The last prints I needed to frame were of teacups I took when experimenting abstract photography and new objectivity, exploring artists such as Albert Renger-Patszch, Keld Helmer-Petersen and Jaromir Funke.
Albert Renger-Patszch
Jaromir Funke
Keld Helmer-Petersen
I used adhesive spray to stick the three main photographs in a diagonal line but was disappointed at how boring and bare the piece looked when put together. I was stuck with inspiration when looking at the smaller prints that I had intended on throwing away and decided to turn the piece into a montage. I crumpled the photos to create a more dated- vintage feel, and ripped them into smaller pieces to cover more surface area. After sticking them down I noticed an improvement however there still was a lot missing. Upon finding an old encyclopaedia I decided to use the photographs and illustrations from the book to complete my montage. Initially I only used photographs of pottery from the book to link with my original photos however I moved away from that by using a general theme of advancement of human culture which connects with the projects I have been undertaking throughout my A-level course of identity, community and culture. Instead of cutting, I gently ripped the illustrations to make them look distressed and on theme connecting to the vintage book. The encyclopaedia, which appears to be from the early 20th century, is very colonial in nature and is accordingly racist with photographs of African ‘Primitive’ ‘Savages’ and Eurocentric praise of the Aryan race. Using this I created a paradoxical message to look at the end result with a post-colonial lens.
sections of the montage containing colonial outlooks on race, innovations and artifacts
How is narrative constructed in the work of Shipla Grupta and Umberto Verdoliva?
I am going to look at the theme of identity within family heritage, childhood, and location, focusing on how photographers create narrative with images. I find this interesting because it adds more depth to an image and creates more meaning. Narrative in photography also creates questions for the viewer and a sense of nostalgia or sentimentality which connects to the viewer, adding more value to a piece. The two photographers I will be looking at are Shilpa Gupta Umberto Verdoliva, I have chosen these two photographers because in their works they both explore storytelling and narrative in their own distinctive ways, looking at unique topics and different photographic processes.
In my current project for Identity, I am looking at location and upbringing by going through my own families archive of images and taking new images from the same locations of the old images around Jersey, focusing on a more photographic approach instead of a casual snapshot. I will take inspiration from both photographers mentioned and create double exposers and split my images in half to create a more interesting set of images.
Looking at both photographers I am studying, realism and pictorialism seem to have an influence on their photographic styles. Pictorialism is an art movement that started in 1880 and came from photographers who wanted to prove photography as an art form. They were heavily influenced by artist of the time and would manipulate their images to make them look more like art. Pictorialists would use techniques like Vaseline on a camera lens to get a blurrier effect, scratching negatives to create a brush stroke effect and mixing chemicals. Realism is an art movement that started in 1915 as a reaction to pictorialism, certain people did not like the manipulation that would go into the pictorialst photographs and wanted to take pictures as they were, providing records of the world.
Alfred Stiegltiz, The Asphalt Paver, NY, 1892, printed 1913.
Edward Weston, Dunes, Oceano, 1936.
Both have abstract approaches to taking photos and often find themselves focusing on shapes and forms. Umberto Verdoliva’s images in his project What is a dream? have a more pictorialist approach to them because they are artier in nature and have been manipulated to create his final outcomes.
Storytelling is something that has been around for a while, since humans could speak and before through cave drawings, in forms of myths, legends, fables, anecdotes, or ballads. A story is a series of related events or experiences which unfold over time, likely to follow the structure of exposition, conflict, climax, resolution. Narrative is not necessarily a story it is also the way a story is told and interpreted. David Campell, professor, and political scientist says that ‘in telling visual stories about the world, photography is narrating the world’ which suggests that narrative aids photography and is more than photography alone which is often linked to context. A photograph is non-verbal in nature and captures a moment in time removed from a timeline, a singular image can tell a story individually, also images put together in a certain way can tell a story through sequencing.
Interpretations of narratives in photography can change the way a viewer looks at an image, whether this be clear with context behind an image, or something left to the viewer to analyse inside their own mind. Photographers developing a visual story should focus on what story they are going to tell and how they are going to communicate this to the viewer.
Narrative in photography can be shown in various ways such as photo collage where each photo represents different events and the contrast between these images creates a relationship to the viewer. Photobooks are also a way of conveying a narrative through photography even though they would not be thought to have a narrative in the sense of a sequence of events unfolding over time. Photobooks concentrate on an overall theme, concept, or idea. This is done by the way they are presented on a page and throughout the book.
My first photographer I will be looking at is Shilpa Gupta who is an Indian artist who uses a broad range of mediums to create her images and artworks, often interactive typically using sculpture, installation, text, photography and audio and visual technology. She creates artworks that focus on human relations, subjectivity, and themes such as desire, conflict, security, technology, borders, and censorship.
I will be looking at her project Altered Inheritances- 100 (Last Name) Stories focusing on the key themes of narrative and family. In this project she looks at family heritage through family names where she presents her images split in half and reassembles them to form a misaligned set of images which she exhibits in a room and the different sets are presented next to one another in a long strip.
Gallery view from Shilpa Gupta, Altered Inheritances- 100 (Last Name) Stories, Pigmented inkjet prints in split frames, 2012-2014.
She takes historical photographs, snapshots, and scans of abstract drawings. The text on the images tells the story from hundreds of different people who had to abandon their last names after crossing boarders and migrating somewhere new. The abstract geometric shapes of the split images with the line split in the middle works as both a divider and connector with framing the isolation from identification and belonging.
This story is similar to what was seen in the Jewish Evacuation during World War 2, migrations of Bengalis from East Bengal to India, or from one place to another. Gupta says this act is ‘a crucial step towards sacrificing your tribe, ancestor, family, parent’ by her misaligned images because if we change our story, we complete something better, inspiring, and practical but we also lose ourselves.
In the exhibition where Shilpa Guptas’ Altered Inheritances is exhibited and Zarina the walls of the gallery and work is installed in the Tyler of a house plan. Divided into different parts of the gallery both artists artworks complement each other and conversing with each other as well as the people who view them.
The house in Zarina’s work turns into the form of the presentation itself in the gallery. Shilpa Gupta looks at the divide in people sharing common culture and the deportation of these people within state boundaries like West Bengal and Bangladesh. These two regions are similar but are part of two countries meaning they attract and repel each other. Gupta looks at the political divide and takes this as the crucial matter that splits communities turning them alien to the other half which can be seen further in her work by the physical divide of her images.
Shilpa Gupta, Altered Inheritances- 100 (Last Name) Stories, Pigmented inkjet prints in split frames, 2012-2014
Shilpa Gupta’s work is inspired by the issues with how south Asians are treated in the gulf and how they survived by changing their names, changing their identity. In the above sequence there is seven split images including images of surfaces, landscapes, and a portrait image.
In the middle of the sequence there is an image of a coastal scene where there is people stood next to a beach with rocks and the sea. Under the image there is a quote that reads, ‘In 1970’s, when he boarded the overnight train to the dream city, he left his surname behind. He chose a new one, something sounding ‘more local’, more Maharashtrian, something that could effectively camouflage his Gujrati back ground. He had been told he would be dealing with several who resisted new entrants into Mumbai. Vaishav Rathore Panchal’ typed in a type-writer front.
Image from above sequence
The image is muted in colour and has a warm tone to it. The texture in the waves, people and rocks creates a high tonal range and makes the overall feel of the image gritty. As this is in the middle of the sequence, the rough texture could indicate the middle of a story where there is usually a turning point in the plot. This could relate to this image as there is a lot of grain which implies that there is more character, something is happening.
The contrast between the people and the sea creates a diagonal divide, cutting the people from the sea, this could link to the cutting of their freedom as the people who were forced to change their names to fit in with a new society lost that freedom of expression and perhaps lost themselves. The image is taken from above looking down which gives the image a different perspective and creates a more interesting point of view.
The quote suggests that there is a serious divide in Mumbai between people who are fleeing to safety and people who already live there which is reflected in the image by the divide between the light and dark from the people and the sea.
At the end of the sequence there is an image of the sky, with the quote, ‘When he was getting married, he wanted him and his wife to have the same name, but felt it was unfair to ask her to take his surname. So they both changed their surnames to something new ‘, handwritten under the image.
Image from above sequence
The image is quite monochrome and only has two colours, being white and blue. There is not much tonal range in the image creating a low contrasting image which is soft in colour. The image is taken from eye-level, in level with the horizon capturing the whole sky as the sole image. The natural daylight from the sky adds to the soft, bright atmosphere, this could be a metaphor because the image is at the end of the sequence and could symbolise a happy, peaceful ending.
Gupta has added a white geometric circle into the centre of the very organic image creating a contrast between them. This creates a divide between the calm and soft background and the harsh crisp circle.
The quote under the image and the blank circle could suggest an empty space, a new beginning for the people who changed their names or could be symbolising heaven where everything is pure and tranquil.
My second photographer I will be looking at is Umberto Verdoliva and his project What is a dream? Focusing on how he has created a narrative through layering images/ multiple exposures. He takes two real moments captured over time and merges them to create a new meaningful and unique image. Recreating a scene, an atmosphere, short reality/snapshot from something that existed in different times and places.
Image from What is a dream?Image from What is a dream?
He currently lives in Treviso, Italy and produces most his work from the streets of his whereabouts. Umberto Verdoliva’s images are part of street photography which is a genre of photography that records everyday life in public places. Being in the public setting enables the photographer to take candid picturesof strangers, sometimes without them knowing. Street photography does not have to be taken on the streets, the aim of it is to capture culture and lifestyle. Images should tell a story or document a moment. Some street photography is created to make the viewer pause and question themselves.
Verdoliva likes street photography because it has helped him think about his daily routines and life, constantly looking for poetry and beauty in his surroundings and street life around him.
In 2013 he founded ‘SPONTANEA’ which was an Italian group dedicated to street photography, but this ended in 2019. Verdoliva has presented workshops, exhibitions, portfolio readings, presentations and writes articles on photography, showing his passion for the subject.
Verdoliva takes an interesting approach to street photography, looking at angles and geometric, his style being sensitive. Taking ordinary moments and transforming them into something extraordinary to focus on the poetry and significance. All his photographs are made on film and are double exposed to create the effect of two images one which means that preparation is important for his images. Always out and about looking for connections between things and people and the atmosphere/feeling in each place. He creates new realities by merging, mixing element from completely different places. By his precision and careful planning, we learn how attentive he is as a photographer as well as his sure sense of composition and in showing a story in a short fragment in time.
Image from What is a dream?
The image includes a man walking on a pavement into what looks like a plastered picture of a close up shot of a woman, like he is walking into a new world. The street picture is taken at eye level from a slight distance so he could get the man and the pavement in the picture. Verdoliva takes his pictures at random when he is out but plans for possible outcomes. The image has no specific name but is part of his ‘What is a dream?’ series which is about getting the viewer to use their imagination.
The image is in black and white which creates a high tonal range throughout the image emphasising the contrast between light and dark. The lighting would have been from the natural daylight which translates to the images’ softness, it is not harsh and bold, which creates a ghostly feeling as it is light and empty. even though the image has layers to it, it still has a short depth of field and feels 2D. There is a lot of textures in the outcome from the wall in the background, the peeling plaster sheet and the close-up portrait adds to the textures. These create quite harsh lines, like dry brush strokes in a painting, adding depth and grain to the image.
The background image with the man walking follows the rule of third as the horizon is in the bottom third and the main subjects are off centre, creating the perfect composition. The Woman also looks like she is looking over her shoulder as if the man is following her which creates an atmospheric feeling.
The image contains a mixture of geometric and organic shapes like the hair in the portrait of the girl and the run-down wall in the background and geometric shapes like the pavement lines which also is a form of repetition. The white solid line which is the edge of the paper that the man is walking into, could link to the idea of walking into a new world using the Solid white line as a divide between the two places, acting as a door. This creates a dark and eerie mood overall in the image. Verdoliva would have planned this as likes to get people to question themselves and their imaginations while looking at his images especially for this project.
Both artists approach narrative in photography differently but still tell the story they want to be told. They use multiple images to tell a story, Umberto Verdoliva uses double exposures and Gupta uses sequencing. When it comes to the stories themselves that each photographer is trying to portray they are different. Gupta focuses on the history of people migrating to India for safety whereas Verdoliva does not base his narratives on anything, he looks for opportunities around him and tells the story he wants in that moment.
Umberto Verdoliva, Image from What is dream?Shipla Gupta, Image from Altered Inheritances
Both of their photographic styles also contrast each other, Verdoliva clearly takes his images in a street photography style, capturing things in the moment. In contrast Gupta’s images seem to be more pre meditated in the way that her images are structured. She also includes a lot of objects in her sequences which is very different to street photography that focuses on scenes and people.
My own outcome
When creating my own responses using old family photos and new images I took inspiration from Gupta’s sequences and split my images like she has. In my opinion this links to the divide in time because the old family images are from around 15 years ago and the new images are taken in the present day.
My own outcome
This idea of merging two different moments in time and creating a new outcome also links to Verdoliva’s work because that is what he does with his images and is his main principle behind taking them.
Bibliography:
Elena Martinique 2016, Reading the Narrative Photography
Kai Behrmann YEAR, Street photographer Umberto Verdoliva “Man and Environment” https://artofcreativephotography.com/streetphotographers/umberto-verdoliva/embed/#?secret=cq16dJBznn
Mahan Moalemi YEAR, Shilpa Gupta and Zarina’s “Altered Inheritances: Home is a Foreign Place” March 18–July 13, 2019
Write an evaluation, reflecting on the experience of being part of making a newspaper and working on IDENTITY & COMMUNITY project and put it here at the top of the blog post, titled: IDENTITY & COMMUNITY. Specifically, select your images and spreads for comments.
Copy and past all the below and publish as your own blog post.
IDENTITY & COMMUNITY Newspaper
The images seen on the pages of this newspaper supplement are extracted from a variety of projects and final outcomes produced over a two-year academic programme of study by a group of A-Level photography students at Hautlieu School. In their final year the themes of Identity and Community offered a specific focus and through a series of creative challenges students developed a body of work that were inspired, partly from visiting heritage institutions to learn about aspects of Jersey’s unique history of immigration and exploring migrant communities and neighbourhoods in St Helier in a series of photo-walks. In the classroom additional inspiration was provided from workshops on NFTs (non-fungible token) and digital art, embroidery and textile art, animation and film-making, zine and photobook design led by professional artists, designers and teachers.
As part of the research and contextual studies students were asked to engage with some of the key questions raised by the Government of Jersey’s Island Identity project and explore through their own photographic studies how they interpret and identify distinctive qualities of island life. What can we learn from looking at a set of photographs produced by young islanders? At first sight they show us a seemingly random set of images of places, people and objects – some familiar, others surprising. On closer inspection each image is a visual sign and also a conundrum. For example, a fish stuffed in a plastic bottle may ask us to consider more closely our marine environment, commercial fishing or food consumption. As a combined sequence of images they represent different views that in many ways comment on a wider discussion on some of the primary objectives explored in the Island Identity project, such as ‘how we see ourselves’ and ‘how others see us.’
The newspaper was kindly sponsored by Deputy Carolyn Labey, Minister for International Development and Assistant Chief Minister who in her foreword shares her personal thoughts on what makes Jersey special to her in context of the Island Identity project led by her department. She says, ‘identity involves searching our soul, engaging with difficult issues, and asking not only who we are, but how others see us and what a vision for the future might look like. The perspective of students and young people in this debate is critical. Identity is a broad and far-reaching concept, one unique to all of us. This collection of images recognises both our differences and our commonalties. These times may be uncertain, but in my view the topic – ‘what Jersey means to you’ – is a fundamentally optimistic and forward-looking one.’
The Identity and Community newspaper is the fourth supplement produced in collaboration between Hautlieu School Photography Department and Jersey Evening Post. In 2018 the first issue was The Future of St Helier and last year the themes of Love & Rebellion explored experiences of isolation and lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. Photographer and teacher Martin Toft, comments: ‘The question of ‘what makes Jersey special’ matters a great deal to every islander and as visual signs, the images printed on these pages are an attempt – not so much to provide answers – but rather asking questions about the essence of this island we call home, and how it actively will overcome current challenges in shaping a prosperous future for all.’
My Images
The set of images above are a compilation of me and my groups NFT video project. Although I didn’t make the group of images, I had a part in the group and the overall creation of it.
The collage of images above are examples of images that are in my photobook. There are images of my family including my parents, my uncle, my grandparents and great grandparents as well as an image of me. I like the way it was shown in the paper on double page spread and it turned out good.
Overall, I really like the outcome in the newspaper of my work and work I have been part of and I think it shows a real connection to family and overall social groups.
To begin my personal study project I decided to experiment with different ideas. I knew I wanted to use childhood images within my photobook so I experimented with different ideas based around childhood and memories. I tried different things like using different tools in photography, photographing landscapes and exploring different ideas and concepts until I found an idea I felt interested me and thoroughly represented my ideas.
First I imported all my chosen childhood images into Lightroom and into a folder within my photobook folder so I could organise all my images for this project in one place.
Photoshop experimenting
I then began experiment with different tools within photoshop. I started with a basic tool within photoshop by overlapping 2 images and changing the opacity. I liked the final outcome of this image showing what I was and the growth.
I then began experimenting with the polygonal tool and began created different shapes ontop of the image.
I continued to experiment with the polygonal tool on different images, using different colours shapes and sizes. I liked this experimentation as I felt it added something to the image and gave me freedom to add a different meaning and feel to the image by splitting up the image.
I also experimented with the drawing tool and experimented with cutting people or objects from an image. I didn’t like this option as I felt it looked messy and didn’t represent my intentions well.
I also decided used the blur tool on a few images. I tried blurring the whole image and just blurring the background of the main subject of the image. I liked this as it created a focus on the subject of the image.
I got an image of a Jersey map and then decided the images I wanted to place on the maps. I then placed these images on the maps and adjusted the scale of the images to the size I wanted by going to Edit > Transform > Scale. I left some images bigger than others as I wanted some images to stand out more than other images. I then used the brush tool to draw lines between all the images and create a path. I chose to use the colour red for the lines to make the path stand out. Next I added on some ‘tape’ to make the images look stuck down. I used the ‘Polygonal’ tool to cut out the tape and then pressed Ctrl C to copy the selected part onto the map. I then adjusted the scale doing the same process as I did with the images.
I then took inspiration from an image in Jim Goldbergs book ‘Raised by Wolves’ where he placed images and drew on a map of where he was photographing. I wanted to do this to pin point key images to places around where I live and grew up. I put on images from where I was born to where I first went to school or even core memories.
My work
Jim Goldberg
Image selection
I went through all my images I collected and went through and flagged the images I liked and wanted to start editing and experimenting with. The second image shows all my flagged images.
I then went through all my flagged images and began editing them. A lot of my images were very dark so I brightened them up and changed the colours, exposure and contrast on all of the images.
I then decided to colour code my images into different categories, e.g = colours, family members, ages, to make it easier to piece together my final photobook.
Editing
I wanted the images of the objects to have a plain white background so they blended in with the background of the paper in the photobook. To do this I started my using the Polygonal tool and selecting the majority of the background and right clicking on my mouse, it then brings up the option to fill the selected shape. I filled the selection with white to create the white background. I then used the ‘Clone stamp tool’ to get the finer parts around the object in the image. I help the mouse over the white parts, pressed alt and then with a thin brush went around the object.
I put lots of my images into a polaroid template as I wanted to create a page in my book full of polaroid’s. To do this I downloaded a polaroid template and opened it within Photoshop. I then placed the image I wanted to use over the top of the template. Then I had to use the distort option in Edit > Transform > Distort and then move the edges to make the image fit into the template.
Inspiration
My main inspiration for my book was from Jim Goldberg’s book ‘Raised by Wolves’. His book was all about the homeless children fending for themselves in Los Angeles and San Francisco. For 10 years Jim Goldberg took to the streets to meet and photograph homeless runaways and then a gather collection of photographs, snippets of conversation, handwritten notes, drawings, snapshots which then created the book ‘Raised by wolves’. Although my book has a very different aspect and meaning behind it I liked the realistic and real view Goldberg took on his book. I also liked the presentation of Goldberg’s book and how he used text to add context and bring the book to life.
Designing photobook
Here I am experimenting with my images to see how I want my final outcome to look and to experiment with different layout options. I experimented with full bleed, images on one side of the page , multiple images on one page. This helped me to gain more of an idea of how I wanted to present my final photobook as I got to see how different images work together and experiment with different juxtaposition’s.
I then had to come up with a title for my book which I took from a card within the photobook. I then changed the the style of the writing to suit my photobook more. I decided to use the font ‘Ink Free’. I also added my name onto the back of my book and changed the colour of my background to a light grey colour.
The images seen on the pages of this newspaper supplement are extracted from a variety of projects and final outcomes produced over a two-year academic programme of study by a group of A-Level photography students at Hautlieu School. In their final year the themes of Identity and Community offered a specific focus and through a series of creative challenges students developed a body of work that were inspired, partly from visiting heritage institutions to learn about aspects of Jersey’s unique history of immigration and exploring migrant communities and neighbourhoods in St Helier in a series of photo-walks. In the classroom additional inspiration was provided from workshops on NFTs (non-fungible token) and digital art, embroidery and textile art, animation and film-making, zine and photobook design led by professional artists, designers and teachers.
As part of the research and contextual studies students were asked to engage with some of the key questions raised by the Government of Jersey’s Island Identity project and explore through their own photographic studies how they interpret and identify distinctive qualities of island life. What can we learn from looking at a set of photographs produced by young islanders? At first sight they show us a seemingly random set of images of places, people and objects – some familiar, others surprising. On closer inspection each image is a visual sign and also a conundrum. For example, a fish stuffed in a plastic bottle may ask us to consider more closely our marine environment, commercial fishing or food consumption. As a combined sequence of images they represent different views that in many ways comment on a wider discussion on some of the primary objectives explored in the Island Identity project, such as ‘how we see ourselves’ and ‘how others see us.’
The newspaper was kindly sponsored by Deputy Carolyn Labey, Minister for International Development and Assistant Chief Minister who in her foreword shares her personal thoughts on what makes Jersey special to her in context of the Island Identity project led by her department. She says, ‘identity involves searching our soul, engaging with difficult issues, and asking not only who we are, but how others see us and what a vision for the future might look like. The perspective of students and young people in this debate is critical. Identity is a broad and far-reaching concept, one unique to all of us. This collection of images recognises both our differences and our commonalties. These times may be uncertain, but in my view the topic – ‘what Jersey means to you’ – is a fundamentally optimistic and forward-looking one.’
The Identity and Community newspaper is the fourth supplement produced in collaboration between Hautlieu School Photography Department and Jersey Evening Post. In 2018 the first issue was The Future of St Helier and last year the themes of Love & Rebellion explored experiences of isolation and lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. Photographer and teacher Martin Toft, comments: ‘The question of ‘what makes Jersey special’ matters a great deal to every islander and as visual signs, the images printed on these pages are an attempt – not so much to provide answers – but rather asking questions about the essence of this island we call home, and how it actively will overcome current challenges in shaping a prosperous future for all.’
Various workshops and school trips for inspirations, recording and experimenting with new images and ideas of making
The image on the left is my image in the newspaper.
Evaluation
All the images above are extracted from 2 years of work from various different projects and students within our A level photography course. I enjoyed creating the newspaper as I feel it was a good way for me to reflect on all my work from all my projects since the beginning of Year 12. It was a completely new form of presentation compared to how I normally present my work. I felt the newspaper allowed us as a class to show the public all the different topics we have worked on and create a newspaper on all different topics and tie it all together under the topic of ‘Identity and Community’. Creating the newspaper allowed all the photography students to represent their strengths within photography. I used my images from Year 12 as I felt they best fit into the ‘Identity and community’ theme of the newspaper. I chose an image from my zine project when we explored the different cultures within Jersey and photographing different heavily cultured areas to show all the identities lying within Jersey. I liked my image as in the windows where flags representing different cultures with a clothing shop underneath. I am very happy with the final outcome of the newspaper and feel it represents all of our projects well.
Overall, I really enjoyed being part of the newspaper as I thought it was a great way to show all of our progress from year 12 up till now. It showed the variety of different outcomes we came up with throughout many of our different personal photoshoots. Putting all of our best images together was a good idea as everyone would be able to see the different topics and ideas we have worked on in the past 2 years. I used most of my images from year 12 as I had the most opportunities to go out in that year and take different photoshoots as well as some challenging ones as taking candid street photography and of people in their work environment. I think that displaying our work all together is a clever way and we were able to summarise our two years of taking photographs into one place.
IDENTITY & COMMUNITY Newspaper
The images seen on the pages of this newspaper supplement are extracted from a variety of projects and final outcomes produced over a two-year academic programme of study by a group of A-Level photography students at Hautlieu School. In their final year the themes of Identity and Community offered a specific focus and through a series of creative challenges students developed a body of work that were inspired, partly from visiting heritage institutions to learn about aspects of Jersey’s unique history of immigration and exploring migrant communities and neighbourhoods in St Helier in a series of photo-walks. In the classroom additional inspiration was provided from workshops on NFTs (non-fungible token) and digital art, embroidery and textile art, animation and film-making, zine and photobook design led by professional artists, designers and teachers.
As part of the research and contextual studies students were asked to engage with some of the key questions raised by the Government of Jersey’s Island Identity project and explore through their own photographic studies how they interpret and identify distinctive qualities of island life. What can we learn from looking at a set of photographs produced by young islanders? At first sight they show us a seemingly random set of images of places, people and objects – some familiar, others surprising. On closer inspection each image is a visual sign and also a conundrum. For example, a fish stuffed in a plastic bottle may ask us to consider more closely our marine environment, commercial fishing or food consumption. As a combined sequence of images they represent different views that in many ways comment on a wider discussion on some of the primary objectives explored in the Island Identity project, such as ‘how we see ourselves’ and ‘how others see us.’
The newspaper was kindly sponsored by Deputy Carolyn Labey, Minister for International Development and Assistant Chief Minister who in her foreword shares her personal thoughts on what makes Jersey special to her in context of the Island Identity project led by her department. She says, ‘identity involves searching our soul, engaging with difficult issues, and asking not only who we are, but how others see us and what a vision for the future might look like. The perspective of students and young people in this debate is critical. Identity is a broad and far-reaching concept, one unique to all of us. This collection of images recognises both our differences and our commonalties. These times may be uncertain, but in my view the topic – ‘what Jersey means to you’ – is a fundamentally optimistic and forward-looking one.’
The Identity and Community newspaper is the fourth supplement produced in collaboration between Hautlieu School Photography Department and Jersey Evening Post. In 2018 the first issue was The Future of St Helier and last year the themes of Love & Rebellion explored experiences of isolation and lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. Photographer and teacher Martin Toft, comments: ‘The question of ‘what makes Jersey special’ matters a great deal to every islander and as visual signs, the images printed on these pages are an attempt – not so much to provide answers – but rather asking questions about the essence of this island we call home, and how it actively will overcome current challenges in shaping a prosperous future for all.’
Various workshops and school trips for inspirations, recording and experimenting with new images and ideas of making
