An aspect of the theme Identity that I would like to explore and express is that the way you see yourself, whether that’s physically or mentally, and how it differs from all the different ways that others may view you. Each and every person around you view you in a different way than you do yourself, they see other angles, have different memories of how you looked and acted. There are a variety of ways that this message can be conveyed through one or a few images. This can be linked to ‘body dysmorphia’ which is a mental disorder characterized by the obsessive idea that some aspect of one’s own body part or appearance is severely flawed and therefore warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix it (most of the time, only the person sees this flaw and others do not notice it to the extent that the person themselves does)
Approach idea 1: The use of mirrors, glass, plastic to create reflections and or distortions representing viewpoints and angles of how a person is seen or sees themselves.
Approach idea 2: Multi-exposure images to display multiple viewpoints similarly to my first idea.
The definition of identity is who you are, the way you think about yourself, the way you are viewed by the world and the characteristics that define you. An example of identity is a person’s name . An example of identity are the traditional characteristics of an American. Identity has two important features: continuity and contrast. Continuity means that people can count on you to be the same person tomorrow as you are today. Obviously, people change but many important aspects of social identity remain relatively stable such as gender, surname, language and ethnicity. Your identity can be influenced by “place”, such as where you grew up. It is much easier to understand an individuals identity when you realize everyone is a product of their environment, that is why I think that “place” is the biggest influence that shapes your identity and who you are as a person.
Mood Board
Mind Map
Exploring Identity
Photographers that explore identity: Sam Contis, speaks to the idea of community and the social self. Andrzej Steinbach, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Sofia Borges and Shilpa Gupta. Photographers that explore identity solely through portraiture: Kandara Enyeasi, Cedric Nzaka, Zarita Zevallos, Ussi’n Yala and Thompson S. Ekong.
Phillip Toledano’s series ‘Days With My Father’ follows his fathers life after his mother died and how he is coping living without her and dealing with the grief.
Sam Contis’ series “Deep Springs” speaks to the idea of community and the social self. Contis spent lengthy visits at a traditionally all-male liberal arts college in the high desert of California, a remote backdrop that contrasts starkly with the group mode of collegiate life. “Contis’ subjects are pictured at a moment in their lives – the early college years – that has been typically understood as a time of coming into one’s adult self,” said Gallun. “In this case, such identity-formation is impacted by group social dynamics as well as connection to the characteristic western landscape.”
Zerita Zevallos focuses on the racial aspect of identity with her work. Her work is described as having ‘those unique characteristics of blending the ruthless reality and trauma Black folks go through on a daily basis, while capturing the attention of all gazes towards a narrative far too long ignored’. Her visual composition is simplistic but powerful and elegant, all while using a model presenting a physique long rejected by Western social standards of beauty. I believe that her work, subject and concepts are elegant and so timelessly impactful.
“the distinguishing character or personality of an individual”.
How an individual views themselves.
How others view an individual.
Identity can affect people in many different ways and each persons identity can be resultant on their upbringing due to the Tabula Rasa theory which states that individuals are born as a “blank slate” and the people that raise you and the culture of the environment you grow up in mould your identity. People can relate their identity to many aspects of their life – gender identity /cultural identity /social identity / geographical identity /political identity /lack of / loss of identity.
Phillip Toledano was born in 1968. He was a British photographer living and working in New York City. Hes photography is based apron the lives of individual people that suffer from either a loss or a tragic event that has happened in their life. He captures photographs of people who seem to be going through a hard, painful part of their life. His work links to the theme of Identity as for this part of his models life can effect who they are and how they identity themselves to others. Here are a few examples of his work
MOOD BOARD –
Images by Phillip Toledano
These Images by Phillip Toledano seem to all have a cold, down approach to them as for they are all sad and disheartening. They all seem to have a story behind the photo. For example, the bottom left photograph is a man holding his dog in a sorrow way. A downwards look to the floor, a gloomy setting with the curtains shut and a black T-shirt gives of the impression that this man is feeling some sort of loss or grief . He holds his dog tight to his chest , as if its the only thing that is left to keep him standing. No expression is given off in his face which suggests that hes hurt, lonely or suffering from something in his life. This effects his Identity of who he is as a whole , is he missing someone? Is he lonely?
Nancy Borowick
Nancy Borowick is an American photographer. Her work primarily documents family structures and personal histories to dissect how humans interact with, grieve, and memorialize loved ones. This relates to how we cope and deal with relationships and those people that are close in out lives.
Images By Nancy Borowick
These images in black and white show the love these couples or loved ones have for each other. The emotion expressed on these peoples faces seems to be a kind , loving and warm feeling. They seem to be there for each other such as the bottom left image. This image shows a lady holding an elderly man whilst he is in hospital. A part in these peoples identity shows that they have a kind heart towards others that may not be doing so well. Nancy seems to capture these images in the moment, they seem to be real day to day life experiences. As a viewer, these images in my opinion gives off a strong message as to be there for your loved ones if they aren’t doing as well as you.
Intro – ‘Claude Cahun, born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob, was a French lesbian photographer, sculptor and writer. Schwob adopted the pseudonym Claude Cahun in 1917 and is best known for self-portraits, in which Cahun assumed a variety of personae.’ – Wikipedia
Claude Cahun explored the idea of identity within lots of her portraits, such as gender/sexuality identity and self identity.
Here is one image that explores self identity and how Claude Cahun felt about her own identity.
This image by Claude Cahun is a double exposure portrait. (Double exposure – the repeated exposure of a photographic plate or film to light, often producing ghost images.) This would have been created by taking an original photograph, then taking another image using the same film that was just used to take the previous image. This creates the effect of the same person having multiple identities as the same subject appears twice in the image. The image is in black and white which creates a strong contrast between the lights and the shadows, adding depth to the image. The use of an un-detailed background also keeps the focus on the subject in the middle of the image.
Laura Williams
Intro – ‘My name is Laura and I’m a 24 year photographer and designer from a village in Suffolk, UK. I specialize in fine art portraits and natural, documentary style wedding photography.
I’m a storyteller. I use the art of photography to blur the lines between real life and fantasy to create unusual artworks and surreal worlds.’ – https://laurawilliamsphotography.co.uk/
Laura Williams also has a range of images portraying lack of/loss of identity. These images involve a mirror and a subject, and has been edited to symbolize the lack of the subjects identity –
This image by Laura Williams is of a girl holding a mirror sitting in a garden. This image has a shallow depth of field, created by having a wide aperture and focusing on the subject. Similarly to Claude Cahun. this draws attention to the subject in the centre of the image by having the edges out of focus and the centre sharp and in focus. The image has been edited in post to make the mirror being held to have a deeper meaning. Prior to taking the image with the subject in, an image was taken with the same framing but without the subject. This image was used to edit inside of the mirror, creating the effect that the mirror allows the viewer to see through the subject and all the way to the background. This links to the loss/lack of identity as it makes the subject seem as is shes not there. This contrasts to Claude Cahun’s meaning in the previous image becuase her image reflected the idea of having more than one identity, where as Laura Williams created the idea of not having an identity at all.
Identity – ‘the distinguishing character or personality of an individual : individuality : the relation established by psychological identification.’
Identity of a person or group can be influenced by their location, relationships with other, relations with themselves, things that are important to them, your environment or upbringing, gender identity, cultural identity, social identity, geographical identity, political identity, lack of or loss of identity
Lack of or loss of identity is what i am most interested in as i feel i can create photographs with deep meanings and metaphors to do with this type of identity.
Over the course of time, identity has come to mean several different things and people interpret the word in their own unique ways. A dictionary definition of the word will tell you identity is ‘the fact of being who or what a person or thing is,’ however identity is a word that holds many meanings. You may define identity as your culture, where you are from and how you’ve grown up- yet somebody else may have a completely opposite perception of the word such as identity meaning gender, personality or looks. Identity has been explored through photography for decades, it gives an understanding into people’s lives and beliefs by presenting them in their truth, or opposingly in how they want others to believe is true. Frequently, identity is changing and being influenced by our views on the world- some may say your identity is moulded by your surroundings and environment.
Identity Mood-board
Identity Mind-map
Initial Ideas
Personally, identity is influenced by countless things, but specifically upbringing and family. I like the idea of doing a project focusing on the identities and lives of my grandparents, as they have been extremely influential to me throughout my life and inspire me daily. I plan on documenting certain moments of their day and producing a sequence of images showing how their relationship is so important in their lives and mine. My concept is to demonstrate how family relationships and love can shape someone’s identity and how my grandparent’s past and upbringing has impacted my family today. To experiment with the ‘place’ aspect of this project I plan on experimenting with scenarios around my grandparent’s home as it is a place of safety and security for them, full of memories from over the years and things that bring them comfort. I want to show how identity is not only formed by our perception of our self- it is influenced by past memories of nostalgia and our changing passions in life.
From Latin Identities, identity is the set of traits typical of an individual or a community. These traits characterize the subject or the collective in front of others Identity is also a person’s self-awareness that makes them someone other than others. Although many of the traits that make up the identity are hereditary or innate, the environment exerts a great influence on the shaping of the specificity of each subject; for this reason expressions such as “I am looking for my own identity” are valid. In this sense, the idea of identity is associated with something of its own, an inner reality that can be hidden behind attitudes or behaviours that, in reality, have no relation to the person: “I felt that I had lost my identity; I started accepting jobs that I didn’t like and with which I had nothing in common. “The concept of sexual identity refers to each person’s vision of their own sexuality, which is decisive in relating to the rest of society. Notion links the biological dimension of the human being with the cultural aspect and freedom of choice.
The definition of “Identity” can be described in many different ways, such as the dictionary definition – “the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.” But also peoples own opinion on what identity is described, shown or photographed as. In my opinion , Identity is is a way in which someone truly shows their inner being is , as for us humans the way we take control in our personality, appearance and behavior around others such as family, friends and ourselves. A big part of the meaning of identity evolves around love and passion. Being passionate or loving something in your life can really shape someone into who they are and who they identify themselves to be. Capturing this in day to day life can be difficult as we live in a very stereotypical world. The love that people have in e.g. “a sport or an appearance” can be fround apron and hated which indicates seeing a person doing or being who they identify as to themselves can be hated by others.
PLACE
The definition of “Place” is simple in terms of where/area or a position someone is in. The dictionary definition – “a particular position, point, or area in space; a location.” A place such as a country or city someone is found in can describe themselves as for where they are from. A place such as an environment can capture what a person does in their life. A setting or scene in which someone is seen in can describe what they might be facing in real life. Whether it be a difficult place or happy environment a person or group of people are in , a place can affect someones life very heavily. For example it can effect their mental-health, their living situation, their lifestyle etc…
This whole concept of a place or what a place is to someone can influence and be a part of a persons identity. Whether this is someones upbringing environment or where you live (a city , country side) It all links into a persons identity and who they are seen as.
MIND MAP
CULTURE – SKATER STYLE –
“London Skater Style Images”
Identity and Place (Skateboarders) –
These young people are identified as skaters in the city of London. Their appearance is a massive part of their identity, such as for clothing. The baggy , casual look, known as “cool” aesthetic look. Their personal look … tattoos , messy hair , piercings. Their love and passion of skating contributes towards how they are seen to others which is their identity. The fitness and skills for the sport is something that needs to be practiced on over time.
This means the place of which they skate involves their identity. Skateboarding is fairly fround apron around London by much of the public. Therefore skateboarders can be found in usually underground areas, car parks, skate parks, quiet streets of London or any city where others wouldn’t normally visit. Theses areas seem to be either run down, abandoned or adapted to create a skate area.
