Jersey to me acts like a tutorial level in a video game; a safe, closed off area that allows me to learn and develop skills before I move on to the real world when I’m ready. I value this idea as it’s quite comforting at times to know that I have a place to explore with all kinds of people, however, I often find myself feeling quite insignificant due to the isolation that being on an island brings which is sometimes exaggerated due to the fact that I’m Portuguese living on an English island. The disconnection from both the Portuguese culture and Jersey’s culture leave me in an awkward position as I find that I’m too Portuguese for the English people and too English for the Portuguese people.

In my personal study, I’d like to explore my experience in Jersey as it’s something I have first hand experience in and think I could passionately make a personal study on. I’d specifically like to explore being Portuguese in Jersey whilst touching on the topic of mental health due to how isolating it can be at times. I have several ideas on how I could photograph this topic, however, I’m focusing on taking a variety of photos from self portraits to landscapes and possibly some environmental portraits in order to portray my topic to the best of my ability.

I plan on referencing some of Rui Palha’s work as I think his street photography in Portugal is very intriguing to look at. The lack of colour adds a mysterious aspect to his work whilst allowing different aspects of the image to stand out due to the contrasting black and white tones. Along with that, the lack of actual faces sticks out to me as he seems to photograph the back of people’s heads, taking away some of their identity which represents how he himself struggles to express his own feelings but enjoys capturing them through photography.