The Société Jersiaise is one of the two Jersey archives that contains a vast amount of photographs detailing Jersey’s history and culture.

The Archive was founded in 1873 by a small group of islanders, it found a permanent location on 1893 in 9 Pier Road, where it continued to gain more members and collections. The first Bulletin Annuel was published in 1875 which acts as the Société’s main record of activities. The Société’s goals involve multiple sections that specialise in multiple fields involving bibliographic, cartographic, photographic and research collections to help preserve Jersey’s culture or heritage.

The Archive’s Website

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For this part of the project, our focus was specifically placed on the Société Jersiaise and Emile Guiton’s excavation of a particular site: La Motte (Green Island) and La Rocque, both of which we went to photograph.

Green Island

During the excavation, the Société found the remains of what is believed to be a Neanderthal necropolis containing multiple skeletons. Due to the necropolis being covered with sand, the remains were preserved in good conditions, considering they would have been thousands of years old. Some of the remains, in particular skulls and fragments of skulls, were collected and brought back to the archive where they were photographed in a studio by Guiton for documentation purposes.

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Emile F Guiton

Guiton was born in Jersey in 1879 and became one of the most prolific photographers not only in Jersey, but for the Société Jersiaise, as well as the wider world, as he was one of the first photographers to take a coloured photograph. Due to his interest for history, he became a member of the Société Jersiaise where he worked on the executive committee as honorary secretary, as well as being the editor the the Annual Bulletin, the Société’s main publication for their findings. As shown above, Guiton took part in photographing the findings of the Société, wishing to document the history of the island through his photographs. During the second world war, Guiton was one of the few photographers on the island granted a permit to take photographs during the occupation, which he used to document Jersey as historic artefacts.

Image Analysis

What I find interesting about this image is the way that the field and the people, crops and the background in the distance only make up about 1/3rd of the whole image, giving it an almost painterly, calming and grand look. Due to the image’s early origins, the colours are probably not 100% accurate, however I think this adds to the aesthetic of the image, as it seems to give the colour palette more variety (for example the shadows appear to have a dark purple-ish tone). This also gives the image a more painting-like look. In terms of the abundance of shadows, there is not that much shadow, as the image appears to be taken at noon in an open field. I also like the way the background trails off into the rocks found frequently on the outskirts of Jersey’s coast. Because of this, there is a clear difference between foreground, midground and background, with the haystacks and farmers anchoring the foreground. I think the farmers being place in the lower-centre of the image is effective as it makes them seem much smaller than the rest of the scene, giving the image an almost sublime aesthetic, while the soft colours and shapes seem to contradict that, making the image seem calmer.

In response to our Site of Special Interest photoshoot, we made sculptures using the images taken from that photoshoot, in order to explore the natural formations of the landscapes in those sites. In particular, we looked to mimic the jagged formations of the rocks found in those sites.

Early Set of Experiments

These are some of my early experiments, in these, I took the main object of the image out by putting the image on foam board and cutting it out using a Stanley knife, once I separated the rock from the background, I raised the rock up using smaller pieces of foam board and stacking them up. On my second one, I cut out the rocks like the first, but raised the background instead to create a different effect.

Experiment #1

This was my first idea, since I already had the original image made, I wondered how the rock would look elevated above the background. By stacking it on top of multiple pieces of foam board I was able to create this effect. As this was an experiment I was not too worried about the method of stacking the foam boards, however if I was to do this as a final sculpture I would likely use another, more secure method.

Experiment #2

This was the second experiment. This experiment was far more rough than the last, but the premise was pretty much the same, to separate the background and subject by elevating one, in this case I elevated the background (by using stacked pieces of foam board like the last experiment). My cutting in particular here was not the most successful, which made me look into more photographers, such as Koh Myung Keun, for another idea.

These sculptures were early ideas that I could use to get a better idea of how I could approach this task. While I am a fan of the first experiment piece in particular, I don’t think I will be taking this idea into the next stage.

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Next Set of Experiments

After researching Koh Myung Keun and his body of work, I found this image/sculpture that I found to be interesting due to it’s simple form, yet complex use of semi-transparent planes to display the images in an almost surreal way.

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Finding the Materials

To try to recreate the semi-transparent look of Koh Myung Keun’s images, I tried two different materials: sketching paper and acetate. The sketching paper turned out to be slightly too cloudy, which would have made it hard to see through, removing the illusion that Koh Myung Keun’s sculptures have. In addition, it seemed to darken the colour and remove some detail, which was not ideal.

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Next I used acetate, which turned out to be more effective than sketching paper, as it was fully see-through, and retained the detail and colour of the original images. In order to give the images more of a vibrant look on the acetate, I edited the images on Lightroom slightly to be more colourful.

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My next problem I had to solve was how I was going to sculpt the images in a similar way to Koh Myung Keun (in a school setting). To do this I found two boxes (one large and one small) made of planes of plastic that I can mount the acetate on and see through to the images on the other planes. I also found individual planes that I could put the acetate on and perhaps add to the sculpture in some way.

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Here is what the smaller box looks like after I had placed the acetate prints onto the sides of it. To join the acetate to the box I used double-sided tape as there was no permanent spray mount on-hand.

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I did the same with the two individual planes, as well as the larger box

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Later on in the project, I thought it would be a good idea to see how the boxes would look if I put the smaller one inside the bigger one and placed the two planes leaning against the smaller one inside.

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Final Sculpture(s)

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Evaluation

Overall I am happy with my sculptures as they resemble the style of Koh Myung Keun’s work fairly closely. I think being able to use acetate for the first time in years was a good way to not only remind myself on how to use it, but to also add some diversity to my final outcomes. I think using brighter colours for the sculptures was a good idea because it made my images aesthetic slightly different to Koh Myung Keun’s, giving mine a bit of originality. The colours also help make the sculpture stand out more, as the acetate would have likely removed some details if the images weren’t edited to adhere to it. I think my decision of using acetate over sketching paper was a good choice, as it made the sculpture much more alike Koh Myung Keun’s, however the cloudier properties of sketching paper might be able to be used in later projects.

If I was to do this project again, I would probably use a permanent spray mount to attach the acetate to the planes without leaving any marks (I don’t think the double-sided tape isn’t that noticeable but it would be a definite improvement). I also think it would be interesting to experiment with different shapes of the sculptures, this would have been difficult in a school setting but it would open more possibilities.

3 words – LaHocq to Greenisland

A sentence – The journey from La Hocq to green Island along the coast

A paragraph – My zine is going to show the journey along the beach and around the headland from La Hocq to Green Island. I am going to achieve this by having the images in my zine in the order they were taken on our Field Trip to La Motte.

Creating My Zine

My Zine

Evaluation

Overall i am very happy with my zine. I thought that it had a good diversity between style and size of images. For example the spread between Black and White in addition to colour images. As well as the different layouts such as double page spreads and bordered images. Some thing i think i could have improved on is adding some writing to the images to give them more meaning.

Final decision explanation

I decided to chose the first draft of my zine for my final product as I preferred that overall layout and the composition. The first draft contained a few more experimental page layouts such as the one with a black rectangle in the centre of the pages with the photos on top. I wanted to really experiment more with this zine compared to my first ever zine that I made on the topic ‘Anthropocene’.

Analysis

What went well: With my zine, I was overall very happy with the result as I believe I was able to capture the true essence of what Jersey’s geology is all about. I wanted my zine to be very dramatic, so that is why I chose the approach of making every image black and white so that I could enhance the structures and formations that are made among the rocks. I wanted to state the importance of its structures and make it easier for people to notice areas that are hard to see at first glance.

Critique

What to consider next time: Overall, I really like how my zine turned out, but next time I make a zine, I would like to have experimented a bit more with the layouts of the pages. I have included some experiments, including the black background and expanding the images over both pages, but I would have maybe included a wider range of photoshopped layouts so that the zine would appear a bit more intriguing. Other than that, I am very happy with how my zine ended up turning out.

The official Cambridge definition of an archive is “A collection of historical records relating to a place, organization or family,” an archive can be as simple of a collection of photographs on a mobile phone however traditionally an archive contains historical records in all forms of media: such as photographs, documents, scientific findings, and items of the past: These records are then categorised into separate classifications whether that be type of media, era/year, or a certain subject. For example, Jersey Archive has a section for the collection of seaweed specimens collected in Jersey during the years 1859 and 1860 by Mrs J. W. H. Harris- records like this can help scientific research and show Jersey’s development environmentally as well as technologically, showing local access to technologies such as cameras to create the images themselves.

Archives give a vast insight into the history of an area: The Societe Jersiase Photographic Archive is an example of this, it aims to produce and facilitate research on the Island’s history, culture, language, and environment; and to share that knowledge with the widest possible audience for the benefit of the island community. This is done through a volunteers opportunities, an online archive, community outreach and collaboration with local and international heritage partners. The Société specialises in various fields of study, from archaeology to zoology with the help of volunteers, modern information and research is inputted to enhance and continue producing the raw data and research which make long-term studies possible- The Société started in 1873 and holds extensive bibliographic, cartographic, photographic and research collections ranging from modern times to the 1800s, these act as a long-term memory for island history, these collections provide a vital resource informing contemporary study and value for the community through a greater understanding of Jersey’s shared heritage, identity and environment. 

An interesting piece of work in the Societe Jersiase Photographic Archive is the Roger and Margaret Long Collection; this collection (which is available online to view) represents a tiny fraction of the 28,000 colour transparencies in the original collection. The images were produced between the late 1960s and early 2000s and cover the subjects of entomology, ornithology and botany, though items of social history interest appear between species, giving a personal touch to a scientific collection. The slides are hand numbered with handwritten indexes, identifying specimens, subjects and dates.  

Although amateur, The Roger and Margaret Long Collection has beautiful skill in the composition of the images as well as colour balances- see in the image below the main point of concentration is the butterfly while the yellow flowers surrounding it are unfocused showing that the focus of the image is to preserve the memory of the butterfly possibly for scientific view. This image taken in Le Coin, St Ouen in 1976 would have been developed specifically to be viewed on a projection screen using a slide projector as it is a positive image with a transparent base, once again this could have been done for scientific view or just to show memories of a beautiful butterfly. 

Images from the past can serve as reminders of history; they show culture, beauty, advances in technology, and insights into how society has grown. For my photography work I plan to use images from the Societe Jersaise as inspiration- including The Robert and Margaret Long Collection and the botanical collection of seaweed specimens by Mrs J. W. H. Harris as these images serve as a basis for an insight into what an archive is- showing personal memories and passions through compilation where the devotion is seen throughout the careful processes the creators went through to compile a selection of subjects. Jersey Archive has been widely used by students, teachers, scientists, politicians, and members of the public to learn more about Jersey’s vast and rich history- this loyalty will continue as history is always being created, meaning generations of the future will be able to look back at the current age to learn and prosper. 

Stories

A story is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional or fictional. Narratives can be presented through a sequence of written or spoken words, through still or moving images, or through any combination of these. They also can be describe a series of events we either create or remember or imagine which we tell ourselves because we want or need to hear them. Perhaps we create stories because we want or need to know something, or learn something, or answer a question.

Can be described in:

• 3 words
• A sentence
• A paragraph

Narrative

Definition: Narrative is essentially the way a story is told. For example, you can tell different narratives of the same story. It is a very subjective process and there is no right or wrong. Whether or not your photographic story is any good is another matter. Additionally, is constructed when you begin to create relationships between images (and/or text) and present more than two images together.

How will you tell your story?

Images > new photographic responses, photo-shoots of objects…
Archives > images from SJ photo-archive, found imagery…
Texts > experiment with typography, key words, poems…

Common types of narrative:

• Descriptive- is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept
• Viewpoint- what the storyteller gets to “see” in one or more characters of a story
• Historical- the practice of writing history in a story-based form
• Linear- we see the events of the story unfolding in the order in which they occurred

History of Magazines

The first magazine was published in Germany during the 17th century. The success of this publication led to the introduction of magazines across Europe. During the 17th and 18th centuries, publishers founded several different types of periodicals aimed at diverse audiences, including the elite and women.

The first American magazines are said to have been published in 1741 by Andrew Bradford and Benjamin Franklin, rivaling printers in Philadelphia. Both folded within the span of six months but, by the end of the 18th century, there were over 100 magazines in the U.S. Other magazines such as Cosmopolitan was originally published in 1886 in the U.S. as a family magazine titled The Cosmopolitan. It later evolved into a literary magazine until eventually becoming a women’s magazine in 1965.

Much as in newspaper publication, Great Britain closely followed continental Europe’s lead in producing magazines. During the early 18th century, three major influential magazines published regularly in Great Britain: Robinson Crusoe author Daniel Defoe’s the Review, Sir Richard Steele’s the Tatler, and Joseph Addison and Steele’s the Spectator.

All this changed during the 1830s when publishers began taking advantage of a general decline in the cost of printing and mailing publications and started producing less-expensive magazines with a wider audience in mind. Magazine style also transformed. While early magazines focused on improvement and reason, later versions focused on amusement. No longer were magazines focused on the elite class. Publishers took advantage of their freshly expanded audience and began offering family magazines, children’s magazines, and women’s magazines. Women’s publications again proved to be a highly lucrative market.

Zines

The aim is to produce a 16 page photo-zine in InDesign based around the images you have produced from exploring a bay or geological sites of special interest, that you selected to photograph as part of your Summer Project: MY ROCK. I am looking forward to creating this zine as it means that I will get an opportunity to use all of my best images throughout my whole project and display them in the most fun and creative way.

Before creating my zine, I will attempt to construct a short storyline to base my work off of. This is so that I have some idea of the theme of my zine before I start creating, this helps to get visual ideas and make my zine more aesthetic. I think it’s important to understand how the concept of a storyline works before creating my zine, so this research is very important for my understanding as it helps me understand that without a story my zine will not have as much contextual information put into it, and also hinder the quality of my work.

I also like the fact that Zine design is so subjective and when creating our zines everyone will have vert different outcomes as the styles which influence how we take images has been inspired by a variety of different photographer since starting our course at the start of year 12. Furthermore, I think that zines can show just not stories or narratives, they can illustrate a moment that has occurred in the past and they are a good way of creativity showing how history can be told through images rather than textbooks.

Hamish Fulton

Hamish Fulton (born 1946) is an English walking artist. Since 1972 he has only made works based on the experience of walks. He translates his walks into a variety of media, including photography, illustrations, and wall texts. His work is contained in major museums collections, such as the Tate Britain and MoMA. Since 1994 he has begun practicing group walks. Fulton argues that ‘walking is an artform in its own right’ and argues for wider acknowledgement of walking art.

Fulton follows a leave no trace ethic, and does not collect materials on his walks for display in galleries. Instead, his work combines text-based descriptions with a photograph, illustration, or, more recently, vinyl wall texts, to communicate his walks to viewers in a gallery. Fulton has stated that walking is an experience not an art medium, and that what he builds is an experience, not a sculpture.

“Leave only footsteps, take only photographs”

More recently, Fulton has referred to his walks as ‘invisible objects’ and has discussed his group walks as artworks that are created and observed by the participants. Fulton has emphasised the political aspects of his work, particularly in concern to the situation in Tibet and the degradation of the environment.

Exhibitions Include:

• Hamish Fulton – A Decision to Choose Only Walking (2016) Galerie Tschudi – Zuoz, Zuoz, Switzerland
• Hamish Fulton: Wells of Dee (2015) Galleri Riis, Stockholm, Sweden
• Walking Transformation (2014) Villa Merkel, Esslingen Am Neckar, Germany

Fulton is interested in exercising total artistic freedom, which he infuses with environmentalism and reverence for nature, not to mention a general dismay for what he sees as a growing disconnect between humans and the natural world. The first time Fulton picked up a camera was quite accidental, being a trained sculptor, but Fulton had the idea of developing an artistic activity based on the act of walking; whereby the walks themselves become the artworks, as the camera documents the land. 

Image Anaylsis

I have selected this image to analyse as I have looked through some pages of this zine and its parts of some of my favourite of Fulton’s work, this is because it captures so many different natural elements in one piece if work. Firstly, I like that this image has a really good focal point which catches the viewer’s attention straight away and makes you want to look through the rest of the zines and attracts you and makes you interested in Fulton’s work. Furthermore, the monochromatic tones within this image means that the clouds become very bright and a better focal point for the middle and top portion of the image, these white tones match up well with some subtle aspects of the foreground.

On my photoshoot at Green island I got around 200 images. After looking trough and comparing my images i separated the photos i thought were the best.

After getting the 63 images i thought had potential to be good images i developed them to the highest quality i could using Adobe Lightroom Classic. After the images were developed i then sorted them again in order to pick the ones with the most potential.

After Collecting my final images i experimented with the images in black and white. This gives a different perspective of the same photos.

I find that this image in black and white fails to show the true gloom of the weather the day the photo was taken however the contrast is higher in the rocks in the foreground

This image does not work in Black and White. The pattern in the centre rock can not be seen well enough and as this is the focal point of the photograph it does not work very well. To try and correct this issue i tried to increase the contrast in develop mode of Lightroom classic however this did not work. I find that the colour image is better due to the colours of the graffiti. As it is not natural and looks a bit out of place i think that the image has a heavy contrast about it which i really like.

After comparing very image with its Black and White counterpart i decided which image I thought looked best. The green images are the ones that I am going to use in my zine and the red ones are the ones i will discard.

Final Images

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Société Jersey was established in 1873. The charity which produces and felicitates research of the islands history, is also home to the Jersey photography archives. Since 1993 the jersey archives have acquired over 300,000 archives including: diaries, financial and legal documents, photographs, and moving image and sound recordings.

We spoken to Patrick Cahill, an archivist, he discussed with us the need for archives as well as the things they hold. He introduced us to the photography work of Emile F Guiton and the historical excavations he photographed, in particular, La Motte and Le Cotte.

During our talk with Cahill, we were shown some of the zines which had been produced by Société Jersiaise with the help of Mr Toft, these gave us greater understanding of zines and also allowed us to see different styles and eras of photography held at the archives.

Emile F Guiton

Honorary Curator of the Museum and Editor of the Annual Bulletin, he is considered to be the founder of the Photographic Archive at the Société Jersiaise. Emile was also an excellent photographer making use of a rapidly expanding medium in the early 20th century to record important historical sites, events and objects. He was the principal photographer at La Cotte de Saint-Brélade, one of the most important Palaeolithic sites in Northern Western Europe on numerous archaeological excavations producing images dating from 1910 to 1950s. Photo-Archivist, Patrick Cahill comments; ‘For over a century the Société Jersiaise has been involved with the archaeological excavations at La Cotte de Saint-Brélade.

La Cotte

Situated on a granite headland on Jersey’s south west coast, the collapsed cave and granite ravines of La Cotte de St Brelade provided a home for Neanderthal hunters-gatherers for over 200,000 years.

Since ancient stone tools were first found at the site in 1881, stunning discoveries have been made by successive generations of archaeologists. La Cotte provided early fossil evidence for Neanderthal people, exciting records of their use of fire, and heaps of bone which showed how they could work together to hunt Ice Age megafauna such as mammoth and woolly rhinoceros. It is now time for a new era of investigation and a new generation of archaeologists are about to embark on an exciting and ambitious programme of scientific research and discovery.

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La Motte Excavation

Excavations by archaeologists in 1910 – 1911, based on the large amounts of flint and pottery found around La Motte, revealed the tiny islet to be rich in archaeology. They discovered 18 cist graves, some of which contained human remains thought to be in excess of 4000 years old. Some of these have been removed to the grounds of La Hougue Bie.

Erosion from heavy rain in 1910 revealed small and roughly constructed cist graves. When excavation began, these were found to be the open ends of a “sepulchral chamber”, consisting of two graves covered by capstones. When these stones were removed, the researchers found “no relics of art or industry” as the acidity of the clay had dissolved any remains.

As exploration continued, more cist graves began to be discovered about 5 feet north of the last, though again, no lasting remains had been found. By the end of the excavation, 15 cist graves had been discovered and recorded by the Société Jersiaise excavators. Grave number 14 contained the most intact skeleton, and three graves bore intact skulls. Grave number 6 contained two skulls, and graves 2, 5, 9 and 15 contained the remains of children.

The view of the researchers, reflected in the 1912 edition of the Société Jersiaise Bulletin, was that the graves were likely Neolithic in origin. However, this view was criticised when revaluated in the 2002 Bulletin by Archaeologist Mark Patton, who identified the graves as Medieval cist graves dating between the 4th and 11th centuries AD.

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What is a 3d photo sculpture?

Three-dimensional art sculptures are works of art that present the dimensions of height, width, and depth. They occupy physical space and can be perceived from all sides and angles. Traditional types of three-dimensional media, like sculptures and reliefs, are some of the oldest examples of 3D artwork.

Moodboard

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Artist reference: Robert Heinecken

Robert Heinecken was an American artist who referred to himself as a “paraphotographer” because he so often made photographic images without a camera. Heinecken was known for appropriating and re-processing images from magazines, product packaging or television. In the late 1960s, he also began cutting up popular magazines such as Time and Vogue and inserting sexual or pornographic images into them. He would place his collage-publications back on newsstands in Los Angeles to be sold to unsuspecting buyers. In the 1980s, he created several series on American news television that involved photographing images on the television or exposing the light of a television set directly to paper to create what he called “videograms.”

Examples of his work:

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My 3d Photo Sculpture

To begin, I created a sculpture out of 4 pieces of foam board including the same photo of a rock in multiple different colours. I used knifes and glue to cut out and bring it all together. After seeing the final outcome I wasn’t very happy with it and thought it looked a bit washed so I decided to start a new sculpture.

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I created my sculpture using foam board, images of rocks, glue and tape. I cut out 4 rectangles of foam board with all the same measurements and positioned them in a symmetrical way. I then stuck down my images of rocks on my 4 cut-outs of foam board. After the glue dried I experimented with how to put it all together. After multiple attempts at getting the best outcome I ended up with 2 right angled images on top of 2 other right angle images.

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Overall, I am happy with the way my second sculpture turned out. I like the way the grey images of rocks contrast against the white foam board and the white stand and walls. When creating another sculpture I am going to follow the same technique of using black and white images on the white foam board. Also, I like the way the four images used on each square represents different parts of St Ouens and shows the different kind of rock formations .

Still life photography is a style of photography where an array of objects that either compliment or contrast each other are arranged in a way that makes the objects which are often quite simple seem very interesting. Still life images originated in the 17th century when still life images were painted. These paintings were often of common household products of upper class people including fruits and glass object such as bowls and vases that would only be found in upper class houses.

Examples of still life images

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Mary Ellen Bartley

Mary Ellen Bartley is a still life photographer who focuses on photographing printed matter such as books and pages. Her unique style is very interesting as she takes objects that are so simple and makes them into very unique structures and photographs. Bartley works in collaboration with many major libraries and archives in New York City where she works to develop projects on specific aspects of their collections. for example The Queens Museum working with Andrew Beccone’s Reanimation Library..

About Mary Ellen Bartley

Born in New York, NY, in 1959, Bartley received her BFA from Purchase College, SUNY, and she lives and works in Sag Harbor, NY. Her work has been exhibited in numerous institutions including The Queens Museum, NY; The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Houston Center for Photography; The Drawing Room, East Hampton, NY; Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY; The Watermill Center, NY; and National Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, Guatemala City. Bartley has taken part in numerous residencies, including at The Queens Museum, NY; Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY; and Watermill Center, NY. Bartley’s work is in numerous collections, including the Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, NY; McEvoy Family Collection, McEvoy Foundation, San Francisco, CA; Parrish Art Museum, Watermill, NY; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; The Watermill Collection, Watermill, NY. – https://www.yanceyrichardson.com/artists/mary-ellen-bartley#2

https://www.yanceyrichardson.com/artists/mary-ellen-bartley#2