I want to explore the idea of identity in the sense of location and upbringing. I want to look at this as I think it is a big part of someone’s identity and shows where they have come from and family heritage, which shapes people to be who they are.
I’m going to develop my ideas from work by Shipla Grupta who looks at family heritage through names and has a project based on this where she presents her images split in half and reassembled to form a misaligned set of images.
Shipla Grupta
Umberto Verdoliva
Umberto Verdoliva is another artist I would like to start this project with, I specifically like his project where he layers images on top of each other to create a new meaning to both images, adding a narrative. I really like this idea of taking something apart and putting back together and creating a new narrative.
I will do this in my own project by using old family archive images and taking new images. At the end of the project I will produce a photobook with my best outcomes.
Throughout year 12, I have learnt how to use studio lighting, how to alter settings on a camera to achieve different results, and how to use photoshop and lightroom to edit my photographs. A theme I have found interesting this year is the study of Anthropocene. Within this theme I have studied multiple artists, including Darian Mederos and Naomi White, I also enjoyed making more creative edits on photoshop with these images. I found this project interesting because it combines human and nature in our current world. For this project I focused on landscape and abstract photography. I also combined the two in some of my edits to create a juxtaposition. I prefer the theme of identity over the theme of community as I can make a project that is more personal to me and my own identity, as well as my family or friends.
“Portrait of Camilla” – Darian Mederos (2020)
My Image
Edited using polygon lasso tool, image layering and black and white filter.
‘To edit these images I will enhance the muted tones in my photographs, in a similar way to the artwork by Mederos, and also darken the tones in order to provide a deeper, menacing message in relation to the theme of Anthropocene.‘
“Crescendo” part of “Plastic Currents” series – Naomi White (2012)
My Image
First, I lowered the brightness of my image and increased the contrast in order to create a stronger contrast between the different colours and provide darker tones to the image .I then altered the curves setting of the image to darken the shadows of the image, and to increase the brightness of the highlights within the photo.I increased the hue of the image to a blue-tone to enhance the blue hues of the image. I also increased the saturation and decreased the lightness to make the colours more vibrant and contrasting.To further bring out the blue and red tones of the image, I altered the colour balance to increase cyan-toned colours and magenta-toned colours. This makes both the blues and the reds more vibrant, creating a more juxtaposing contrast.
My Image
I also enjoyed making my final project in year 12, where I got to further explore my own identity within my family. I found it interesting to look through old family photo albums and comparing them to current times and showing the clear contrast in time. Because of this I want to make my photobook personal to me and my identity.
To gain insight into the task of creating a personal statement and personal investigation I explored the work of a previous student.
To full understand and ensure I would cover ever aspect of this project I looked at the grading criteria.
This helped me analyse the previous students work and give him a grade which will help me understand how to get into the top grade. To ensure a top grade and achieve all the assessment objectives, ideas need to be developed through sustained and focused investigations which are supported through contextual sources which presents a developed understanding of the project. Appropriate techniques and recourses need to be explored and sustained throughout. Appropriate evidence of recorded ideas need to be included and finally a meaningful response personal to the individual that relies their intentions needs to be made. I also looked at the students work in terms of Concept, Editing, Sequencing, Design, Narrative and Aesthetic. Further criteria to assess the students essay:
Does the essay address its hypothesis?
Does it provide new knowledge and understanding?
Is the essay well structured with a sense of an introduction, paragraphs and a conclusion?
Use and flow of language, prose, punctuation, spelling.
Use of specialist vocabulary relating to art and photography.
Analysis of artist’s oeuvre (body of work) and key work(s).
Evidence of wider reading with reference to art history/ theory, political discourse and/or socio-economical context.
Use of direct quotes, summary or commentary from others to make an informed and critical argument.
Use of referencing system (eg. Harvard) and a bibliography.
Use of illustrations with captions listing name of artist, title of work and year of production.
Considering all this assessment criteria will help me create a well structured and in depth response.
Following on from this I began a reviewing and reflecting process were I looked at an overview of what I have learned so far (both as Yr 12 and Yr 13 student) and how I intend to develop my Personal Study.
The project that has inspired me the most from the what I have explored so far is my work exploring the theme of identity and place through the medium of photography.
Through this project I explored the notion of telling a story in way in which I explored identity in terms of feeling a loss of identity by feeling like an outcast to society but finding identity by fitting into a sub culture. I approached the project through a combination of conceptual
And portraiture style responses
Through this identity project I explored more modern artists such as J grant Brittan who’s work explores the theme of identity through a romanticist style of photography. And more historic representations of Photography such as Claude Cahun, part of the Dadaist movement of photographers exploring surrealism and identity in an innovative contemporary style. Claude is a highly influential artist for me. Claude was able to massively further my knowledge and understanding of contemporary photography as well as give me a perspective on how to approach themes using my creativity through the medium of photography. I therefore also further developed my photographic skills, specifically skills relating how to create narrative with tableaux imagery and draw emotion from the subject I was shooting which has translated to my current work.
I also experimented with more low light photography which was a challenge for me however I learnt from mistakes and fixed them which advanced me as a photographer.
This previous year 12 project is why I want to focus on developing this idea of identity to construct my personal study and investigation.
Use this simplified list to check that you are on task. Every item on the list represents one piece of work = one blog post. It is your responsibility as an A-level student to make sure that you complete and publish appropriate blog posts each week. All tasks and learning resources are in the planner above.
WEEK 10: 15-21 Nov Island Identity
WEEK 11: 22-28 Nov 1. Review and Reflection 2. Mindmap 3. Moodboard
Week 12: 29 Nov – 5 Dec 1. Statement of Intent 2. Artists References – at least two 3. Planning & Recording: Shoot 1 – response to initial idea 4. Contextual Studies 1: Conversations on Photography – publish by Wed 8 Dec
Week 13: 6 – 12 Dec 1. The origins of photography: write 500 -1000 words + illustrations 2. Planning & Recording: Shoot 2 – response to early photographic processes or your own project
Week 14: 13 Dec – 5 Jan 1. Art movements and isms: write 500 – 1000 words + illustrations 2. Planning & Recording – at least 3 photoshoots in response to your project. what, why, how, when, where? Bring images with you in the New Year. 3. Self-assessment: Review your work using traffic light system and publish on blog by Fri 17 Dec.
XMASBreak: 1. RECORDING: Produce a number of photographic response to your Personal Study and bring images from new photo-shoots to lessons in January. 2. READING: Key texts (interviews, reviews, articles etc.) about your subject, photo-history and chosen artists in preparation of writing your essay in January.
Week 15: 5 – 9 Jan 1. Literary Sources 2. Essay Question 3. Essay Plan
Week 16: 10 – 16 Jan 1. Essay: Introduction 2. Essay: Paragraph 1 3. Practice: Edit photoshoots and evaluate
Week 17: 17 – 23 Jan 1. Essay: Paragraph 2 & 3 2. Practical work: Define Story & Narrative 3a: Photobook: Select book and deconstruct narrative, concept and design 3b: Film: Select film and deconstruct narrative, editing and sound
Week 18 – 19: 24 Jan – 4 Feb 1. Essay: Conclusion, bibliography, proof-read and hand in draft Mon 31 Jan 2a: Photobook: Write a book specification; narrative, concept and design 3b: Photobook: Moodboard and create Blurb account 2b: Film: Storyboarding; narrative, visuals and sound 3b: Film: Moodboard and begin editing
Week 20: 7 – 11 Feb MOCK EXAM 1. Essay: Publish final essay with illustrations and a bibliography 2a: Photobook: Complete design and include essay in Blurb 2b: Film: Complete editing film, export and embed on blog 3. Print: Select a set of 5-6 final prints for mounting 4. Blog: Review and complete all supporting blogposts 5. Statement: write 100-200 words and save in folder
Final outcomes & Deadlines: Essay (2000 words): 28 Jan 2022 Photobook / Film/ Prints: Last day of Mock Exam GP 13B: Wed 9 Feb GP 13C: FRI 11 FEB
Week 21: 14 – 18 Feb+ H-TERM 1. Photoshoots: Selection, editing, experimentation and evaluation (from each shoot.) 2. Planning & Recording: Evaluate current images made and produce new images/ photoshoots for half-term. 3. Deconstruct Photobook: Select book and analyse narrative, concept and design (from week 17) 4. Book Specification: define narrative, concept and design for your book + moodboard of design ideas (from mock exam.) 5. Photobook Design: Clear progression of your design process, including prints screens of layout with annotation (ongoing.)
The survey has been commissioned to conduct some research to explore the integration of ethnic and minority communities in Jersey to fulfill one of the recommendations that was made in the summary report of the Island Identity Policy Development Board published last year. A short survey has been designed to gather views on this issue and on the themes of belonging and identity.
This survey is part of the Island Identity project that was commissioned by Deputy Carolyn Labey, Assistant Chief Minister, Minister for International Development and Chair of the Island Identity (IID) Policy Development Board. On Tuesday 15 Feb they have arranged an event Jersey Dialogues – Exploring and Celebrating Our Island Idenity at Radison Blu Hotel with the formal programme running from 1:30 to 5:30 pm includes talk and workshops with high profile speakers.
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.
3. Produce a new mind-map and mood-board based around how you interpret one/ or both theme(s) of IDENTITY & COMMUNITY using new artists inspirations and visual references etc. Reflect on the Island Identity project and also consider themes more broadly (see below)
4. Write a Statement of Intent that clearly contextualise; 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? Make sure you describe your chosen theme (IDENTITY & COMMUNITY), subject-matter (topic, issue), artists (inspirations, references) and final outcome (photobook, film).
5. Plan your first photo-shoot as a response to initial ideas. Must be published on the blog by Wed 2 Dec.
First Project: Identity and Place.
For our first project we were focusing on Portraiture as well as learning how to use the settings on our camera to create different images without it being edited heavily on photoshop. We experimented with things such as aperture, shutter speed and white balance.
I focused on the photographers Claud Cahun and Edward Honaker throughout this project. Edward Honaker is known for using photography to express his mental health. An example of how he does this is using a slow shutter speed whilst people are moving and I used this as an inspiration for my first shoot of this independent project. In addition to this I wanted to try and morph my models’ faces in another shoot. This meant I had to go into photoshop and gave them a whirlpool like structure on their face. Honaker’s images still inspire me and I would like to use his methods of editing in my personal study.
I believe that the first shoot allowed me to realise I enjoy doing portrait photography and that I would like to do it more often in my spare time as well as the main chunk of my personal study.
Honaker’s Image
My Image
Honaker’s Image
My Image
These images were used in my project to highlight that life shouldn’t be people obsessing over looks of themselves or others; but instead should be about personalities. I want to convey this message more throughout this project as I believe we can all wear a mask and not show who we truly are. We need to realise that we only have one life and we need to focus on the positives rather than dwelling on things that could happen or things that could be said etc.
Project 2: Pollution
For this second shoot, I wanted to show different types of pollution. I focused on air, water and plastic pollution. I tried to incorporate Portrait photography as much as possible.
The artist who inspired me the most for this project was Jeremy Caroll who created a photoshoot to highlight how deadly plastics are to ocean life, by putting humans in the sea creatures place.
I asked my model to wrap a plastic bag around her neck as well as shoe laces, receipts and a face mask to show that even the pandemic is causing global destruction to wildlife. The model then attempted to pull the rubbish from her neck.
For air pollution I asked my model who vaped to exhale I as was taking the images of her. This then allowed my images to show an exaggerated version of what the world will look like if we carried on emitting the gases that harm our planet.
I would like my images in this personal study to be eye opening like both Honaker and Caroll’s work. I wand people to understand that not everything is as it seems. People can be going through things without you even noticing. Someone could be the most popular person in the world and still feel alone and helpless.
Mindmap and Mood Board
This is a mindmap of ideas for my personal study. It highlights the areas I would like to focus on. My main idea is to highlight the fact that no one is how they seem. I would also like to include a juxtaposition throughout my work. This is why I have depression as well as happiness on my mindmap.
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.
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.
Previously in year 12 , we have studied many different themes, such as ; Anthropocene , portraits , abstract and landscapes as well as still life photos. This allowed us to explore all areas of photography which is helpful when it comes to year 13 as we now know our strong points and what area of photography we enjoy doing the most and are the most skilled at. We have also had a lot of experience with using the studio lights and camera settings in year 12 which all comes to hand now. Personally my favourite part of year 12 was when we did portraits as I loved using the stuido and a plain white backdrop as I view portraits as a very powerful way of presenting photography as you can do so many different things with it and edit them in all sort of different ways. I like when you have a whole camera set up ready to use in the studio instead of just going out in the natural enviornment and taking photos of what you can find. I liked having everythiing set up and pre-planned which made my photoshoots in year 12 a lot better.
I studied a variety of different artists in Year 12 which really helps when creating your own projects as you get inspirated by an artist who photographs similar ideas to what you want to achieve at the end of your shoot. This lets you come up with some more ideas and make sure you have a basic outline of what you want to do and photograph but in your own interpretation. For my personal study I will research artists that photograph similar concepts to what I want to do when I plan my study.
Some examples of my previous year 12 work was when we did head shots and I really enjoyed exploring the idea of double and multi exposure. I really enjoy the editing part as using Photoshop in year 12 has allowed me to learn so many useful skills and tools for editing my images. For my personal study I want to use photo shop when editing my images as I used it throughout year 12 a lot and think it makes my final images very strong and the best quality. An example;
Currently we are looking at the theme of Identity & Community, which we have started to develop ideas on through looking at Jersey’s history and identity. This helps in creating a basic idea of the theme , as we live in Jersey it’s important to understand our history and what factors make Jersey and what attracts people to it. Therefore in this personal project , I want to study the theme of identity through using portraits and studio photos as I think they will link very well together and it was my favourite part of year 12. We also went around Jersey , the town side and photographed different landscapes / sites around Jersey which showed how there’s so many different communities in Jersey, such as French/Portuguese quarters and old houses from the war. An example of my work;
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.
3. Produce a new mind-map and mood-board based around how you interpret one/ or both theme(s) of IDENTITY & COMMUNITY using new artists inspirations and visual references etc. Reflect on the Island Identity project and also consider themes more broadly (see below)
4. Write a Statement of Intent that clearly contextualise; 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? Make sure you describe your chosen theme (IDENTITY & COMMUNITY), subject-matter (topic, issue), artists (inspirations, references) and final outcome (photobook, film).
5. Plan your first photo-shoot as a response to initial ideas. Must be published on the blog by Wed 2 Dec.
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.
Themes
The theme that has inspired me the most in my Photography A-level course has been the Identity project for the mock last year. The theme allowed me to, “successfully talk… about past experiences in my life and… turn it into art.”
Medium
The medium (photography film) has influenced a lot of my future ideas for this new project on Identity and community. This is because the film my class colleagues and I produced touching on the theme of religion and the LGBTQ+ community, has allowed greater knowledge to flourish into how important it is to have a narrative and sequence in the film you are producing. I know this because the group and I struggled to find the right way to share my story through a film; how can we make a film that isn’t for or against homosexuality or homophobia but still raise awareness in both the communities and their duties. For example, if you’ve got same sex attraction and are Christian, instead of worrying if it is wrong to be in a same sex relationship or not, you should, “…seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” And if you are simply religious and don’t particularly agree with LGBTQ+ lifestyle, instead of spreading hate comments and come across homophobic you should still love these people for Jesus said, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. ” He said this because, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you, “Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”” This powerfully shows that instead of accusing people of their sin, Christians should be directing people to God instead of away.
Shwod took the name Claude Cahun in 1917 and have since explored self-portraits, exploring themes such as sex and gender identity in their work. However, their work was largely opposed because homosexuality was seen as shameful and disgraceful in the 20th century and beyond, but their portrayals were powerful, with some people liking it. We can see that in the image above, due to Claude’s reflection in the mirror, we can clearly see that they have seen themselves as a guy/lesbian and are looking at the camera with pride but charm, showing that they know who they are.
Claude Cahun has influenced my ideas for this project as I will be talking about identity and mention sides of homosexuality so Claude Cahun serves as comfort as I know I won’t be the only one talking about this.
Approaches
Documentary Photography has been probably my most liked photography approach as it allowed me to share people my story. Through this I was able to bring into light what struggles I face quite on a daily, the sort of comments one can get. This is really useful because it provides hope to ones going through a similar event and they can look and see that I’m still here showing them that if I can do it so can they. This is professionally shown through my Identity project:
During my NFT project, I have experimented with Adobe Premier; software that allows creation and editing of videos. During it I learned how to properly format a narrative, how different fading animations may portray a thought to the viewer. For example, if we are slowly fading from a portrait scene to a different scene, the viewer may see that as the character’s thoughts and aspirations.
This successful technique can be clearly seen throughout the final film titled ‘Love Thy Neighbour’:
The embroidery also influenced a lot of my ideas for this new Identity & community personal investigation as it allowed me to create a narrative through a variety of images. This can be seen in the following blogpost:
As we can see, the embroidery workshop has allowed me to use “my own struggles and life experiences and implementing them in to a physical art work. For example:
“The words “Je t’ai aim” suggests that an event happened in a love story and all you want to say is “I loved you” but you can’t get yourself to finish the phrase because there are lots of people around, a lot of opinions, thoughts and worries.” This is evidently shown in this embroidery because the word “aim” isn’t grammatically correct in French, it should be “aime”.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I agree to a large extent that my past projects are useful for this project. This is because it has helped me to create new ideas for the Identity project. For example, learning about Premier will be made useful for this project as it allowed me to present and narrate a story using videos, images and music. I will therefore use this knowledge to figure a way of talking about my identity through a combination of videos, images and music.
3. Produce a new mind-map and mood-board based around how you interpret one/ or both theme(s) of IDENTITY & COMMUNITY using new artists inspirations and visual references etc. Reflect on the Island Identity project and also consider themes more broadly (see below)
During my time looking at the topic of Identity and Community in year 12 and year 13 I have learnt various ways in which to produce a final image or piece, in turn discovering what themes, mediums, movements, techniques and methods inspired me the most. With this I mainly focused on the medium of photography, however I have also explored how this form of expression can be elevated by incorporating other mediums such as embroidery and animation into my work. This was evident when looking at the works of Yulia Makeyeva, who adds to her photographic pieces by including textile and needlework in and around her images. We were also given the opportunity to take part in a workshop with her, learning the art of embroidery and experimenting with collage and stop motion animation.
Yulia Makeyeva
I was also fascinated by embroidery artist Billie Zangewa, who relates to the theme of identity and community through her autobiographical portrayals of womanhood and motherhood, using the technique of needlework. Another aspect of Zangewa’s work that interested me was her representation of the importance of women in society and the oppression they suffer coinciding with the feminist movement. In addition, I have also explored the medium of animation and learnt how to use programs such as Adobe After Affects in order to create such pieces, through the workshop with local animator Liam Nunn. With this we experimented with different sequences and movements, ultimately creating a ten second simple animation. This linked with the identity and community of the island due to the fact that Nunn has worked on various projects that showcase our islands unique identity with companies such as Jersey Dairy.
Animation experimentation
During year 12 I also developed my understanding and gained a new appreciation of the original photographic process and pioneers of photography on the island during the late 19th century and early 20th century, such as Emile Guiton who used the Autochrome process invented in 1903 to develop his photographs. This knowledge was gained through class visits to the Jersey Archives, which holds thousands of images that tell stories of the islands evolving identity. With this I found this particularly interesting as by looking at archived images it gave us an insight to the types of people and communities existing in Jersey at the time. We related this to our personal identities by researching our own family archives, and learning more about our lineage and regional backgrounds.
Emile Guiton, Marett Road
Overall however, what inspired me the most was when I had the opportunity to look at the work of Carolle Benitah, and her use of stitching and collage using archived family photographs to display her own personal identity, and how she wants to change it. This work inspired me to create work in a similar style to her, to showcase the identities of different people’s regional backgrounds, experimenting with collage.
