For this project we are working in groups to show the future of the online Metaverse and the convergence of communities. Here we listed various communities in aim of creating ideas for themes and subjects in our work. The communities we listed included the gaming, LQBTQ+, music, occupational, sporting, cultural and educational communities. This allowed us to come up with multiple potential concepts and subjects to focus on for our project.
Once we had created the mind map in our groups, we decided to focus on the aspects of the religious and the LGBTQ+ communities for our mood board. With this we wanted to present how they intertwine and clash at times, often resulting in hate being spread. We made this choice as the utopian metaverse that is in our potential future, would require that the merging of these two communities be a peaceful one.
The title ‘In progress’ suggests that the work exhibited is aiming to shed light on issues that are still a problem in society today and are only being solved gradually. I believe the title of this exhibition has derived from the phrase ‘a work in progress’, as it implies that although people are making an effort to reduce these issues, they are also being put on the side-lines as other problems are being prioritised over them. For me the word ‘progress’ connotes ideas of steady change and revolution in society. In the last 5 years I think that photography has become more honest in the way we capture moments, I believe we have seen a more candid side to the world rather than a staged outer appearance, especially due to the increasing amounts of photo-journalism we have access to due to technology such as phone cameras. In addition, I also think that this honesty has come from a place of activism and a need for improvement to ourselves and the world we live in, whether it be motivated by issues such as racial or environmental injustice. My expectations for this exhibition were to see visual representations of modern issues, that are given the attention they deserve by the photographers presented. My expectations for any photography exhibition are to see images that cause me to question myself or society around me, whether it be the way I live and my impact on others, or the impact others have on the world. The themes and format of photography I would normally expect to encounter are predominantly staged portraits as most people find that these are the best story tellers and most efficient way of connecting with an audience. This exhibition supports my expectations through the work of photographer Widline Cadet, due to her staged portraits depicting women supporting each other, but is also contradicted by photographers such as Laia Abril, who has taken still life photographs.
Here I produced quick arrangements of my photographs to see which images worked well together in a sequence, for example I tried placing portraits together and architectural ones separately. This helped me gain an idea of the order I will put my images in, as well as how they work together to tell a story. Ultimately I decided to place my images in a sequence that alternated between portrait and landscape, as I believe it will create a sense of balance in my zine.
Next I stuck down my images down onto a booklet template, in the order I had decided on, allowing me to see what it would look like once printed. Here I decided to place a black and white landscape photograph as a double page spread in the centre, as I believed it could further develop my idea of balance within the zine, whilst also creating a kind of symmetry between the start and end of the piece.
For my front and back cover I have chosen my images of doorways that are next to each other to show the duality of the communities existing throughout St. Helier. This also could be used as a metaphor for looking inside the lives and lifestyles of the people in this town. In addition it represents the polarised contents of the zine, that shows both the architecture and the people of who inhabit the different quarters.
For the first page of my zine I have chosen to display two images, one containing multiple sets of flats and housing, and the other a portrait of a lady standing in front of her restaurant. For every image of architecture, I have chosen to add a black background to further contrast with the vibrance of the portrait opposite it, additionally it also contrasts with the white sky in the photograph.
On the second page I have included again both a portrait and an architectural image with the same backgrounds and layouts as the previous page. The image on the left showcases St. Thomas’ Church accompanied with a portrait of a man at work in a garage on the right, both taken within the French/Portuguese quarters within town.
For the third page I have chosen to follow a similar layout to the previous pages with the exception of the portrait having a full bleed to the edge of the page, not allowing room for a white border. The photograph on the left displays the view from a courtyard in the centre of town. The portrait on the right shows a man, who appears to be a carpenter or builder, at work leaning in a doorway.
For the centre page I have placed my black and white landscape image of a run down building in town. Here I have chosen to make the image full bleed, as I think that it will be more impactful without a white border around it. This building is located around the centre of town, which I think ties together the theme of divisions as it provides a place of intersectionality.
For this next page I have swap around the order of the portrait and architecture photographs to continue the theme of alternating between black and white landscape and colour portrait. These pages reflect the pages before the centre page, with the portrait being full bleed instead of having a white border.
This page displays a portrait of two men who appeared to be on a break and standing outside the door of their workplace, next to a black and white image of St. Thomas’ church which is a strong signifier for this community, due to the large scale of the building and its towering over the rest of town.
For the final double page I have showcases an image of a woman on her balcony looking down into the courtyard I was standing in, placed next to a block of flats that I thought looked similar to the exterior of the building this lady was in.
For the back cover, I have chosen another photograph of two houses and doors side by side in order to replicate the front cover. This creates a sense of symmetry within the zine. In addition, the two different colours of the house increase message of duality and separate communities within St. Helier.
STORY: What is your migrant community story? Describe in:
3 Words: A migrant story.
A Sentence: A migrant story which foregrounds the various cultural identities that exist within the different parts of St. Helier.
A Paragraph: The migrant community story I wish to present is one of cultural diversity. With this my aim is to display the different quarters located in town, which traditionally were exclusive to various migrant communities. These include the French and Portuguese quarter, the merchant quarter and the British expat and wealthy quarter. These quarters of town originated from migrants arriving in Jersey for work and new opportunities for their families, providing Jersey with goods and labour in return. This in turn resulted in these micro communities within the parish of St. Helier, which encapsulate the food, religions and trades belonging to these migrants.
NARRATIVE: How will you tell your story?
I will tell this migrant community story through a series of portraits of the people who belong and shape these varied communities in St. Helier, juxtaposed with the architectural landscapes they live, pray and work in, displaying their impact on how the island’s capital looks. I will collect these images from a series of photoshoots, which will take place in and around the migrant quarters in town. With this hopefully an audience will be able to have a visual representation of the mass amount of cultural diversity this island possesses. These photoshoots will be taken in instalments of revisits to these areas, allowing for an opportunity to show change and a growing sense of familiarity and knowledge of the people and communities.
AUDIENCE: Who is it for?
This zine will allow for a look inside the lives of people in Jersey, meaning this could be well received by someone foreign to the Island wanting to gain an insight to the Island’s cultural diversity. This is as it demonstrates how communities that were brought to the island hundreds of years ago in order to boost the economy, amongst other things, have evolved and helped shape the future of the island. In addition, this zine may be beneficial to people interested in migrating to Jersey who are 20-40, due to the fact that it presents a welcoming attitude to new communities that help grow a more multicultural and accepting place. Furthermore, they will see a representation of their ages group in these images, giving them a better chance to relate and connect with these images, also whilst seeing what life could be like for them here. On the other hand, it can also be said that this zine may be best received by Jersey islanders that are not from St. Helier, within the age group of 14-18 year olds. This is due to the fact that it gives younger natives that live in more rural areas a chance to recognise how large our migrant community is here, as they may not have been explicitly educated on Jersey’s relationship with migration in the past. This was the case for me whilst producing images for this zine, as I was not as familiar as I should have been with the varied cultures and the history of their impact on the island, however this in turn gave me a new perspective of the Island I have lived on my whole life.
The Societe Jersiaise Photographic Archive is a key part of Jersey’s history and an indispensable tool that allows us to gain knowledge and understanding of our past, not just as an island but as individuals. This institution was founded in 1873, 33 years after photography was first introduced to the island, with the intention of collecting documentary records of the times. After 148 years, this archive has now accumulated to over 36,000 images and 100,000 items that tell a story of Jersey’s past residents, architecture, landscapes and more. With this collection we are able to view what life was like during various historical periods that were significant in shaping the Jersey we live in today. This includes the German occupation during World War Two, in which photography aided us in remembering why we celebrate our gained freedom, and the hardships others went through in order to get it. An archival image is not required to be the most impressive and aesthetically pleasing photograph ever created, but only needs to tell a story that needs to or should be remembered. That is why, we may not realise it however, even the most casual photography we do in day-to-day life, whether it be the collection of photos on a platform such as Instagram or just a single image amongst thousands of others on your phone, it could be a crucial archive of the times we live in now. It can be argued that this has become even more true during the past year, as due to Covid 19 our photographs will provide people in the future with an insight into our lives during these difficult times.
Photographer Emile Guiton
There are many photographers that played an important part in the early days of photography in Jersey, but it can be said that Emile Guiton’s work was some of the most influential and important for the island. Born in 1879, Guiton was a Jersey native credited with being one of the founding members of the Société Jersiaise, helping build up this crucial collection of images with his photographic career that spanned from 1910 up to his death in 1972. The subjects that were of interest to Guiton varied from archaeological excavations to still life images, leaving this amateur photographer with a large amount of creative freedom. This side of Guiton that was fascinated with documentary photography resulted with him being one of the few to be issued a permit, allowing him to photograph the German Occupation during the Second World War. With this record of history, we are able to gain knowledge of not only Guiton’s artistic viewpoint of everyday life during war, but the what the German army wished to be recorded. This may have included Guiton’s many different photographs of German artillery around the island, which could have been used to aid the Germans in projecting their power. As well as this, Guiton’s career also entailed some of the first experimentation with colour photography, using the method of Autochrome. This allowed a whole new perspective of life in Jersey, with colour bringing the streets of St. Helier to life, in turn resulting in viewers being able to connect and relate to these images more.
Emile Guiton, Marett Road
This colour photograph taken by Emile Guiton displays a residential street located in St. Helier containing a car and two children, one in the foreground and one in the background. Here leading lines are created by the dark strip of cobblestone running through the centre of the street, resulting in the viewers eye being led deeper into the heavily housed area. Contrast in this image can be seen through the juxtaposition of the light brick houses and the dark clothing the children are wearing, as they lean against the wall. In addition, it can be said that the right half of the image contrasts with the left, due to the shadows of the houses that shed onto the street. From this it is clear that Guiton used only natural light to take this photograph, as he does with his other images. Also it can be said that it was most likely taken in the hours leading up to sunset, due to the length of the shadows and the slight golden glow. In order to produce this colour photograph, Guiton used a process named Autochrome, invented by the Lumière brothers in 1903. This method consisted of one glass plate, covered in a thin layer of potato starch grains dyed green, red and blue that acted as a filter. This would then be given a coat of varnish before and after passing through a high pressure roller, followed by a layer of emulsion. Finally this would then be flipped and placed into the camera where the light would pass through and create and image. This is said to be one of the first colour images of a street in that parish, giving us an insight into what domestic and community life was like. From this image it could be said that this part of St. Helier was once a seemingly quiet and peaceful area, contrasting to what we now consider the busiest and most lively parish on the island.
In conclusion, it is clear that the use of archives aids us in gaining knowledge of past events and past day-to-day life. Whether a photograph displays soldiers marching through the streets or a family outing, there is still information to be gained as a community. An archive such as the Societe Jersiaise allows us to view life from the perspective of hundreds of photographers from different backgrounds, all aiming to capture Jersey in a unique way. Furthermore, as this archive continues to grow so does the story of this island. With what I have learnt from this, as a photographer, I would aim to take a more documentary approach to my work, after discovering there is more value in the un-staged than I previously thought. Although the changing architecture of the island tells an interesting story of the past, I believe that the inhabitants of Jersey are clear signifiers of what makes this islands culture what it is today, which is what I would like to focus on in the future.
I started by importing all my photographs from the seond photo-shoot we did as a group, during our trip to the Société Jersiaise. After this, I then went through each of my images flagging my best images with white, and my worst in black to start off my selection process. I then went through my white flagged images and started to rate them out of 5, allowing me to see which images I should prioritise editing and those I want to include in my series.
Editing and Developing
I started off by editing my 5 stared photographs, first of all cropping my images to allow a strong focus on my subjects. I then experimented with black and white for my portrait images, whilst adjusting the exposure, contrast, shadows, highlights, blacks and whites. I did this for each of my portraits and decided to create an edited image in both black and white, and colour for each of them.
Here I used the survey view in order to compare the difference between my portraits in black and white, and colour. I decided to do one edit of each as I believed when placed in a series, although containing the same things, they would tell two different stories.
I also used the survey view to make sure that I was editing my images with similar tonal values to each other, in order to make sure they would fit together in a series, without looking too jarring when placed side by side. I ended up editing my black and white images with a strong contrast and darker tones.
I also experimented with black and white with my architectural photographs, deciding to only create edited images in this style, as I found it emphasised how old or how modern the structures were. This helped me to build up a story and a visual representation of what each part of St. Helier represents and looks like.
Sebastiao Salgado, born in 1944, is a Brazilian social documentary photographer, known for taking powerful photographs that depict the lives of the suffering and oppressed. It can be said that this flare for activism originated when Salgado joined a political movement that opposed Brazil’s military government, in which he was exiled for. Salgado first started to take photographs after being sent to various African countries on business trips, whilst working as an economist. It is here that he became fascinated with the artform and as a result quit his job to pursue photography full time. This decision led to Salgado travelling to hundreds of countries for his different projects, often focusing on hardships of these places. This includes his project named ‘Workers’, published in 1993, which looked at the end of the large-scale industrial era.
Analysis
Sebastiao Salgado’s ‘Workers’ series
This black and white image taken by Sebastiao Salgado depicts a worn out firefighter drenched in oil walking towards the fiery landscape in the background. This high contrasting image displays a large juxtaposition between light and dark with the oil fuel inferno and the heavy dark smoke that is blackening the sky, leaving no trace of daylight. Here Salgado has confined the frame to only show one man and the impossible task he is faced with, leaving a section of empty space in the center that separates the two. This creates an ominous tone to the image that may both unnerve a viewer of this piece, and also cause them to be in awe of the worker’s bravery. In addition, it can be said that repetition is produced in this image with the round spattering of oil and the bubbled clouds of smoke rapidly emerging from the flames, that hold a similar form.
When looking at this piece technically, it is easy to see that this photograph was taken with solely natural lighting, due to the outside setting. Furthermore, Salgado’s main source of light for this image seems to be coming from the blazing flames in the background, as any sign of sun is block out by smoke. As a result of this lack of light the ISO setting used was presumably high, to create an image that would not be under exposed. The shutter speed used in order to take this photograph was most likely on a fast setting, as the clouds produced by the flames are in crisp focus but must have been forming and reforming at a rapid pace, the same can be said for the spurting oil. In addition, due to the fact that these flames are in focus, it can also be said that Salgado used a small aperture, allowing the entirety of the landscape to have the same amount of visibility.
This photograph was taken as part of Salgado’s ‘Worker’ series that was focused around oppressed manual labourers, that were considered to be over-worked and under-paid. This photograph tells the story of the environmental disaster that occurred in Kuwait in 1991. This expanse of fire and flames were a result of the Gulf War, that saw the United States pitted against Iraq in a fight over oil. With over 700 hundred oil wells alight, firefighters were given the impossible job of containing the raging flames. With this context, it is easy to understand the almost unfazed firefighter walking towards the fire, whilst being showered with oil, with his head hung low in disbelief and exhaustion. Salgado claimed that “In all my long life, I never again found this kind of light” when talking about the flames.
Percival Dunham
Percival Dunham is best known for being Jersey’s first photo journalist, taking many photographs for newspapers such as Jersey Illustrated Weekly and the Morning News from 1913 to 1914. Although little is known of his heritage, due to him having no records of family in Jersey, Dunham played a key role in the documentation of key events of Jersey’s history, contributing to the photographic archive immensely. The first records of Dunham are of his photography business, located on 57 Bath Street, in 1911. Before working as a photo journalist, Dunham was known for taking photographs of events such as the Battle of Flowers and the shipwreck of Roebuck. Dunham spent some time away from jersey when serving as a gunner during World War One, but returned soon after and married a Miss M Mourant.
Analysis
Percival Dunham – 1914
This black and white image taken by Percival Dunham displays troops packing up supplies and preparing to embark from Jersey harbour. Here a large contrast between light and dark is presented through the white uniforms of the soldiers and the darkness of the barrels, pier and the ships. Dunham has framed this image to show the military men in the foreground and the ships to the right in the background, showing the viewer what awaits them in their future. Leading lines in this photograph are created by what appears to be metallic pipes and tracks running across the ground, guiding the viewers eye down the slipway towards the ships and the sea.
From a technical viewpoint it is clear to see that this film photograph was taken with natural lighting, as a result of it being taken outside at a harbour. From the natural lighting, it could be said that this photo was taken at what seems to be midday from the brightness of the image, however this is hard to tell due to the overcast sky. With this it is probable that Dunham used a mid to low ISO setting to allow for a image that was not under exposed. In addition, it also appears that Dunham used a medium shutter speed setting, in order to capture the movement in this image clearly, but also letting enough light into the lens for the image to appear bright enough. Also, the aperture setting used was most likely low, allowing for the ships in the background to be clear and visible, as well as the soldiers at the front.
Here it is clear to see that this was a piece of Dunham’s photo-journalism, due to the candid and un-staged nature of the image. Dunham may have wanted to capture this photograph to display the serenity of the soldiers in that moment, in comparison to the harsh and violent conditions that await them. This can be related to Salgado’s ‘Workers’ image, in the sense that these men are both preparing to head into a place where their lives are being put in danger for their job.
On the 7th of June, the day we visited the ‘People make Jersey’ exhibition at Jersey Museum, we also spent a portion of our day doing practical work. This consisted of walking around certain areas of town, that previously were known as sections of cultures and communities that belonged to different immigrant backgrounds. These three areas that we focused on were known as the merchant quarters (in red), the French and Portuguese quarters (in yellow), and the British expats and wealthier resident areas (in blue). On this walk we aimed to take photographs that showed the environmental differences between these culturally different communities, such as architecture, religious places and symbols, people and businesses. For this shoot we split into groups, with the group I was in focusing mainly on the French and Portuguese quarters.
Using the photographs from this shoot I have edited and developed my best images, that I believe help us visualise what makes a community and how they contrast with the other quarters around St. Helier.
Contact Sheets
For this shoot I took approximately 400 photographs, so in order to sort through them I used Lightroom to determine which images I would edit. This allowed me to compare photos and decide their relevancy when placed in a sequential format.
I first imported all my photographs from this shoot into my identity and community collection on Lightroom, and then went on to flagging the images I wanted to look at more closely and edit, and those I didn’t. I did this by using SHIFT P to flag the images in white I thought were my best, and using SHIFT X to flag the images in black that were not good enough to edit, due to them being out of focus or not interesting composition wise.
After flagging my images I then went further with my selection process by rating each of my photographs out of 5, in order to determine which images I would edit. The photos with a rating of 4 and over are what I believe were my best captured images
With most of my photographs I used the survey view to help to decide which out of two similar images I should choose to edit and display. This helped me recognise which image was more focused, especially if it was a portrait as I zoomed into the face on both photos and was able to compare them and see which was the best.
I also used the survey view to see if my image would look better in black and white or in colour, as it allowed me to see the before and after of the editing. I then decided to develop the image in black and white as I believed it created a more dramatic piece and a stronger contrast between the lightness of the sky and the darkness of the structure in the bottom right corner.
Here I viewed the before and after of my editing of this architectural image. On the right is my developed photograph, in which I increased the contrast and saturation to enhance the duplicity of the two houses. This was useful in helping me decide if my images needed more done to them to stand out more, or if they were over edited.
The ‘People Make Jersey’ exhibition showcased within Jersey Museum, allowed us as students to explore the rich history Jersey contains as well as its vast number of occupants that have helped shape that history. This exhibition displayed just how much variety Jersey has in terms of culture, describing the Island as a mixing pot of people who have come from countries all over the world, or even people who’s families have been here for centuries. From visiting this exhibition I have learnt of the many different stories of migration that played a crucial part in creating Jersey’s cultural identity, varying from religious and political refugees to economic migrants.
One section of the ‘People make Jersey’ exhibition focused on the many ‘Alien’ registration cards, which were introduced in 1920 and issued to migrants who had relocated to Jersey. These cards displayed various pieces of information such as the profession, previous residence and nationality of the person, alongside an image of them. This therefore gives us a visual representation of the many different backgrounds and stories Jersey holds in small fragments. In addition, this also allowed for the public of Jersey to be given an opportunity to view images and information of distant family members, that established their roots on the island, for the first time, providing them a link to their diverse family histories.
Another section of the exhibition on the other hand, looked at family names that are often associated with being typical ‘Jersey’ names which contain a long line of family history on the island. Originally, these typical ‘Jersey’ names were in fact used to identify where certain immigrants were from, with names such as Le Breton, De Gruchy, Norman and more originating from various areas in France, and names such as Hamptonne, Le Gallais and Langlois originating across Great Britain. Even hundreds of years later after first arriving in Jersey, these predominant names can still be seen and recognised as an important part of the island, with establishments like Normans and De Gruchy, located in town, still running to this day.
However, when reflecting on the statement ‘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.’ displayed within the exhibition, I found that the section that explained the English influence to Jersey life, to be personally the most interesting aspect. This is as although I was born on the island, the rest of my family originated mainly from Manchester and had no previous links with the island. I was even more so fascinated with the small piece of the exhibition that explained the introduction of the English education to the island, made first available to the boys at Victoria College, due to the fact that my mother first moved to the island to continue her career as a teacher, as a result of Jersey being in a shortage of the profession.
In my opinion, I think that my Anthropocene project, through the style of altered landscapes, has been successful. This is due to the fact that I believe I have portrayed what man’s impact on the world may visually look like, by presenting the hypothetical situation in which Jersey’s National Park is not protected from mass development. With this my original intention was to show how the geological age in which humans have been around, has had resulted in an unbalanced nature. This starting idea then developed, once researching and analysing photographers Tanja Deman and Felicity Hammond, into the intention to display how the earth’s natural and beautiful landscapes are in danger of urbanisation and industrialisation, due to the incessant greed of man for land, property and possessions. I think my final images well reflect the work of my two chosen photographers as, from a visual standpoint, they all showcase the imposition of urban/industrial structures on rural landscapes. Furthermore, I also believe that my final images reflect Deman and Hammond’s work from a conceptual and contextual view point as well, as I have decided to create these images in order to defend the sanctity nature possesses and hold humans accountable for their actions and attitudes that warrant the destruction of this very thing. In addition, when looking at my final images a viewer may see the potential dystopian like future Jersey may hold if these regulations were non existent, in which our stunning coastlines are reduced to a mere setting of smog and pollution.
Although I believe that my final outcomes for this project are successful, I also think there are some ways in which my work could have become even better. One way this could have been achieved is by taking natural landscapes at more than one location, and potentially visiting another area belonging to Jersey National Park. In addition, by also having a wider range of urban photographs, I may have been able to include more structures within the natural landscape, therefore intensifying the message I was aiming to convey.
