The Jersey Museum produced an exhibit which they had named ‘People Make Jersey‘. This exhibit allowed for both locals and tourists to learn about the history of Jersey communities within history, providing knowledge on the immigration of families to Jersey. This exhibition presented the extent of rich culture that Jersey contains due to the large range of nationalities that inhabit the island. The exhibition states ‘Every Jersey resident has an immigration story – whether their family came here 500 years or five years ago. This exhibition explores some of these stories and the ways in which immigration has shaped and influenced the Island we know today.’. I think this statement proves the influence immigration has had over Jersey life currently, and how Jersey was affected by immigration hundreds of years ago.

A particular section of the exhibition that sparked my interest was the display of where traditional Jersey names had originated from. This specific area of the exhibition caught my interest as my surname was featured on this board, and I had discovered that my surname (Le Breton) means “from Brittany”. This means that my family name and ancestors had originated from France. I was already aware of this as my family still has a lot of connections to France, such as family still leaving there and the older generations of my family are still fluent in French. Despite this, it was still interesting to learn about my family origins in more detail. My ancestors made the majority of their money through farming, as my whole family has always lived in the countryside.

When we walked through St Helier, the difference in Jersey culture could be seen more clearly within the architecture of particular areas of St Helier. For example, we learnt how English architecture influenced a lot of buildings in St Helier, as well as learning about traditional Jersey architecture using granite.

Identity + Zines

Zines (short for magazines) are usually a self-published piece of work created either by a single person or a very small group. The term was created in 1940 by Russ Chauvenet as a science fiction fanzine, and became especially popularized within the science fiction fandom. It became an official term in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1949.

Zines are a suitable way to display images of identity, as typically they are created within a circulation of fewer that 100 at a time. They are created and published especially as a form of displaying identity and interests as well as sharing personal skills or art, or even developing a story. They are used for this reason as opposed to being created to make a profit.

Zines have been used over time as a form of expression and communication between subcultures, which embrace the idea of a ‘do-it-yourself’ project, and disregards the traditional conventions of professional design and publishing houses. They provide an alternative contribution. Handwritten or carbon zines are artificially made, which emphasises the personal connection between the creator and the reader.

We are using zines to display our images as it creates a simulated, physical photobook by which we can display our images. The personal connection of zines adds to the personal project based on our own identity.