Since the summer of 2019 A-Level Photography Students at Hautlieu School have been working on an extensive programme of study in their final year exploring Jersey’s Liberation and Occupation history in collaboration with Société Jersiaise, Jersey Heritage, Channel Island Occupation Society, Jersey War Tunnels, Bureau des Îles Anglo-Normandes and post-graduate students from École Européenne Supérieure d’art de Bretagne in Rennes with funding from Liberation 75. Students were challenged with responding to personal stories told by islanders experiencing the German Occupation first-hand and finding inspiration by looking through images, documents and objects held in various collections in Jersey’s public archives, producing a series of individual creative outcomes such as montages, photo-zines and collectively construct a visual narrative presented as a newspaper supplement printed and distributed by Jersey Evening Post on Friday 24 April 2020.
The Liberation vs Occupation project began partly as a response to 75 years of celebrating freedom in Jersey from the German Occupation in 1940-45. Sadly, islanders will not be able to commemorate this landmark event as initially planned and it is hoped that this newspaper and joint exhibition between Jersey and French students will in some small way act as catalyst for remembering those years of hardship and subsequent joy when Churchill’s now famous speech was broadcast on the 8 May 1945 with the endearing words ‘our dear Channel Islands are also to be freed today’.
The programme of study began on the 4 June at the Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive where students took inspiration from a presentation by Patrick Cahill, Photo-Archivist and looked through some of the historical collections held in the photo-archive pertaining to the German Occupation of Jersey in 1940-45. In September students explored the landscape of German fortifications around the coastline of Jersey with specific visits to bunkers, such as Battery Moltke at Les Landes and Battery Lothringen at Noirmoint Point. Further visits followed to Jersey War Tunnels and Jersey Archive to research public records and learn more about life in the island during the Occupation.
Personal stories and memories from islanders, Bob Le Seur, Hedley Hinault, Joyce De La Haye and Joan Tapley, experiencing the German Occupation first-hand were recounted to students in a series of workshops, that included portrait sessions in the photographic studio at Hautlieu School and photographing objects from 1940-45 held in the Occupation collection at Jersey Heritage. Students have interpreted how the themes of Liberation and Occupation relates to them as teenagers growing up in the 21st century and the combined outcome of their studies can be seen on the pages of this newspaper, and in a joint exhibition Bunker Archaeology 2020 with postgraduate students from École Européenne Supérieure d’art de Bretagne (EESAB) originally to be held at the Berni Gallery, Jersey Arts Centre 6 -30 May 2020, now postponed due to Covid-19.
The Bailiff Timothy Le Cocq, who has written a foreword in the newspaper expressed his delight with how this collaboration has played a wider role in cultural diplomacy by; ‘allowing Rennes-based Masters students to work with students from Hautlieu on a project that has helped to spread the message of our important history, shared heritage and bringing communities closer together.’
Photographer and teacher Martin Toft who led this project, commented: ‘Every student involved in this project engaged passionately in the subject of the German Occupation of Jersey and the images presented here in this newspaper are only a fragment of the enormous amount of work that each student has produced. It provides a fascinating insight into how young people have used the language of photography to explore and interpret events which happened many years ago.’
Here is a video browser of the Liberation Newspaper printed and distributed islandwide by Jersey Evening Post.
Zines: The editing and sequencing of this newspaper was derived from a number of photo-zines produced by A-Level photography students at Hautlieu School.
In this post, I will be looking at the layout of my photo book and describing the way I have presented each image. I have made decisions regarding the order of the book and the size of the photographs, paying close attention to how they occupy the pages in relation to one another. The book features a number of different layouts for the images, as I wanted to present an array of different arrangements to enforce variety. The way that the images are presented is very important as it dictates the way in which the story is being told to the viewer.
The cover of my photo book displays an image of my family sat on the sofa in our house located in Peru. This is where our family journey started. Alongside the archival image is a handwritten note on lined paper saying “El hogar es donde está el corazón” which translates to “Home is where the Heart is”. Writing the title as a note was a good idea because it gives the book a personal touch. I chose the colour dark green for the background because for me this colour represents memories, nostalgia and importance. Although it is a simple cover, I think it’s effective as it conveys to the viewer that within the book I will include archival images where I explore my family and the past.
My photo book is mostly in chronological order and only breaks this pattern when reflecting on the past with present photographs such as souvenir images. This order will make the reader feel like they are going on a personal journey as they experience my childhood through archival images. I start the narrative of the book before I was even born, focusing on my mother and my father and their first encounters together. All these images are accompanied with a blank page on the left side to ensure focus on the singular images. The first page depicts a family portrait from my mother’s side in a collage combined with Peruvian textile. On the second page I have incorporated another image that depicts a family, however this time it showcases my father’s side. Finally, the third page depicts a third digital collage which tells the story of when my father moved to Peru. Through applying to jobs in different countries, he ended up in Peru which is where he met my mother Isabel. The two images showcase the culture in Peru and the different locations he visited once he arrived. One of the photographs depicts my father visiting Machu Picchu for the first time, an iconic landmark in Peru. On the right side is another piece of Peruvian fabric I decided to incorporate into my digital collages.
The sense of chronological order is continued with the following pages shown above, which displays my parents first encounters together. On page 8 and 9, I have displayed two archival images depicting my mother and father on a trip around Peru. I chose to pair these two images together in a double page spread because the composition of both images are similar to one another. Page 11 displays an image of my parents relationship blossoming. I chose to stitch a heart using pink thread to represent their strong connection.
These following three images showcase the marriage between my parents. The image on page 13 depicts a handmade copper and bronze Ayacucho Church sculpture. I decided to photograph this sculpture because my mother’s family side are Christians and they regularly attend church. It is also displayed as a metaphor “hearing the wedding bells ring” as a sign of the upcoming marriage between my parents. I experimented with the layout by having it full bleed on one page. I chose to present the image in this composition because it’s a small souvenir, so I decided display the photograph in a large scale. The image on page 15 depicts a snapshot of my parent’s wedding and layered on top is their marriage certificate. Page 17 features a current photograph of my mother’s hand wearing her wedding ring. This is presented after the archival image of the wedding to showcase that the marriage between my parents is still going strong.
The following outcomes are inspired by Claudia Ruiz Gustafson. I have created digital compositions which incorporate archival documents. The images on page 19 and 20, 21 display the events that followed after I was born. The right side on the first image contains my birth certificate and layered on top is the band I had around my wrist in the hospital. The next double page spread also incorporates an important document which is my mother’s Peruvian passport. This is the first image within my photo book that goes across two pages. The fold on the passport is directly on the fold of the book. Layered on top of the document is an archival image which depicts the first few months we spent in Peru before we shifted countries. Similar to the first souvenir image, I made the photo on page 23 full bleed for the same intention. This depicts three people closely bonded through textile. This represents me and my parents strong connection together as well as our connection to Peru since its where my mother and I were born and where my mother and father met.
The two digital collages are also inspired by Claudia and depict the time when my family decided to move over to Singapore. I scanned two separate images and decided to combine them together through Photoshop. The archival images on the right display my mother and father looking after me as a baby. On the left side of each collage, I decided to combine the photographs with an iconic landmark from Singapore. I paired them together in a double page spread because they display the same country and have a similar collage composition. they occupy the space well because both are presented in a square frame.
For these photo-manipulations, I used thread for my archival images to be sewn over with geometric patterns. I recreated the abstract aspect of Annegret Soltau’s work by joining facial features together with thread. I specifically chose a photograph which had a close up of my face in order to see the patterns through line. I think these photo manipulations were a success as I managed to recreate Annegret Soltau photomontages with my own archival images. I think this photo manipulation portrays the idea of identity, specifically questioning personal identity on an abstract scale. I liked the symbolism behind her work and wanted to incorporate that into my own work. I wanted the thread to act as a metaphor for the displacement in my life. the thread showcases that movement doesn’t necessarily mean freedom. Although constant movement can be exciting it doesn’t allow you to settle down in one place. It’s restricting in the way that you feel out of place, a sense of not feeling like you belong at “home”. I paired these two images together because they present artistic manipulation using thread.
These collages are influenced by Carolle Benitah as well as Claudia Ruiz Gustafson. They depict countries where I used to live or places where I have visited during childhood. I have replicated Benitah’s series Photo Souvenirs by reworking old family snapshots. I have mainly used red graphic ink pen in order to draw illustrations on top of the images. I created these red marks as a metaphor for leaving my traces behind in each country. I decided to present these collages by themselves so the viewers understand that each place I go to is a new chapter in my childhood journey. They have a larger impact when presented on a singular page since the viewers only focus on that image.
Similar to Claudia Ruiz Gustafson, I have continued my exploration of my cultural identity by creating photomontages which merges self portraits from present time with archival images to exhibit how my cultural identity has shaped me as an individual. I created these double exposures on Photoshop to be able to blend my self portraits with archival images that my parents have captured from Peru and England. I presented these together on a double page spread because both are inspired by Antonio Mora. They pair together well since I am facing in the same direction and because I wanted to present the contrast between Peru and England and how my mixed identity has shaped me. These images are displayed after the montage of memories to show my current self to the viewers.
This photo montage of my parents presented on page 41 is inspired by John Stezaker who overlays images. I have recreated Stezaker famous series called Mask where he fuses sitters with natural landscapes or architecture in order to create a new outcome. I photographed my parents together and used an archival image from Peru to layer on top of their faces. I have presented a portrait of my parents together since when I think of “home” I associate it with them since I haven’t had a long term house or place I have lived at. I chose to have the portraits in black and white in order to contrast with the colourful archival image concealing their faces. The image is in full bleed on a singular page because I wanted the final photograph within my photo book to have a strong impact on the viewer. I chose to have current portraits of me and my parents as the final images to show how these memories have shaped us. It ends with a portrait of my parents together because they started this journey together and are still happily married after 17 years.
For the following pages, I needed to incorporate my essay at the end of my book so viewers can understand the influences behind my personal project.
How does Carolle Benitah and Claudia Ruiz Gustafson explore their past as a method of understanding identity?
“For most people, looking at a snapshot does not only make one sad for the time or person gone but can also trigger memories of the past, bringing them right back into the present in the mind of the viewer. Photographs, whether happy or sad, and especially family ones, work on both memory and remembrance – at the same time representing a memory and calling us to remember – and they hold a very special and important place in our lives.” (Bright and Van Erp 2019:37)
Through my personal investigation, I am going to focus on my mobile family life and how this lifestyle has effected me as an individual. I will explore how living in different countries has allowed me to gain cultural knowledge, new experiences and memories. It has ultimately shaped who I am and how I perceive the world. I will explore my mixed identity and the different cultures I have been exposed to by starting the narrative from the beginning. Creating collages and manipulating archival images will help me tell the story of how my mother and father met and fell in love in Peru. Since my father is a geography teacher, he takes the opportunity to go travelling whenever he can. Through applying to jobs in different countries, he ended up in Peru which is where he met my mother Isabel. I want to present their love story and display the events that followed after their marriage.
I will be investigating the two visual artists Carolle Benitah and Claudia Ruiz Gustafson who explore family, memory, displacement and identity from their own point of view. Through the use of vintage family photographs and the use of different mediums, these artists uncover family stories and create complex, multidimensional narratives to reflect upon what they have left behind while shifting countries and at the same time honouring and remembering family traditions. I have chosen to investigate Carolle Benitah because of the visual aspects portrayed in her work. For my own personal investigation, I would also like to manipulate and physically edit my archival imagery through artistic techniques, whether that may be sewing, drawing or cutting. She demonstrates her feelings towards her childhood from her current perspective, which is what I intend to do in my own project. Claudia Ruiz Gustafson is my second reference since her autobiographical, self reflective series Historias Fragmentadas has inspired me to make my own digital compositions. Like Gustafson, I want to use archival images and documents to explore my past and cultural identity. To respond to her work, I will be juxtaposing, tearing and layering family photographs in order to tell a personal story.
Before I begin addressing my work or the chosen photographers, I think it’s important to recognise the photographic history that influenced both projects I am analysing within this investigation. Having looked into a variety of artistic/photographic movements, I was interested by Dadaism and the way in which it linked into my personal study. Dadaism or Dada was a form of artistic anarchy born out of disgust for the social, political and cultural values of the time. It embraced elements of art, music, poetry, theatre, dance and politics. Dada was not a style of art like Cubism or Fauvism; Instead it was more a protest movement with an anti-establishment platform. There was a clear motive behind this movement. However, it is not the social, political and cultural issues behind the artworks that I am interested in. Although I admire the intentions of Dadaism, I am more intrigued by the visual aspects within the movement.
Dada began in Zürich, Switzerland and arose as a reaction to World War I and the nationalism that many thought had led to the war. The results of Dadaism were extremely diverse, ranging from performance art to poetry, photography, sculpture, paintings and collage. Dada’s aesthetic, obvious by its mockery of materialistic and nationalistic attitudes, was a powerful influence on artists in many cities, including Berlin, Hanover, Paris, New York and Cologne, all of which generated their own groups. The movement dissipated with the creation of Surrealism, but the ideas it gave rise have become the foundations of various categories of modern and contemporary art.
Left: Max Ernst – Anatomie als Braut, 1921 / Right: Herbert Bayer – Lonesome City Dweller
Cut with a Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany (1919) Artist: Hannah Höch
In Berlin, one of the most popular mediums among the Dadaists was photography. Using scissors and glue, they made photomontage, with photographic images taken from the press. The realism of these images helped transmit the dreadful scenery of combat and death accurately and effectively. Photoshop is an example of how photomontage has developed into an advanced practice. With this software we can create photo-montages by layering and merging images together in order to create a new result.
I believe that Dadaism links to the photographic work that I have produced for my personal project. The photographers involved in the Dada movement would create collages of separate photographs that is re-photographed so that the final image is converted back into a seamless photographic print. I have carried out a similar approach by layering archival images of my own family photographs into one digital collage. Although my work does not address social, political and cultural issues like the Dada movement, I am creating collages in order to explore the past as well as my own cultural identity.
Carolle Benitah’s series Photo Souvenirs explores the memories of her Moroccan childhood by reworking and threading old family snapshots. She uses beads, coloured thread and scissors in order to alter her family photo albums to explore her memories during childhood as a way to understand her current identity. Benitah became interested in her family pictures when she looked through a family album and found herself “overwhelmed by an emotion”. She explains that the photographs represented “me, spoke about me and my family, told things about my identity, my place in the world, my family history and its secrets, the fears that constructed me, and many other things that contributed to who I am today”.
The artist says that she “excavated” images in which she appears from family albums and chose snapshots that relate to memories and loss. Benitah carried out a process of order, classification, scanning and then printing. She never manipulates the original photo. Once the images are chosen, she starts to tell her version of the story. Benitah explains that “The past of a human being, is neither permanent or finished, but reconstructed in the present time”. I find it interesting how Benitah doesn’t do anything directly on the original image. If you manipulate the original, then it would be changed forever. However, there is some sort of dedication that comes when adjusting the original since you are essentially rewriting your past and making a statement.
For the last step she adds needlework. Embroidering is principally a feminine activity. Waiting was associated to this activity: women embroidered, hoping for the man to return home. Embroidery is strongly linked to the environment in which she grew up in. Girls in a good family used to learn how to sew and embroider which were essential activities for “perfect women”. She uses embroidery with a purpose, a decorative function to re-interpret her own history and expose its failings. “With each stitch I make a hole with a needle. Each hole is putting a death of my demons. It’s like an exorcism. I make holes in paper until I am not hurting any more.”
I selected Benitah due to the visual aspects portrayed in her work. For my own personal investigation, I would like to manipulate and physically edit my archival imagery through artistic techniques, whether that may be sewing, drawing or cutting. Her series Photo Souvenirs captivated my interest since her artistic manipulations can be interpreted in different ways since they are not direct and obvious in their message. Therefore, the viewers must analyse the illustrations and come up with their own reasoning as to why Benitah chose to create these marks as a form of self reflection. This means that Benitah’s personal story remains personal since only she knows her true intentions behind each work. In order to explore her cultural identity and reflect on childhood memories, Benitah displays her current feelings based on the snapshots captured through artistic alterations which is what I intended to do with my project as well.
Les Cafards (The cockroaches)
This piece is an example of Carolle Benitah exploring her past as a method of understanding identity. The photograph above has been scanned and then manipulated using embroidery. By manipulating the photograph, she is returning to an old memory and imprinting current thoughts and messages within the past. This archival family photograph has most likely been captured by a family member whilst she lived in Morocco. Carolle Benitah has embroidered red thread where both children have linked hands together. This area is the main visual element of the image since it is the only colour feature in the entire frame. As viewers, we know they are related because of the red string bounding their hands together. Their connection cannot be broken. Like all the collages within the series Photo Souvenirs, Benitah uses red thread with a purpose. It leads Benitah to her past history. This vibrant yet deviant of all colours showcases its spectrums between love and hate, pain and joy, life and death. The children are surrounded by embroidered cockroaches which invade the space but they have angel’s wings and the fraternal links protect her and saves her. Like I have mentioned before, what I’m most fascinated about this collage in particular is how the visual alterations within the work are completely up to the viewer’s interpretation. It doesn’t really make any sense to the viewers since the concept is not personal to us but is for the artist. She has simply illustrated her ideas and how she views the moment that has been captured.
Originally from Lima, Perú, Claudia Ruiz Gustafson is a fine art photographer based in Massachusetts. Her work is mainly autobiographical and self reflective. Claudia Ruiz Gustafson grew up in a conservative middle class family in Perú and moved to the US when she was in her twenties. As time passed and the last of her grandparents died, Claudia felt compelled to bring attention to what she had left behind, being the only person in her family who left her country of origin “For me the hardest part was not to be able to spend the last years of my grandparents’ lives with them. My grandmother was the pillar of my family, the story teller and the story keeper of our family’s history. I knew she wanted me to continue this tradition”. This series helped Claudia to look deeper into her past by exploring memories and the emotion of loss.
In her series, Historias fragmentadas (Fragmented stories), she creates digital compositions from images of the past. By tearing, juxtaposing elements from the past and the present, layering archival documents, fragments from her journals and objects from her childhood, she has shed light on a personal story within an ancestral story that spans generations. Continuing her exploration to recall what she has lost, Claudia uses staged imagery, mostly self portraits, to transport her physical presence into the spiritual past as seen in the compositions. This series exposes the vulnerability of childhood, a longing for a time gone by and the truths of a particular Latin American Family.
I have chosen Claudia Ruiz Gustafson as my second reference for my personal investigation because her self reflective series Historias Fragmentadas has inspired me to make my own digital compositions through Photoshop. I intend to use archival images depicting my family in order to look into the past and explore memories. Like Claudia, I will explore my cultural identity by juxtaposing, tearing and layering archival images and documents in order to tell a personal story. In order to continue the exploration of my cultural identity, I have created photo-montages which merges self portraits with archival images to exhibit how living in different countries has shaped me as an individual.
Llena eres de gracia (Full of Grace)
This digital collage displays layers of different archival material combined together into one seamless photographic print. She often employs family snapshots in collages that are layered with textures and fabrics to reveal a longing for childhood and a person or place left behind. It is clear from my research on the photographer, that the purpose for creating this collage was to bring attention to someone she had left behind who presumably died when she moved to the US. Her layered compositions in the Historias Fragmentadasseries offer at times a playful sense of memory and in others a mournful sense of loss and longing. In this case, she has created the collage as a remembrance to one of her family members. This photograph is from Claudia’s family archive that she has inherited from a relative. The portrait in the middle of the composition depicts a middle aged woman in glam. It is a head shot in back and white film of a relative of Claudia whether that may be her mother or grandmother. The Portrait image is torn precisely in half, signifying that her mother/grandmother has passed away. The colour red makes an appearance. It seems to be some sort of fabric which runs down the middle of the frame. This probably signifies that although the individual has died, the family blood line still remains. In the middle of the torn portrait, there is a fragment of paper, perhaps from her childhood journal or a letter she has received from the individual in the image. This acts as a momento and reminds Claudia of her place of origin since the writing on the lined paper is in Spanish which is the official language in Peru.
The research on both these photographers has influenced my personal project, which focuses on my mobile family life and how this lifestyle has effected me as an individual. To investigate my cultural identity, I created collages by sewing and layering archival images which are aspects inspired by both artists. I will be looking at some of the different methods I used and visuals I created and what they represent. The first image features two archival photographs combined together into one digital collage. Both images were taken in Austria, a country I used to live in during my younger years. The top image within the collage, depicts me and my mother embracing each other which demonstrates our strong connection as mother and daughter. I only made alterations to the image below which depicts me as a child surrounded by deer sculptures. I have replicated Benitah’s series Photo Souvenirs by reworking old family snapshots with a red graphic ink pen. I created red illustrations on top of the image as a metaphor for leaving my traces behind in each country. To incorporate an element of Claudia’s work, I scanned a cloth originating from Vienna to act as the border. The second digital collage tells the story of when my father moved to Peru. Since my father is a geography teacher, he takes the opportunity to go travelling whenever he can. Through applying to jobs in different countries, he ended up in Peru which is where he met my mother Isabel. The two images within the collage showcase the culture in Peru and the different locations he visited once he arrived. The photograph below depicts my father visiting Machu Picchu for the first time, an iconic landmark in Peru. On the right side is a piece of Peruvian fabric I decided to incorporated into my digital collage. Creating photo-montages has helped me explore my mixed identity and the different cultures I have been exposed to during childhood. I have manipulated my archival imagery through artistic techniques, whether that may be sewing or drawing. It is a form of self reflection to explore how living in different countries has allowed me to gain cultural knowledge, new experiences and memories.
Both Carolle Benitah and Claudia Ruiz Gustafson explore the memories of their childhood by reworking old family snapshots. They both grew up in their country of origin and shifted when they started their photography career. Carolle Benitah lived in Morocco during her childhood but then made the decision to move to France, whereas Claudia Ruiz Gustafson moved from Peru over to the US in her twenties. Both Photo Souvenirs and Historias Fragmentadas are autobiographical and self reflective since they use their current perspective based on their childhood in order to alter the archival images artistically. Benitah uses beads, thread and scissors in order to change her family photos, whereas Claudia tears, juxtaposes elements from the past and present, layers archival documents and images from her childhood. Benitah and Claudia have similar intentions for their projects since they both explore their past in order to understand their identity. Benitah created the series Photo Souvenirssince her archival photographs evoked strong emotions as she looked through her family albums. She uses the photographs to explore herself, her family, her identity, her place in the world and many other things that contributes to who she is today. On the other hand, Claudia uses her archival imagery in order to bring attention to what she left behind in her country of origin. Moreover, the colour red has great significance in both their work although used with different purposes. Carolle Benitah uses red thread because it leads her to her past history. The vibrant yet deviant of all colours showcases its spectrums between love and hate, pain and joy, life and death. Claudia Ruiz Gustafson uses the colour red within her digital compositions because it represents the blood line among family members. Although both photographers create collages, they craft them using different methods and techniques. Claudia produces collages digitally by scanning each image separately and then layering them together using Photoshop, whereas Carolle makes artistic alterations on the image physically and afterwards scans the result in order to have a final seamless photographic print. Unlike Benitah, Claudia continues her investigation based on her cultural identity by using self portraits and staged imagery in order to transport her physical presence into the spiritual past.
In summary, I can conclude that photography as a medium can be used to explore memory, displacement and identity as demonstrated by the work of Benitah and Gustafson. It was insightful to investigate the way in which individuals illustrate their current perspective within their art through different methods and mediums. Attempting to convey a personal story and feelings through a traditional photograph is problematic because it is difficult to connect the viewer with the artists work especially if they don’t know their intentions or the symbolism behind certain aspects. In response to this dilemma, artists such as Benitah and Gustafson have drawn inspiration from the Dada movement by physically manipulating images and creating collages. I have learned about photographys potential and the way in which time frames can be altered and depicted through images. The work from these two photographers are heavily reliant upon the past and archival childhood images. Both artists inspired my work throughout my personal investigation and I am satisfied with my final outcomes since I have fulfilled my desire to experiment with as many materials and methods as possible, both traditional and digital. Every collage and image that I have used within my study has helped me tell the story of my mobile family life and how this lifestyle has effected me as an individual. Ultimately, I wanted to explore my mixed identity and how being exposed to different cultures through childhood has shaped me as an individual.
This post presents my final outcomes for this personal investigation. Included below, not in any particular order, is every piece that I managed to produce for my study. I am satisfied with the final outcomes since it fulfils my desire to experiment with as many different techniques and methods as possible, both traditional and digital. Every outcome has helped me explore my mixed identity and the different cultures I have been exposed to during childhood. Ultimately, I wanted to investigate memories, displacement and identity through the use of archival imagery as well as different mediums in order to uncover my family story. Creating these pieces has helped me self reflect upon what I have left behind while shifting countries as well as remembering those moments.
The three images above are inspired by Claudia Ruiz Gustafson. To begin the narrative for my photo-book, I created collages that depict the family from both my mother’s and father’s side. The first image showcases the family from my mother’s side, all sat on the living room sofa staring directly at the camera. In order to create a collage, I scanned a colourful Peruvian fabric to be displayed as the background. This sends a clear message to the viewers that my mother comes from South America due to the textile art presented. This composition is inspired by Claudia who combines archival images with fabric in order to uncover her family’s personal story. Peru is the country with the longest tradition of textile production, going back over 10,000 years. They dyed alpaca fiber and wove it into specific patterns and shapes, representing the areas and the family the weaver was from. Peruvian textiles mainly consist of vibrant colours and striking designs. The second image juxtaposes with the first collage because now I am presenting the family on my father’s side. I wanted to display an image similar to the first composition where all family members are present. This photo depicts his family eating dinner in their house located in Mojácar, a place that they regularly visited during the holidays. My Grandparents now live there permanently since they reached retirement. In order to showcase where they are originally from, I decided to attach a British stamp in the right corner. The third digital collage tells the story of when my father moved to Peru. Since my father is a geography teacher, he takes the opportunity to go travelling whenever he can. Through applying to jobs in different countries, he ended up in Peru which is where he met my mother Isabel. The two images showcase the culture in Peru and the different locations he visited once he arrived. The photograph below depicts my father visiting Machu Picchu for the first time, an iconic landmark in Peru. On the right side is another piece of Peruvian fabric I decided to incorporated into my digital collages.
The two digital collages are also inspired by Claudia and depict the time when my family decided to move over to Singapore. I scanned two separate images and decided to combine them together through Photoshop. The archival images on the right display my mother and father looking after me as a baby. On the left side of each collage, I decided to combine the photographs with an iconic landmark from Singapore.
The following outcomes are also inspired by Claudia Ruiz Gustafson. I have created digital compositions which incorporate archival documents. The first image depicts a snapshot of my parent’s wedding and layered on top using blending mode lighten is their marriage certificate. The second image displays the day I was born. The right side contains my birth certificate and layered on top of the archival image is the band I had around my wrist in the hospital. The third image also incorporates an important document which is my mother’s Peruvian passport. Layered on top is an archival image which depicts the first few months we spent in Peru before we shifted countries. The fourth collage was created with a London postcard. London is a place we regularly visit because a few of our family members live there. I created this through Photoshop by erasing all the unnecessary space within the rectangular frame and replacing it with an archival image which depicts me and my father in front of London Bridge.
The three photographs above are current photos that I have captured in order to juxtapose with the archival collages. Claudia Ruiz Gustafson does this in her series Historias Fragmentadas to document and contrast different time periods. The first two images were taken in the same location in my house to display them as souvenirs. The first image depicts a handmade copper and bronze Ayacucho Church sculpture. I decided to photograph this sculpture because my mother’s family side are Christians and they regularly attend church. It is also displayed as a metaphor “hearing the wedding bells ring” as a sign of the upcoming marriage between my parents. The second image is also a souvenir from Peru and depicts three people closely bonded through textile. This represents me and my parents strong connection together as well as our connection to Peru since its where my mother and I were born and where my mother and father met. The third image depicts a current photograph of my mother’s hand wearing her wedding ring.
For these photo-manipulations, I used thread for my archival images to be sewn over with geometric patterns. I recreated the abstract aspect of Annegret Soltau’s work by joining facial features together with thread. In order not to destroy the original image, I photocopied all the photographs. I specifically chose a photograph which had a close up of my face in order to see the patterns through line. I think these photo manipulations were a success as I managed to recreate Annegret Soltau photomontages with my own archival images. I think this photo manipulation portrays the idea of identity, specifically questioning personal identity on an abstract scale. I liked the symbolism behind her work and wanted to incorporate that into my own work. I wanted the thread to act as a metaphor for the displacement in my life. the thread showcases that movement doesn’t necessarily mean freedom. Although constant movement can be exciting it doesn’t allow you to settle down in one place. It’s restricting in the way that you feel out of place, a sense of not feeling like you belong at “home”.
These collages are influenced by Carolle Benitah as well as Claudia Ruiz Gustafson. They depict countries where I used to live or places where I have visited during childhood. I have replicated Benitah’s series Photo Souvenirs by reworking old family snapshots. I have mainly used red graphic ink pen in order to draw illustrations on top of the images. I created these red marks as a metaphor for leaving my traces behind in each country.
These photo montages of my parents are inspired by John Stezaker who overlays images. I have recreated Stezaker famous series called Mask where he fuses sitters with natural landscapes or architecture in order to create a new outcome. I chose to recreate John Stezaker’s collages because I like the concept of hiding facial features of subjects. I photographed my parents together and used archival images from Peru to layer on top of their faces. These photographs were taken on their first trip together around Peru as a couple. I captured portraits of my parents since when I think of “home” I associate it with them since I haven’t had a long term house or place I have lived at. I chose to have the portraits in black and white in order to contrast with the colourful archival image concealing their faces. The landscape images on the foreground take the place of facial features beneath.
Similar to Claudia Ruiz Gustafson, I have continued my exploration of my cultural identity by creating photomontages which merges self portraits from present time with archival images to exhibit how my cultural identity has shaped me as an individual. I created these double exposures on Photoshop to be able to blend my self portraits with archival images that my parents have captured from Peru and England. The self portraits are head shots so I could focus on altering the area around the head. I captured the self portraits with a white backdrop behind me in order to have a cleaner background when doing a double exposed portrait. In order to create these digital collages, I opened two images on Photoshop: a self portrait and the image I intend to blend myself with. I then converted both images into black and white so the colour of my skin and the image blend together through tone. Having the image placed on top of the portrait, I used the blending mode lighten so some areas are transparent while others remain the same. To complete the edit, I adjust the contrast and exposure on both images to obtain a result where the human face is mixed with landscape or architecture. I would say that these final outcomes are a success because the digital collages create a “mysterious world, halfway between dream and reality”. I have enjoyed creating these illusions through photo manipulation techniques because it’s a creative way of making photo montages instead of physically altering the image.
Originally from Lima, Perú, Claudia Ruiz Gustafson is a fine art photographer based in Massachusetts. Her work is mainly autobiographical and self reflective.
Claudia Ruiz Gustafson grew up in a conservative middle class family in Perú and moved to the US when she was in her twenties. As time went and the last of her grandparents died, Claudia felt compelled to bring attention to what she had left behind, being the only person in her family who left her country of origin. This series made Claudia look deeper into her past by exploring memories and the emotion of loss.
In her series, Historias fragmentadas (Fragmented stories), she creates digital compositions from images of the past. By tearing, juxtaposing and layering archival documents, fragments from her journals and objects from her childhood, she has shed light on a personal story within an ancestral story that spans generations. Continuing her exploration to recall what she has lost, Claudia uses staged imagery, mostly self portraits, to transport her physical presence into the spiritual past as seen in the compositions. The conversations within this series, exposes the vulnerability of childhood, a longing for a time gone by and the truths of a particular Latin American Family.
I have chosen Claudia Ruiz Gustafson as my final reference for my personal investigation because her autobiographical, self reflective series Historias Fragmentadas has inspired me to make my own digital compositions. Like Claudia, I want to use archival images and documents to explore my past and my cultural identity. To respond to her work I will be juxtaposing, tearing and layering archival images in order to tell a personal story. I also hope to continue exploring my past through self portraits.
This digital collage depicts two photographs combined together. The archival image in the background depicts a middle aged man and two children. The family portrait seems to have been captured in the forest and is definitely from the past suggested by the torn edges and black and white film. The foreground image, torn in half, also depicts a forest landscape. Perhaps the same forest location from the background has also been captured in the present. I make this assumptions because Claudia feels like the best way for her to tell stories is by juxtaposing elements from the past and present. The foreground image is in colour which is why I assume that the photograph has been captured recently. Like Carolle Benitah, Claudia also uses the colour red when presenting her archival images. Apparently she uses the colour red because it symbolises the blood lineage among family members. What instantly captures your attention are the two red spirals created by thread. Both circles focus on faces depicted in the family portrait: The middle aged man, presumably her grandfather, and the young girl who is most likely to be Claudia herself. She has probably created this visual aspect to explore the relationship she used to have with her grandfather before he died. Claudia has said that the reason why she created this series is to bring attention to what she had left behind in Peru when she moved to the US.
Claudia has worked with a photograph from her family archive that she has inherited from a relative. The colour red makes an appearance once again and this time it seems to be some sort of fabric which runs down the middle of the composition. The Portrait image is torn in half, probably signifying that although her mother/grandmother has passed away the family blood line still remains. This digital collage displays layers of different archival material combined together. In the middle there is a fragment of paper, perhaps from her childhood journal or a letter she has received from the individual in the image
Sophie Calle is a French photographer and writer. Her work frequently depicts human vulnerability and examines identity and intimacy. Her photographic work often includes panels of text of her own writing.
Contrary to other photographers who think that their photography work must explain itself, Sophie Calle’s position hiding the photographs inside the book is her intent. The text will affect the way in which the viewer will read each image but that isn’t necessarily wrong. Her work combines the text and images smoothly so that the viewer cannot prioritise one over the other. You could say the most important aspect is the story she tells using both elements in order to narrate.
The photo-book tells a story through an image of an idea that appears into her head. She tells us the reason or at least one reason why she captured the image. The photograph is then revealed later, hidden within Japanese binding. She reversed the relationship where individuals instincts are to look at the image and then read the words that accompany it.
The photo-book’s front and back cover has a silky quality that feels smooth to the touch. Depending on where the light hits, the colour changes from burnt sienna to gold. The photographer’s name Sophie Calle is displayed on a small card on the right side of the cover. It’s unusual how the title of the photo-book Because isn’t displayed on the front, however there is a short poem which gives the viewer insight on what to expect inside.
All the pages within the photo-book have the same design and layout. In each piece, a felt curtain embroidered with Calle’s writing conceals a hidden photograph behind it. Presenting the viewers with the text before the image is an unusual order in which images are read. This aspect has intrigued me since it creates a poetic surprise.
All the images that are hidden within the pages are in colour. The photographs presented in the photobook are either landscape or portrait and they all vary in different sizes. There are 72 pages with 32 photographs inserted between the pages of the book. Behind each image is the title she gave each image
The title Because is intriguing since each poem she presents alongside the image has the word because somewhere within the poem. She either uses it once or several times. Calle uses this word to explain to her viewers on why she captured the image.
Since my personal investigation involves manipulating my own archival images, I have decided to scan the photographs and print them so the originals would be kept the same as they are irreplaceable. Although many of the photographs had already been printed out, I also found several CDs storing images of places I used to live and go on holiday. I had never seen the images from the CDs, which caused a realisation that memory does fade away in time. I could not remember the moments these photos were captured, the memories were only restored through looking at these images. Like Carolle Benitah I had to “excavate” through albums, boxes and CDs in order to carry out the process of “order, classification, scanning and printing”.
Below I have planned the different techniques I intend to carry out on my childhood archival images during the Christmas holidays. The only photo-shoots I need to conduct is when I capture self portraits in the style of John Stezaker’s Mask series and Antonio Mora’s dream like portraits. Even these photos need alterations through collages and multi exposure.
Photo-manipulation one: Carolle Benitah
For my first photo-manipulation I plan to use coloured thread and scissors in order to alter my childhood photos to investigate how moving to different country’s has influenced my current identity. I will try to recreate the visual aspects portrayed in her work by including needlework and artistic techniques, whether that may be drawing, painting or cutting. Through these techniques, I want to demonstrate my feelings towards my childhood from my current perspective. I want to portray how grateful I am to have lived in various countries. It has allowed me to gain cultural knowledge, new experiences and memories. By manipulating my archival images, I want to demonstrate how memories slowly fade away in the passage of time. Revisiting my childhood images will help me to recall the moments in which the photographs were taken. The red illustrations will be symbolic of me leaving behind my traces in each country.
Photo-manipulation two: Annegret Soltau
For my second photo-manipulation I would like my archival images to be sewn over or collaged with black thread. I intend to recreate the abstract quality of her work and the geometric patterns which joins features of her face. The thread will help me portray the idea of identity and will act as a metaphor for the instability in my life. I intend to use thread to showcase that movement doesn’t necessarily mean freedom. It’s restricting in the way that you feel out of place, a sense of not feeling like you belong at “home”.
Photo-shoot three: John Stezaker
For my third photo-shoot I intend to create collages by hiding the facial features of black and white portraits with archival images depicting countries I have lived in and their most iconic scenery and architecture. These archive images will overlap my face in order to convey how living in different countries has ultimately shaped my current identity. In the editing process, I will turn the portraits of myself and my parents into black and white while keeping the archival images in colour to replicate his work.
Photo-shootfour: Antonio Mora
For my fourth photo-shoot I will respond to Antonio Mora’s photography work by creating digital collages on photoshop. This will enable me to merge portraits with landscapes and architecture from archival photographs. In order to replicate his style I will capture head shots so in the manipulation process I can focus on altering the area around the head.
Antonio Mora has been a creative art director since 1995 and has gradually drawn towards the more artistic area of his profession. His work which is personal and evocative are meant to create intense feelings. He has developed a large collection of portraits where dreamworlds are superimposed with reality.
Mora uses techniques to create digital collages using various tools such as filters, hues, saturations and gradients of opacity. This creative process results in photographs being merged together. The tools on photoshop allowed him to dissolve two or more superimposed images in order to obtain results where the human faces are mixed with landscapes and architecture. I would say that his digital collages place his subjects in a strange, mysterious world, halfway between dream and reality. “My originality lies in the fusion, in finding combinations that evoke evocation and mystery. Images that open a crack in our collective memory that allows us to observe the beings that inhabit our deepest dreams.”
He says that his work is inspired by the belief that “art is made to disturb the conscience”. He works with images he finds through the internet, magazines and blogs and fuses them together with his photo manipulation techniques. His seamless way of mixing various concepts together creates a mind tricking illusion for the viewer.
As a response to his work, I will create digital collages on photoshop to blend portraits with landscapes and architecture from archival photographs. Like Mora, I want my work to be surreal in order to create a mysterious world. The portraits will have to be head shots in order to manipulate the region of the face. I selected Mora as one of my references because I want to create digital collages using self portraits in order to demonstrate how living in different countries has ultimately shaped my current identity.
VISUAL: This is a portrait that consists of the natural and unnatural world. The woman’s face has been slightly revealed, creating a mysterious effect to the image. If you look closely you can see cracks in the photo which makes it seem like the image is ageing and about to peel off. Around the head area you can see arches which appears to be a bridge that has been copied and pasted several times. On the left hand side you can see a cluster of leaves resting in the corner. The reflection of the leaves and the arches can also be seen in the image, seamlessly blending into the woman’s face. You can also see that the smallest arch and its reflection has created a circle which has been replaced for the real eye that has been erased. Antonio Mora has placed multiple pictures on top of one another and then lowered the opacity to blend all the images together.
COMPOSITION: The focal point in this image is where the eye is supposed to be. The arches have decreased in size the further out it is which captures the viewers attention and makes their eyes follow through the endless tunnel. The contrast in colours is interesting since the lower half is dark and gloomy while the upper half has a tranquil effect through the nature and peaceful landscape.
OPINION: I like how the artist has used nature to replace a large amount of the woman’s face. I think this image is telling us a story about a young woman who is broken which is represented by the cracks. She has a lot going on in her head which is represented by the several arches that circle around her. She appears to be envious which can be seen through the colour imagery of green depicted through the leaves and their reflection.
John Stezaker is a contemporary British Conceptual artist who is best known for his collages of found images taken on postcards, film stills and commercial photographs. Stezaker’s work resembles early Surrealist and Dada collages.
With surgical like precision, Stezaker overlays distinct images to create new personalities, landscapes and scenes. “I’m using an archive to create another archive of my own,” he elaborates. “My ideal is to do very little to the images, maybe just one cut: the smallest change or the most minimal mutilation. What I do is destructive, but also an act of deliberate passivity.”
Stezaker has a collection of photographs, some which have been sliced in half diagonally or carefully cut around so that only a silhouette of the face remains. He collects photographs in order to deface them and in the process, create something new. His collages give old images a new meaning. He states that “There is something very odd, even unnerving about cutting through a photograph; It sometimes feels like I am cutting though flesh.”
One of Stezaker’s most famous series is called Mask where he fuses the profiles of glamorous sitters with natural landscapes or architecture to create images of eerie beauty. By simply placing an old coloured postcard of a landscape across a face he creates a strange new world. The end results are both deceptively simple in their execution and oddly disturbing in their suggestion. “When we look at a face, we assume that we are looking behind the face for a personality”, he says, “By making literal that behindness, I often create something that twists into an image of horror”.
I have chosen John Stezaker as one of my references for my personal investigation because I like the concept of hiding the facial features of the subject with a postcard showcasing nature or architecture. When I create my own collages, instead of using postcards I will use archival images depicting countries I have lived in and their most iconic scenery and architecture. These photographs will make the country clearly identifiable through symbolism and well known places or landscapes. These archive images will cover the face from my current self to convey how living in different countries has shaped my current identity. Perhaps I could also capture portraits of my parents since when I think of “home” I associate it with them since I haven’t had a long term house or place I have lived at. In order to replicate Stezaker’s collage style from the series Masks, the archival images will have to blend with the face. Although there will be minimal manipulation to the images, the overall design will have a huge impact.
The image depicts a collage created by superimposing a postcard on a black and white photograph. The photograph is a film publicity portrait of an unidentifiable actor taken during the 1940s or 1950s. the postcard is a colour image mounted over the actor’s face. It showcases a rocky cavern in which a sandy track curves around a central pillar. The postcard photograph appears to have been taken from inside the cave looking out through two openings towards the light. Stezaker has positioned the card on the actor’s face so that the dark silhouette of the rocky opening and the curvature of the cavern line up with the contours of the actor’s face. This placement creates human features. The two openings to the light suggest eyes connected by the rocky central column which covers the actors face in the position of his nose. This is an unusual composition and is definitely associated with the term “uncertainty” because we as viewers have no idea who the person behind the postcard is. His story is also unknown and we do not know the reason why that image has been associated with him, other than the fact that the suggested facial features of the postcard aligns with the portrait.
