Michelle Sank was originally from Cape Town, South Africa. But she later decided to move to England in 1978 where she could present her images and they could be viewed as a social documentary. Her work has been set around social and cultural diversity. The photos I have chosen to look at are Sank’s project called Insula. In this project she has photographed people in their day to day environments or places which best describe her models. Her images are simple yet captivating but they have a deeper context behind them, which I like. These are a few of her images I like;
Mood-bored Of Image From Michelle’s “Insula” Project
From all of her images this is my favorite image from her project, Insula.
Technical; This image is in portrait style, where the man is centred in the image. The lighting is very bright, this is due to the fact of the white wall he is sat in front of emphases the light and by the looks of it the lighting has come from the rooms natural lighting and I cam to this decision because of the shadows that have been created are soft and are coming from a downwards direction . The image is balanced nicely with all the light colours, so it is not over exposed and the man is focused on in the middle of the image.
Visual; The image is almost monotone, with the colours in the image all nearly black and white. Looking at the image, on the right hand side of the image the wall is bricks which gives the image a different texture instead of it being all smooth there is a wall that is rough, which makes the image more interesting to look at. The image is also satisfying to look at due to the fact of the man sitting in the middle of the image and the straight lines on the floor.
Contextual/Conceptual; This man was photographed in his home and in this background to show off the success he has made through is surroundings he is photographed in. Along with the smart clothes he is photographed in, suggests he is successful and plays an important role in a business.
Francis Foot was born during 1885 in Jersey Channel Island. He began working as a gas fitter, but shortly after starting he was fascinated by photography and learnt he would be able to make a living off it. His family went on an brought anther shop in Pitt Street, where he would be able to work on his photographs and develop as a photographer. Many of Foot’s images have family members in them, this made him create an archive for his family, where he was able to document peoples existence, actions and show individuals growing up from his family. His work has a personal touch too it, as he is presenting to society, the evolution of his own family, it is almost as if he is paying tribute too them, with all the different photos of them all. Not only has foot taken portraits but he has also documented events happening around the island during his time.
Mood-board Of A Selection Of Photos From Foot.
When analysing one of Foot’s images I went through different stages and picked the image apart;
An Image From Francis Foot’s Portraits
Technical; The image is taken at a direct on approach, capturing the ‘models’ face on. The lighting in this image is all natural and has come from the sun, but you can see that the ‘models’ have been placed in the shade, this may of been because the photo was too over exposed in pure sunlight, or maybe foot just preferred out the features could be outlined in the image in the shade. Within the image you can see a deep depth of field as the children are close up towards the lens then you have the background behind them going on a far way back. Whilst having the deep depth of field, the focus remains on the children, with the features of them being sharp and accurate.
Visual; You can see the image is in black and white, and that the white is very bright, it almost looks over exposed. But as the children are dressed in white, it makes them stand out of the surroundings they are being photographed in. The image does look very 2D as you can’t see much shadow. There are 3 young children stood in the centre of the image wearing white, they are related to Foot.
Contextual; The image is there to show what the children looked like before they grow, its a photo showing the beginning of their timeline. It is also there as a document of their existence. Foot took many portraits of his family members so this is just another image of family. The images he took where during his time as his family grew and is photographic ability improved, these photos are also reminders for him and his family whenever somebody passes, they still have the images of them.
Conceptual; The idea behind this photo is too document these younger children in the photo as they grow up, it is showing their existance and what they began looking like. There could be many reasons behind why Foot took many of photos like this, it maybe so the family can keep memories about individuals forever and family members can be shown and taught about them when they pass, it is like they are keeping them alive even when they do pass. You can see the photos are personal to foot, as they are all images of his family, he is creating an archive for his family by documenting different images of them over many years.
In this blog post we are going to explore two artists: William Collie from the Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive, and Lewis Bush from Archisle Contemporary Programme. we are going to explore these two artists that have worked in photography in Jersey and were going to compare their work together.
About Artists:
Lewis Bush is a photographer, writer, researcher, and educator. His practice draws attention to forms of invisible power that operate in the world taking the stance that power is always problematic because its natural resting state is arbitrary and untransparent. Regardless of the intentions of the people and institutions possessing power, these are the states to which it constantly seeks to return. The Archisle Residency, now in its fifth year, brings international contemporary photographers to Jersey to create, educate and exhibit. The residency awards a bursary of £10,000 for an exhibition of new work responding to the culture of the Jersey and set of these works enter the Archisle Collection at the Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive.
William Collie was probably the first photographer to use Fox Talbot’s calotype process in Jersey and some of his previously unpublished photographs featured alongside those of Fox Talbot in an exhibition at the Musée Dorsay in Paris in 2008 of the first photographs taken on paper in Britain from 1840 to 1860. Collie was born in Scotland in 1810 and was in business in Jersey in Belmont Road and Bath Street from before 1850 until 1878. Collie was certainly taking photographs before he diversified his business into the art, but given his undoubtedly extremely important position in the early years of British photography, remarkably little is known about him, and few of his pictures are accessible online.
examples of their work:
One of the earliest photographs printed on paper. William Collie’s picture of Jersey market women taken in 1847 Lewis’s collection of photographs of towers around Jersey island
Conclusion
In conclusion we can see how the two photographers that worked in the same place which was Jersey are completely different and have a really different taste in photography, while Collie is photographing more towards the darker and older photographs of people mostly, Lewis photographs newer kinds of images of old or historical things.
To evaluate my zine design, I believe I have produced a strong outcome which showcases my work following my intended narrative. To begin with my front cover takes inspiration from the bunker green books made by the German’s during the second world war, which showcases my ability to take inspiration and implement said inspiration into my work for an intended affect. The sequencing of my imagery within my photographic zine works well, as it clearly showcases my narrative, the decay of Jersey’s bunker’s and how nature is taking back its land, and each image compliments one another with not having any miss fits within the design. My layouts are well thought out, as I have considered contrast, shape and how the images compliment each other, and work at different sizes. This process was not easy and my experimentation can be seen on previous blog posts, were I explored the layouts of different images. In my final design I decided to include text, which I believed to help convey my narrative, supporting the images in the story. I experimented with different fonts till I was happy with one which fit well with my images and presents an older time frame within my images. To conclude, I am very happy with my final design, as it showcases my strongest outcomes from my work so far, and shows my understanding of what makes a successful zine, which shows how I have acted upon my research.
Narrative: A narrative is a story which is being told through writing, speech or photographs. Many times a narrative can be presented through all three forms. Usually the narrative is clear and easy to follow through out. Putting this in terms with a zine, the narrative of my zine should clearly showcase the storyline I am telling from the first page, and should consistently tell this story till the last page.
Describing my Zine’s Narrative:
3 words:
Jersey’s Bunker Decay
A sentence:
My rational for my zine is to tell the story of how the Jersey’s bunkers have been untouched since the war and has decayed over time, allowing us to constantly be reminded about this key period in Jersey’s history.
A paragraph:
My zine aims to showcase the decay of the war and the imprint it has left on the island. I intend to use images which focus on the formal elements of texture, shape and line in order to clearly present the decay and the abandonment of the bunkers, which will present different viewpoints towards the decay. The story being told will not just be focused on bunker’s, but also the scenery and landscapes around the bunkers in order to showcase how that area of land has been affected, as well as bringing in contextual factors of the war and Jersey. In addition, the story will follow a linear narrative (chronological order) and will have a clear start, middle and end. Following this narrative structure should clearly show the decay of Jersey’s bunkers and how the island was heavily impacted during the 5 years of the German Occupation.
Sequencing: Sequencing is the order in which images are placed in a zine or photobook in order to present the intended narrative.
At the beginning the zine will showcase the effect of the war on the landscape with an introduction paragraph which will contain information of the war. The middle will have different styles of images (macro, different angles and focus points) showcasing the decay of the bunkers, and it will end with the way it begins, almost like a circular plot, having a landscape image looking out at the scenery. This is a brief overview of the order in which I would like my images in order to present the narrative of the decay of the bunkers.
Action Plan:
I will now produce a new blog post which will show my first attempt at placing my chosen images into a sequence which should clearly portray my narrative. I will discuss my thought process as to why I selected the chosen order and creative thoughts towards laying out the image. Furthermore, I will use this first layout as an experimentation, allowing me to evaluate my work as to what went well and what should be changed, which should then lead me on to creating a second draft.
For my narrative and sequencing I found it quite difficult to establish the idea of having a narrative with the photographs that I produced. Eventually I decided that I would use the photographs that were specifically centred around Noirmont and use this as a narrative of the place itself, taking on what would be suggested as a walking journey of the enviroment. For the sequencing I have used the idea of keeping similar layouts to gernatre a rhythem and flow and use this for a sequence.
Design and Layout:
For my main designs and layout I waned to keep a lot of rhythm within the book and it not be choppy with the way I was laying out my pages. For this reason I decided to keep the rhythm of having a frame photograph then a double page full bleed and so on. I have repeated two of my framed layouts for the rhythm and flow of the zine and chose one to be different to create a break towards the end of the photograph. I also made the decision to have a full bleed double page image spread on the front and back covers as this is something I have enjoyed seeing while looking at other zines.
Image Choices Example:
Image option 1
Image option 2
While deciding and choosing my images to use for the zine I was looking and thinking about how the composition would work and how it was going to look especially if it was a full bleed double page spread. Using the example above it shows two different photographs of the same place that I wanted to incorporate into my zine as a view looking out from the sight. The first image has a slightly wonky horizon line compared to the image on the right, for this reason I chose to use the image on the right in my final zine. This is the process I went through when choosing which specific images I wanted to use in my zine.
Use of Text:
Image and Text
Image and Text
In my zine after looking at some other zines I wanted to incorporate the use of images and text together. For this I decided to start and end on the same layout with text and a photograph placed next to each other. For the words I used, on the first double page I used a phrase taken from the Liberation speech given when the channel islands were liberated, the first page shows the sentence in German and then on the last page is written in English. This was a decision I made to have the separated and to have the reader find out the meaning at the end of the zine.
Colour / Black and White:
Colour
Black and White
Originally in my working I had my middle page as a full bleed photograph and the only one in colour. I did this originally to create a break in the design and add something different compared to all my other images. However I then made the decision to keep the middle page in black and white along with all of my other photographs as I feel it had more of a flow and kept with the ideas of all of the photographs being still and having this silent feel to them.
Archival and Own Photography:
Archival
Own Photographs
When designing my zine I decided that I wanted to incorporate one archival image, originally I had my archival photograph next to one of my own photographs showing the same structure to create a difference and compare them. However towards the end of the development I decided that I would take the archival image to the last page and put it with the translated text as I feel having it at the end was more effective and allowed a break in the middle of the zine where the photograph previously was placed.
For my own personal zine I will be making one based on the war and the sites left behind. I will be using both archive images from the war and images of my own, and will be looking to make the layout interesting and different.
First layout draft:
This is my first idea when it comes to the zine I am going to make. In this zine I have only used images which I have taken myself.
In this first draft, I stuck to my own images because I wanted to explore what was left from after the war – bunkers, cannons, ect. I wanted it to be entirely based in the modern day, with no input from images of the past because I wanted what was left of the war to tell it’s own story.
First page : Behind Barbed Wire
Pages 2 and 3 : My own image of underground tunnels at Battery MoltkePages 4 and 5 : My own image from a spot in the underground tunnels at Battery Moltke.Pages 6 and 7 : My own image of the view of the bunker at Noirmont from Portelet beach.Pages 8 and 9 : My own image of a cannon at Noirmont.Pages 10 and 11 : My own image of war machinery at Noirmont.Pages 12 and 13 : My own image of the bunker at Noirmont.Pages 14 and 15 : My own image of war machinery at Noirmont.Final page : My own image from inside an old building at Portelet.
Second layout:
In this layout I have taken both my own images and images from the archive, and have put them together to create a mix of different images.
First page : An archive image. Behind Barbed Wires.Pages 2 and 3 : An archive image of a German solider and my own image from the tunnels at Battery Moltke.Pages 4 and 5 : My own image of the view of Noirmont bunker from Portelet beach.Pages 6 and 7 : My own image of war machinery at Noirmont.Pages 8 and 9 : An image of a bunker from Jersey archive and my own image of the bunker at Noirmont.Pages 10 and 11 : My own image of a cannon at Noirmont.Pages 12 and 13 : My own image of a sunset at Noirmont.Pages 14 and 15 : Archive image.Final page : My own image from the tunnels at Battery Moltke.
Third and final layout:
This format includes most of the same images I used in my second format, however I have changed them around and put them in different places to see how the positioning of images can change my zine. I have also decided to change the name of my zine from Behind Barbed Wires to Fortress Island, as it’s shorter and reflects more of what the island is like then my previous title.
Through this draft, I have kept a warm tone with each of the images I have taken. I have done this so it contrasts with the archive images and in a way shows how times have changed since the war. The archive images are in black and white, they seem cold and unwelcoming, how one can imagine it felt like when the island was taken over during the war. And then you look at the images which have been taken in the modern day, 74 years after Jersey was Liberated from German occupation and it seems warm and inviting.
First page : Arhive image , Fortress Island.
Pages 2 and 3 : My own image of the view of the Noirmont Bunker from Portelet.
Pages 4 and 5 : My own image of the ruins at Battery Moltke.
Pages 6 and 7 : An archive image of a bunker and my own image of the bunker at Noirmont.
Pages 8 and 9 : My own images of war machinery at Noirmont.
Pages 10 and 11: My own image of a tunnel at Noirmont and an archive image of the war tunnels.
Pages 12 and 13 : My own image of the bunker at Noirmont.
Pages 14 and 15 : My own image of a sunset at Noirmont.
My initial ideas for the front cover of the zine involved experimentation using an overlay to add some contrast to the front cover while better framing the writing
I experimented with some more solid color in order to create a harsher contrast as as well as calling back to the German WW2 propaganda posters as I am a fan of the design used and the general aesthetic.
A zine is a independently or self-published booklet, often created by physically cutting and gluing text and images together onto a master flat for photocopying, but it is also common to produce the master by typing and formatting pages on a computer. The publication is usually folded and stapled.
Mood Board showcasing different styles of Zines
Analysis of a Zine:
I will be analysing ‘Lingering Ghosts – The waiting for refuge’ by Sam Ivin in order to gain a better understanding of narrative and sequencing, and what makes a successful zine. I watched a video interview with Ivin where he explained his rational behind the zine and why the topic was important to him. His passion towards the subject matter is clearly shown through his work which showcases the importance of really understand and enjoying the subject matter to clearly portray a strong narrative within my own zine.
Link to Ivin’s website which provided me with further research and understanding of his project: http://www.samivin.com/lingeringghosts
Interview with Sam Ivin
Format, size and orientation
This zine is the size of A5 paper, which is used to create a literal representation of the actual size of someone’s passport, linking to the key theme of the zine. In addition to this, the zine is in a portrait orientation which further expands our understanding of the zine prier to reading it. It is formatted in a rectangular shape which is the same as a passport, which presents Ivin’s artistic creativity to present the theme of asylum seekers and immigration.
Design and layout
As previously mentioned the design of the zine is in the style of the passport which begins to build a relationship with the imagery and the theme of immigration and asylum seekers.
Rhythm and sequencing
The sequence of the images is very simplistic but effective. On the left hand page the nationality of the person is presented through the country’s emblem, below this is a quote taken from what that person has said about being denied from seeking asylum. For example it says “All this time he was abusing me”. On the next page is a picture of that person with their face scratched out to show how they have been ghosted from England, and how the artist is expressing how others find asylum seekers irrelevant.
Narrative and visual concept
The story being told within the zine is people who are trying to seek asylum but are being declined. It’s trying to capture the uncertainty of their future and how their life has come to a stop and how they are being forgotten by others. This is shown through the portrait of the asylum seekers (in color), and the face has been scratched out, which symbolically represents this narrative. I would say the narrative is clear within the zine due to the introduction at the start of the zine. Needless to say, the imagery really encapsulates this idea.
Title and cover
The cover is very simplistic but has symbolic representations to present the theme of the zine. The background is a dark royal red/burgundy color which is the same color as a British passport which showcases the theme of travel. The simplicity of the design allows a bigger impact for the content within. The title ‘Lingering Ghosts’ is metaphorical to showcase how asylum seekers are neglected, frowned upon and find it hard to fit into society and are “unsure of what their future will hold”. Below the title is Britain’s emblem which is also shown on a passport, which presents the views of the artist that we should allow these asylum seekers into the country as they want safety.
Images and text
Image and text plays a massive role within this zine, due to the topic it is presenting. When we look at a two page spread, on the left we are presented with a country’s emblem with a quote taken direct from the asylum seekers words. On the right hand side is the picture of the asylum seekers them self which has been scratched out and distorted, which allows the image and text to work in cohesion.
Use of other design elements or inserts: archives, montages, graphics, typography
The images have been distorted by being scratched which showcases physical interactions with the photograph, showcasing a surrealist approach to photomontage. The text used is a simplistic bold lettering which is easy to read and understand from a viewers perspective.
Further Analysis:
To analyse this double page spread of Sam Ivin zine, I will be looking at different elements which make it successful. Conceptually, Ivin is trying to showcase the fact that the man has been declined asylum and is almost being forgotten by Britain, leaving him unsafe and uncertain about his future. This is clearly portrayed through the symbolism of the face of the man being scratched out, which showcases Britain trying to take away their identity. Contextually, these asylum seekers are leaving their country due to them being in danger as well as their family, and Britain are declining their entry due to the customs and immigration officers not believing what they are saying is true. This issue is very current today and this zine is aimed to inform those about this issue that innocent people are facing. Visually, the zine presents the formal elements of texture, shape and line through the scratching out of the portrait. The composition of the portrait is very simplistic, the portrait is located in the centre of the page and fills up most of the page, leaving the background plain allowing our focus to stay on the portrait. On the other side, the composition is also simplistic them emblem from where the man comes from is located in the centre of the page at a medium size with a quote taken directly from the man’s words located at the bottom of this page. Technically, the image uses a lot of negative space which represents the idea that they are left with nothing and being declined asylum leaves them feeling empty and not apart of society, due to where they come from. The portrait of the person is presented in colour which showcases the idea that they do still have an identity. In addition, the lighting used to capture the portrait is artificial warm lighting due to the image having a studio feel to it. To capture the images the aperture was low, and a large depth of field was used. The shutter speed was quick and the ISO is also low as there is no intended blur or noise presented within the image. The white balance used creates a warm atmosphere which creates a sense of coziness and safety which juxtaposes the theme of uncertainty which allows viewers to really understand and think about the issue before them. The zine uses a combination of image and text which makes it successful and shows variety also helping it to appeal to the viewers. In addition to this, the face (eyes in particular) have been scratched off showing photo manipulation in order to present the narrative of these people’s identity being stripped and taken away leaving them in uncertainty.
