Write a Statement of Intent that clearly contextualises; What you want to explore? Why it matters to you? How you wish to develop your project? When and where you intend to begin your study?
For my personal study project, I will be exploring the theme of IDENTITY, more specifically the idea of childhood and adolescence. Identity is defined as the characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is. I have chosen this theme because I think it is the more interesting option, and I think that I will be able to better explore different mediums of photography, including studio portraiture (tableaux) and more candid, real life photography, as well as still life and object photography. Additionally, I think that I will be able to create a more meaningful project, as it will be relative to real people and their lives. My personal study will focus on myself and my group of friends , and our transition from children to teenagers. My aim is to capture as many candid images as possible, in order to show our lives as they truly are and to give the viewer a realistic perspective. I will also be incorporating old childhood photos and objects as a way of showing our transition through different types of photography. I have taken inspiration from various photographers, mainly Jim Goldberg and his project ‘Raised By Wolves’. This project captured by interest because of its real and uncensored images, which was an imperative part of Goldberg’s mission to give his audience an inside look into the underground culture of New York City. My aim is to create a photobook for my final presentation, which will be filled with my images, both old childhood photos and the new ones I will have captured during this project.
For my personal study project, I will be focusing on the theme of IDENTITY, more specifically youth culture and the transition from childhood to adolescence. I have chosen this theme because I think that I will be able to produce a wide and interesting range of images, varying from tableaux and studio portraits to more candid and street photography.
From your Personal Investigation based on IDENTITY & COMMUNITY write an overview of what you learned so far (both as Yr 12 and Yr 13 student) and how you intend to develop your Personal Study.
1. Describe which themes, medium (photography, film), approaches (documentary, tableaux, conceptual), artists (incl contextual references to art history, movements and isms) and photographic skills, processes, techniques and methods (incl learning new software) inspired you the most and why.
2. Include examples of both previous and current experiments and imagery to illustrate your thinking.
Albert Ranger-Patzsch | Alfred Stieglitz
The first theme that we explored at the start of year 12 was abstract. We showed this theme through a variety of different forms, such as still life photography, landscape photography, and documentary photography. One of the key artists we studied was Albert Ranger-Patzsch, and his project ‘The World is Beautiful’. We produced a response to this project by photographing normal, mundane objects and turned them into images which were aesthetically pleasing and appealing to the eye. We did this by using a range of techniques on Photoshop, including adjusting the white balance and the contrast on the images. Another artist we studied was Alfred Stieglitz, whose photographs differed from Ranger-Patzsch’s in that they were a lot more organic and soft in form, whereas Ranger-Patzsch often had straight, geometric shapes throughout his images.
William Klein | Arnold Newman
The next theme we looked at was portrait photography. During this topic we began to use the photography studio with a professional setup and proper lighting. I enjoyed this theme the most because I felt that I had more freedom to make the images that I wanted, and I enjoyed using the studio and the lighting. I was able to manipulate the set up of my photographs in order to achieve the look that I was aiming for, and so I liked having more control over the whole process instead of coming across the idea for my image due to chance. One artist that we studied was William Klein and his collection of candid and street photography. We compared Klein to various other photographers, including Henri Cartier-Bresson and Arnold Newman.
Ansel Adams | Fay Godwin
The next theme we looked at was landscape photography. This involved going out to different locations around the island and taking observational photographs. One key artist we studied was Ansel Adams. We analysed his images in depth in order to understand the best techniques for taking photographs in an outdoor environment, such as the camera settings and the correct lighting. In our response to this theme, we carried out several different photoshoots of various landscapes and compared our images to the artists that we had studied, trying to find any similarities and differences between them.
Our next theme was identity & community. We have carried out several photoshoots throughout this theme; for example, when we took photographs of the old buildings around St Helier and in the French, Portuguese, and Merchant’s Quarters as a group. Additionally, we had to conduct independent photoshoots in small groups as a part of our NFT project, and also produce a 30 second film, complete with sound. We used different skills that we learnt through various workshops about animation and embroidery to produce our final NFT project.
The ISLAND IDENTITY project has produced a website and a report that has identified distinctive qualities of island life in Jersey. We were tasked with producing a poster based on one of the following themes :
Constitution & Citizenship Communities International Economy Education & Sport Heritage, Culture & the Arts Environment
RESEARCH
‘Heritage is not confined to looking backwards in time but is an essential part of the present we live in and the future we build. It is the extraordinary range of landscape, monuments, experiences and stories that characterise Jersey, and it also encompasses our contemporary interactions with this inheritance and the meanings we ascribe to it. Heritage gives the Island its distinctive look and feel, attracts tourists, and can inspire both intercultural dialogue and a shared sense of place and belonging.Jersey is unusually rich in tangible heritage assets, some of which (such as the prehistoric site at La Cotte and Le Câtillon Bronze Age hoard) are of international significance. Fourteen thousand Islanders – one seventh of the population – are members of Jersey Heritage. However, the sector has suffered from chronic underfunding, a lack of dedicated Ministerial input, and the lack of a coherent Heritage Strategy for the Island, all of which the Board suggest be rectified as soon as possible.’
‘Jersey has a rich tradition of artistic endeavour, and an enviable intangible cultural heritage. This is not just historical; contemporary Islanders are producing high-quality work often inspired by the character of the distinctive place in which they live. From music to filmmaking, from painting to poetry, scores of Jersey citizens are now making careers and reputations at international level. The Board celebrated the fact that creative people and entrepreneurs clearly feel a sense of attachment and pride in the Island, and noted that some excellent organisations (such as ArtHouse Jersey) and events (such as the Festival of Words and the ‘Weekender’) are helping to put the Island on the global cultural map. However, given the extraordinary potential of art and culture to achieve almost all of the objectives associated with Identity – domestic and international – it felt that even more could be done in this sphere. The Board singled out the Battle of Flowers as an exemplum of the enormous power of cultural activity to express identity and provide an important social ritual. Its real value should be recognised by Government not as a tourist attraction as something which unites our communities in a creative, artistic endeavour. If le Carnaval de Granville can achieve UNESCO Intangible Heritage status, why not the Battle?’
WHAT MAKES JERSEY SPECIAL AND WHY DOES IT MATTER TO YOU?
I think that what makes Jersey special is the widespread diversity which can be seen throughout the island, and the strong sense of kinship and community which fuels everybody to interact with each other in a kind and friendly way. Additionally, as the island is so small, people tend to interrelate more closely with each other, both in their working environment and their social lives.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE ‘JERSEY’, NOW AND IN THE FUTURE?
Being ‘Jersey’ means living in a close, tight-knit community full of various cultures and ethnic backgrounds, which will hopefully grow and flourish. In the future, I would like to see more representation of our diversity through different mediums, such as the arts.
WHAT CAN WE ALL DO TO SOLIDIFY A COHESIVE AND POSITIVE ISLAND IDENTITY?
In order to solidify a cohesive and positive island identity I think that Jersey should aim to be more welcoming to those who are different from ourselves (i.e different backgrounds and cultures). If we want to create a positive place for everyone to live then we as an island need to ensure that everyone, no matter where they may come from, feels comfortable, safe, and happy.
ARE THERE BARRIERS TO A POSITIVE AND INCLUSIVE ISLAND IDENTITY? (WHAT REQUIRES A GREATER FOCUS AND WHAT IS BEING MISSED?)
I think that there will always be barriers to a completely positive and inclusive island, as some people may not share the collective mindset that everyone is welcome. In order to combat this, we need to ensure that there are places people can go if they ever feel unsafe. In addition, school-age children should be offered a more in detail education about different cultures around the world, not just their own.
The idea behind our NFT project was to show the different fashion changes throughout different decades- we included the ’60s, ’70s , ’80s and ’90s. We wanted to show how fashion has a huge impact on the internet , especially how so many people buy outfits and fashion related items online as it’s a huge part of our everyday life. We wanted to show the way clothes evolve through centuries and we achieved this by creating a short 30 second clip of our model walking in a straight line while her outfits change throughout different decades. We effectively combined all of our clips together and crated what we planned to do. We made sure our project relates to the NFT as the images we took show outfits that people could easily buy online as now fashion and clothes can be digitally bought through NFTs. We wanted to do our own interpretation of this and create a small short clip to present the outfits digitally.
To begin editing our final project, I began by importing all of the individually shot clips from the local drive into Premier Pro, as we had been shown in our workshop with Liam Nunn. I double checked that these were the correct videos by using the small preview tool at the top right corner of the screen, and I also put them in the order I wanted them to be played to make the overall process a lot easier and less time consuming.
I then dragged and dropped the individual clips onto the timeline, making sure that they did not overlap each other by placing them in a pyramid-like structure using the two middle segments of the timeline. I also stretched out the clips so that they were more spaced out and made the overall video longer.
For the background music, we explored lots of different royalty free tracks until we found one we liked on Bensound called ‘Dreams’. To add it to the video, I deleted the background audio which was already there from the individual clips, and imported the track which I had downloaded and saved to the media drive.
For this experiment, we decided to edit some of the photographs from our NFT shoot in photoshop to make them more interesting and engaging for the viewer. To edit these image, we duplicated the image we wanted to use and then used the FX tool on the duplicated layer to erase the both the blue and green channels on the layer. We then shifted the original layer slightly to the left in order to create the blurring effect.
A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualising a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence.
NFT STORYBOARD
Our idea is to show how women’s fashion has changed throughout multiple different decades (70s, 80s, 90, 2000s, and 2020s). In order to achieve this we will use one of our friends as a model and have her walk across two points in front of the camera wearing the outfits from each decade. During our editing process, we will then merge the footage together so that the final piece cuts between the different outfits as the model walks across the camera.
The Bayeux tapestry is an embroidered cloth which is nearly 70 metres (230 ft) long. It depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England. It is presumed to date back to the 11th century, within a few years after the Battle of Hastings. It tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans but is now agreed to have been made in England. The cloth consists of some seventy scenes, many with Latin embroidered on linen with coloured woollen yarns. It is likely that it was commissioned by Bishop Odo, William the Conquers half-brother, and made in England – not Bayeux – in the 1070s. In 1729 the hanging was rediscovered by scholars at a time when it was being displayed annually in Bayeux Cathedral. The tapestry is now exhibited at the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux in Bayeux, Normandy, France.
The Bayeux tapestry is embroidered in crewel (wool yarn) on a tabby-woven linen ground 68.38 metres long and 0.5 metres wide (224.3 ft × 1.6 ft) and using two methods of stitching: outline or stem stitch for lettering and the outlines of figures, and couching or laid work for filling in figures. Nine linen panels, between fourteen and three metres in length, were sewn together after each was embroidered and the joins were disguised with later embroidery. Later generations have patched the hanging in numerous places and some of the embroidery (especially in the final scene) has been reworked. The tapestry may well have maintained much of its original appearance – it now compares closely with a careful drawing made in 1730.
Yulia Makeyeva grew up in Russia and is now based in Jersey, Channel Islands. With a Linguistics degree, an education in Art History, silversmithing and jewellery making background, she turned her full attention to art in 2019. She experiments with different mediums, spanning photography, installations, video, collage, printmaking and traditional domestic crafts. She continually seeks and displays beauty through her work by arranging a contrasting array of materials from the household, industrial to organic matters collected outdoors into abstract forms. She participated in a Textile-based art exhibition in February 2020 in Jersey curated by the RampArts collective. For this exhibition, the curator had chosen works where the artist experimented with drapery, single threads, recycling, and objects covered with fabric.
