what the subjects likes and dislikes may include. In terms of the technicalities of this image, the exposure on the photograph itself is reasonably high, showing very little in terms of shading or extreme contrast, which in turn opens up the image more, and exposing all parts of the photograph in the light. This high exposure however, seems to be the product of a good source of natural light, and the little to no editing that has been done on the original image itself allows for us to get a better picture of the raw, real original, seeing the unedited subject in her own skin, rather than a “fake”, heavily edited skin.
quotes and comments from photographer, reference sources
For my research into archival photographers that worked in Jersey, I selected Francis Foot to be the subject of my case study. Foot was born in 1885, and soon developed a fascination with photography. Foot focused a lot of his work on producing portraits of the people of Jersey, many of which include multiple subjects and families. Below is a mood-board reflecting some of his work:
Foot’s work focused a lot on using posed subjects in their natural environment, to give a relatable yet formal sense to his images. |Foot often used props such as cars, buggies and other common objects to show more of the personalities of the subjects, and to reflect what they used and did in their daily lives. Through this, Foot was able to establish a unique style of portraiture, combining both relatable, every day life scenery with formal, posed subjects and props to create eye catching portraits. In addition to this, Foot would often take portraits of his own family, in and around their shop and at times, Francis himself would appear in the images.
I have chosen this particular image to further analyse, as I feel that the style and contents of the image itself is interesting, and the scenery helps to tell a story. Like many of Foots works, this image contains a number of subjects, including a mother and two children. The poses of the subjects are reflective of the formalities associated with portrait photography of the time, as the subjects are relatively neutral in their expressions, and pose in a formal, simple manner. In terms of the technical aspects of this image, the image is shown in black and white (the only available colour format in the time the image was taken). Although there was no alternative to grey scale in the early 20th century, the black and white coloring of this image allows for contrast between shapes and shades to be emphasized, and overall allows to show the vintage time which it represents (and originates from). The image as a whole has experienced very little, if no editing, and this allows for the real, original feel of the image to show through, giving the viewer a genuine look into the time in which Foot lived.
Francis work on portraiture during this time, especially during the beginning of the 20th century, helps to show the cultural norms and society during this time. Although the photographer himself left very little in terms of letters, interviews and diaries explicitly reporting on his own opinions and meanings behind his work, it can be inferred that much of Foots work was focused on documenting the journey of his family, and the people who lived around him, as they lived, occasionally experienced well known historical and local occasions, such as the visit from King George V and Queen Mary, and the Battle of the Flowers in Jersey.
After concluding the Bunker Archeology project, which ended in the production of a zine containing a range of the different images I captured, I was able to evaluate an critisize my own work, and develop an overall opinion on the project as a whole, from start to finish.
I found the project interesting, and enjoyed the process of researching more into Jersey’s occupation during WW2. I found the process of developing and planning photoshoots to be interesting, and I feel like I was able to create a strong set of final images, developed from a wide range of initial shots, taken during photoshoots both planned in class, and as extra out-of-school work. The process of selecting images that I wanted to continue working on was an interesting experience, as it allowed me to develop and home in on skills such as self reflection, and the ability to make quick decisions when it came to rejecting and selecting my own work. I made use of Adobe Lightroom during this selection process, and my skills using this software developed as I continued to use it through the editing process. I was then able to make a selection of 15 final images, fully edited using both Lightroom and Photoshop, that I could use in my final product (my Zine). The production and planning of my zine was a process, as I drafted range of ideas before concluding on my final design, which was selected based on a range of factors such as; the arrangement of the images I selected into a meaningful sequence, the development of a title and cover pages to draw the eye of the viewer, and the inclusion of extra pages (such as extracts within/attached to the zine) which would be used to provide further information/context on the zine. Overall, I found the process of the project to be enjoyable, and I feel that my final product was a success.
Although I ran into some difficulties along the course of the project, such as having to lear new software, struggling to come up with a sequence for the images within the zine, and at times struggling to keep up with the deadlines for photoshoots, I feel like I was able to produce a meaning final result, and successfully showed my process, in detail, from the beginning to the end of the project through my blog. Although the image quality of my final zine does not perfectly reflect my planned result (the colour saturation within the printers used resulted in the images often printing slightly darker, and the colours were often less bold) I feel like my in depth planning within the editing/planning blog posts helps to paint an accurate picture of what I was intending to produce with my final product.
Overall, I feel that the Bunker Archeology project has been a success, in which I have learned a range of new skills (particularly with new software), and have developed my ability to create a story/sequence using a series of images, in which a range of images can be used to tell a story/present a theme.
The final product for my blog can be seen in the images below, I used InDesign to complete the final layout before printing:
The final layout of my zine is representative of the darkening atmosphere that occurred over the time of the occupation of Jersey. Progressing from lighter to darker images, I have included a range of landscape and portrait images, some of which I have altered the size of in order to leave blank space, which I feel draws more attention to each page.
I used Adobe InDesign in order to produce the final layout for my zine. In doing so, I was able to manipulate the layout and sequence of the images easily, and could continuously develop my ideas as I worked to find the best layout for the narrative of my zine. The following steps are those that I followed using InDesign:
In the above image, I was experimenting with the layout of individual images. With some of the images, I decided that in order to keep the interest of the viewer, and to break the images between the pages up more clearly, I would use some of the landscape images, and rotate them 90 degrees so that they presented landscape, horizontally across the book, and by reducing their size, they fit on the page, leaving blank space on all sides. I n doing this I feel I am able to draw more attention to these specific images, and it allows me to break up the images so that they do not look like one continuous block of image.
The above image is an example of one of the final doubly-page spreads for the zine. One of the images is portrait, and the other is landscape. I used a full bleed layout, and rotated the landscape image in order to fit it on the page.
The above image is an example of where I reduced the size of a portrait image, in order to break up the images further along in the zine. These images are both dark in colour, and so in order to between distinguish between the images, I reduced the size of one of them, leaving blank space as a boarder to frame the image and draw more attention to it.
The final image is an example of the layout of all of the pages for my zine. Here it is easier to see the progression from the lighter images to the darker images as the zine progresses, reflecting the increasingly dismal atmosphere of the occupation of Jersey by the German forces.
The above image is what I will be using as a front cover. It is a simple image of close up concrete, which I feel provides a minimalist and tidy layout as the front cover. I have experimented with having a leaflet stapled to the size of the zine, which would showcase a map of Jersey taken from the archives, in order to draw the attention of the viewer and add more to the front cover. The title I have chosen is the German translation of “Concrete Island”. I feel like this title sums up what the German occupation did to the island of Jersey, turning the landscapes from fields and forest land into concrete bunkers and watch stations.
Above is an experimentation with what I may use as a leaflet stapled to the outside of the zine to add more to the front cover. It is an image of a map of Jersey designed around the time of the occupation. I increased the contrast and saturation to make the lines darker, which draws more attention to the image.
For the planning and development of my zine, I have attempted to develop and work on a narrative for my sine, in order to make the images flow together in an organised and smooth arrangement. In order to create a sequencing that made sense, and showed a clear narrative, I first had to select the images that I would use in my zine. The following images are a selection of those that I have chosen to use in my zine:
In order to develop a narrative that flows from one image to the next, I used developed my arrangement of images multiple times, and changes the series in which they were displayed. Below is my final layout so far, seen from top left (first image) to bottom right (final image):
The theme of this sequence is to show the development of the occupation of Jersey through progressively harsher times. Images begin as slightly more innocent in context, with more coloured images at the font of the book. They images then develop into more harsh images, with more black and white images to show the harsh contrast of shadows, and with more rough texture in the images. I will do this to reflect the progression of the occupation of Jersey, as the longer the Germans occupied Jersey, the less resources available, and the development of more censorship laws and rules further reduced the hope of the people of Jersey.
I decided to begin my zine using the most colorful and eye catching images, which not only draw in observers, but also reflect the slightly more positive atmosphere within Jersey before the occupation. They also show an example of how the occupation is portrayed in modern times, with an emphasis on restoring guns and bunkers to their former layouts for educational purposes, yet in this way it could be said that the occupation is being glorified. As you move through the layout, the images become progressively darker, showing the progress of Jersey through the occupation as it began to sink in that the island was running out of resources, and restrictions were increasing. The final few images reflect the reality of the occupation, mainly displayed in black and white to emphasize contrast between shadow and light, the final images are telling of the remains of harsh and cruel structures built during the occupation, and the run down, decrepit appearance of the structures inn the final image is a reflection of the attitude of the people living in Jersey towards the end of the occupation; hopeless and increasingly run-down.
After taking inspiration from the photo-montage style of photography/art, I was able to develop a series of photo-montage pieces. The following are examples of experimental, trial photo-montages that I created using Photoshop, using archival images that I found online:
The above image I developed in Photoshop. It involved cutting out the outlines of 4 German soldiers in the background image, and replacing them with the identification photographs of various concentration camp victims. I did this to show a contrast between the dignity with which the German officers held themselves in the original image, and the reality of how their actions caused unforgivable suffering to millions of people who were left without a voice. The above image used the same process as the first image, yet this time, I replaced the bandages and wounds of the soldiers with images of 1900’s wallpaper patterns. In doing this, I used this photo-montage to represent that the thought of home encouraged many soldiers to continue fighting, and gave many demoralized individuals something to look forward to after the war.
The above process is the one I used in Photoshop to create the above image. From top left to bottom right:
Left: I researched a range of 1900’s wallpapers that I would use as the background for my image,
The above photo-montage was created in an attempt to display the sacrifices made for victory during the war.
Above is a gallery showing the process I used to create the final image (seen above). From top left to bottom right:
Left: I lowered the opacity of the eraser tool to 50% in order to fade the background of a war scene that I would be replacing the face and hands with. I did this in order to make sure the definition between the foreground (Churchill) and the background (the war scene) was obvious, and also to emphasize that the sacrifice of millions of lives was merely an afterthought to the victory of political leaders during the war.
Middle and right: I outlines the hands and face of Churchill in order to show contrast between the background and foreground. I also feel that by creating an outline, my work mimics the style of many very well known photo-montage artists, who used physical cutting and sticking to create their work.
Bottom row: The bottom row shows the process of creating the text that I placed over the top of the image to act as a centre piece/ main focal point. I took a real quote from Churchill, and decided to emphasize certain words/letters using white text to show contrast between the quote and the reality of war. To create this text, I copied the image of highlighted text and pasted it back onto the image (to give the contrasting background effect) and then placed a second layer of white text over the original black text to show contrast between the words.
As the production of a Zine, including images of my best work, is an ongoing process throughout the year, I have researched into the Zine making process, and have taken the time to physically look over various examples of Zines, produced by both professional and amateur photographers, in order to take inspiration that can be used in the development of my own Zine.
After coming into contact with a range of different Zine styles and layouts, I was able to gain an understanding of the type of layout and style that would suit my work, and this has given me the opportunity to begin to develop and plan my own layout for a Zine. The following are examples that I felt were useful and/or were interesting examples of layout/design:
The above images are examples of zines that I researched. I have taken inspiration from the above images, and they have influenced the development of the experimentation for the layout of my zine itself.
I found that the above image used an interesting layout for its images throughout the book. The images are laid out in a contact-sheet style, with certain images being cut off and the centre image acting as the main focus for the page. I found this to be a unique and original way to layout the images in the zine, and it shows a connection between the photographs themselves, and their origins (as photography used to involve the printing of contact sheets).
Many of the zines that I came across contained at least one full-bleed image. This involves a single image taking up the space of two pages in the book (typically over the middle page), allowing for the focus of the observer to placed fully on the single image. This layout also allows for a larger image to be presented in an effective and eye-catching way.
The image above was taken from a zine in which the front cover was designed to replicate the layout of a passport, which reflects the theme of the whole zine itself (being issues occurring abroad). I feel like the contrast between the minimalism of the logo and the quote on the left, and the image on the left allows for the narrative of the book to be easily told, as the quote on the left related to the story represented in the image on the right.
Before starting my experimentation on designing and creating a series of photo-montages using the images I collected from the archives, my own images from bunker trips, and images found online, I did some research into the process of creating photo-montages, and the history behind them. Although I already developed an overall understanding of photo-montage during my AS photography course, I did some more in depth research, and decided to take inspiration from a range of war-focused photo-montage works in order to relate my research to my current work.
The above images are examples or war-related photo-montages created by various artists including Peter Keenan and Michael Dmitriev. I have taken inspiration from their work and will be developing experimental photo-montages around the same theme: war and its effects, in order to keep with my overall project of bunker archaeology.
