My first thoughts about the overall project are mainly positive as I believe I worked hard to achieve my final grade and am happy with my final images that I produced during this time. During this project I discovered how I am able to make my photography capture a deeper meaning and make it more personal to me. Although, I also found this aspect the most challenging out of the overall project as I found it difficult to focus in on one idea and theme of identity. The most important thing I learned personally is how photography can be used in countless expressive ways to get a certain message across. I think that I got in the way of my progress during the start of the project due to over thinking on how I could approach it. This, I think is one of the obstacles I must overcome to achieve a higher grade, through my research, development and analysis, which should make it easier for me in approaching the task. If I were to approach the problem again, I believe that by researching a wider range of photographers and artist to help me with ideas. In addition, I think I could also manage my time better during the controlled conditions by making a plan of how much time I would spend on each step, allowing me to finish everything and go back over my work and add to it. In the future I also want to be able to make my project even more personal to myself, which I think would improve my work, and spend more time on the photo-shoots allowing for higher quality images.

For my final Images I have edited four photographs from each photo-shoot and edited them to resemble Carolle Benitah’s work. Here I am looking at the theme of geographical identity by using photographs of my friends who’s families originated from all over the UK then moved to Jersey. I did this as I wanted to show how our small island is capable of occupying a mass amount of identities that have been shaped and influenced by different types of cultures and economic environments. In addition, I also wanted to signify the way in which Jersey has unified so many people from these drastically changing backgrounds. With this aim in mind, I have used Benitah’s style of edited and cut out the subjects of the photographs and replaced them with map images, edited into a sepia tone, containing the places their families were originally from.

This image displays two of my friends with St. Ouen as the background setting representing the geographical identity of Jersey. The subject on the left, Robyn, has family that before moving to Jersey lived in Coventry, which is displayed within the map replacing her silhouette. Macy, the subject on the left, has family originally from areas in and around York, also presented in the map of her cut out.

This image of my friend India, within the rural setting of St. Ouen, showcases her geographical identity by displaying a map of Birmingham and its outskirts. This is as this was the place in which some of her family lived in before Jersey.

This Image with the background of an unruly tree located in St. Ouen, displays again my friend Robyn as the subject with the area of Coventry as her geographical identity. I believe this setting worked well to display my take on identity as we often refer to our backgrounds as our ‘roots’ and I believe that the roads within the maps best represent this, in both the literal and metaphorical sense.

This image displays three of my friends with St. Ouen as the background setting, showing Jersey’s rural side. On the left again is my friend Macy with a map of the areas surrounding York to showcase her heritage. The subject in the center is my friend Bella with North wales signifying her background.

I will test and try out different methods of editing my photographs, in order to see which best suits my ideas of identity and place, using Carolle Benitah as inspiration.

Photoshop Experimentation

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In Photoshop I attempted to practice editing my photographs in the style of Carolle Benitah. I did this by using the magnetic lasso tool to cut out the shape of the subject in the image, and then layering a plain sepia toned piece of paper underneath it, to show a link to her themes of loss of identity. I then also converted the original image into black and white, also similar to Benitah’s work, allowing for a contrast between the image and the cut out section.

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Next, I followed the same method of cutting out the subject with the magnetic lasso tool, in the style of Benitah, but instead of layering a plain background underneath I played around with my idea of identity and place and used sepia toned maps instead. These map images used link to the subject in the image, as it displays the place their families came from before Jersey.

Hand Experimentation

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I also tried printing off my photographs in a black and white, then cutting out the subjects by hand using a craft knife, as this is similar to the method Benitah used to create her final pieces. I then printed of my map images that relate to the subjects identity, and layered them underneath the cut out sections.

I think for my final pieces I will use the Photoshop method of editing my images. This is as even though the hand cutting out method links more to Benitah, I will be able to produce a more precise and neater final product with Photoshop.

I decided to use Carolle Benitah’s work as inspiration to showcase the theme of geographical identity, with images taken around Jersey and people who’s families are not originally from here, like most people who live in Jersey, and have moved from various places. With this I aim to express how this one small island has brought together a wide range of identities that have been sculpted by different cultures, accents and beliefs into one place we all call home.

Photo-Shoot One

Plan

Contact Sheets

Here I have crossed out images in red that are not good enough to edit or use for my final pieces, as they are either too blurry, or under or over exposed. I have also highlighted images in green the photographs I believe will work well for my final pieces, due to the quality, variation in people and poses, and representation of the rural side of Jersey.

Photo-Shoot Two

Plan

Contact Sheets

Here I have crossed out images in red that are not good enough to edit or use for my final pieces, as they are either too blurry, or under or over exposed. I have also highlighted images in green the photographs I believe will work well for my final pieces, due to the quality and representation of the urban side of Jersey.

Initial Image Selection

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For my photographs which will later be edited into my final pieces, I chose four images from each photo-shoot to give a balanced view of the island. I believe that these are my best images and will work well when edited in the style of Carolle Benitah, as they display backgrounds that clearly represent the identity of Jersey, as the subjects will represent their own.

Map Images

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I took at least two map images for each of the subjects featured in my photographs which display the place where their families came from before moving to jersey. I am doing this as I believe that Jersey is built from people who originate from all over and have many different backgrounds, allowing for our island to be diverse in culture and history.

Claude Cahun

Claude Cahun, a French photographer, sculpture and writer born in 1894 to the name Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob, was best known for their self-portraits, which often showcased a range of personalities. Cahun first began producing self portrait photographs at the age of 18 in 1912, and later took on the sexually ambiguous pseudonym in 1917, as she continued to combat the ideals of gender norms in her photography. Later moving to Paris alongside her longterm partner Marcel Moore, who she often collaborated with, Cahun continued to work on her surrealist portfolio.

In 1937 Cahun and Moore migrated to Jersey, just before the start of World War Two and the island’s German occupation. During this time the two soon became activists, in the effort to spread reports of Nazi crimes by creating anti-German fliers, criticising their authority, and placing them around the island. However, due to this they were later arrested and sentenced to death for their actions in 1944, although this was never carried out fortunately. Ten years later Cahun sadly died due to bad health, caused by her treatment in prison.

https://www.jerseyheritage.org/collection-items/claude-cahun

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Analysis

This black and white photograph, taken by Claude Cahun in 1927, displays a self-portrait of the photographer in which she has taken on the persona of a strong man or body builder that you may find at a circus or fair, during that time period. Here the pale white clothing, that matches the colour of her skin, contrasts dramatically with the dark black background behind her. This contrast between light and dark is also creating from the use of the dark dumbbell prop. The framing of this image by Cahun can be said to appear confining, as Cahun has placed herself so that she takes up most of the frame leaving little empty space.

The lighting used for this self-portrait appears to be two-point lighting, this is as there are only a small amount of shadows in the image but still a strong contrast between light and dark. Furthermore, it could be said that Cahun used a low aperture for this photograph, due to the fact that the foreground and background seem to have the same amount of focus placed on them. The ISO used for this image appears to be on a medium setting, allowing for there not to be too much light flooding in from the harsh lighting, but enough for the dark contrasting background to be visible.

In addition, this persona of a strongman or body builder does not portray all the masculine stereotypes that are associated with this type of person, but however showcases a more effeminate one. This is displayed through the Oscar Wilde type parting in the hair, the crossed leg pose and the hearts painted on the cheeks. This only further shows how Cahun challenged gender normativity by showing that she was able to switch her apparent gender at will comfortably.

Carolle Benitah

Carolle Benitah, born in 1965, is a French photographer best known for using her old family photographs to tell the story of her identity. Benitah does this by embroidering and cutting out certain sections of the portrait images. Benitah sees this style of work as allowing herself to expose the failings of her life and identity, and reinterpret her history. This acts as a sort of therapy for Benitah as she claims “I make holes in paper until I am not hurting any more”.

https://www.carolle-benitah.com/

https://www.lensculture.com/articles/carolle-benitah-photos-souvenirs

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Comparison

This sepia and, black and piece created by Carolle Benitah displays an old family photo of Benitah’s containing the subject positioned in the centre of the image, which is similar to the way in which Cahun placed herself in her self-portrait. Leading lines in this photograph are created by the horizon line, the line dividing what appears to be a wall and the see, and also the split created by the contrast in tones on the subject. These allow for your eyes to be drawn horizontally across the image. Dissimilar to Cahun’s photograph, there is a large amount of empty space around the subject of the portrait, meaning more attention is allowed for the background, which is a landscape rather than a studio backdrop seen in Cahun’s image.

Whereas Cahun used what appeared to be two point studio lighting, here Benitah has chosen an image taken with natural lighting, which you can tell due to the outside location. In addition, it appears that this photograph was taken with a low aperture like Cahun’s, due to the fact that the foreground and background hold a similar amount of focus. The ISO used to capture this photograph can be said to be lower than the ISO used in Cahun’s portrait, this is due to the fact that the natural light would flood the lens, causing the image to be over exposed, if it were higher.

Conceptually this piece differs largely from Cahun’s on the theme of identity, as it seems to show a loss, lack or even rejection of identity. This is due to the cut out sections of the subjects in the image, which could be representing an attempt to erase that part of her history. On the other hand, Cahun appears to take a completely different approach by doing what seems to be an embrace of her ability of changing identities.

Identity can be defined as an individuals disposition or personality, or possessing a similarity or oneness with someone or something. A person’s identity can be influenced by a number of things, such as ‘place’, the environment that you live in, your upbringing or a sense of belonging. This means that the people or things you surround yourself with have large impacts on your life, and shape you into the person you presently are.

Mood Board

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Ideas