WHAT IS NOSTALGIA?

Nostalgia is the sentimental feeling for a previous time or place with typically positive connotations. The feeling is often used to help remind us of who we used to be and reflect on how we change and grow as people. The term was coined by a 17th century medical student as a way of describing the anxieties portrayed by Swiss mercenaries fighting away from home. Nostalgia is sometimes associated with melancholy – a feeling of deep sadness or gloom with no obvious cause – due to the sorrow links with past or unhappy memories. Phrases such as “the good old days” or “golden years” are often used to describe nostalgia.

TRIGGERS

Movies: certain movies or even film eras can trigger nostalgia as that could be what they grew up watching and what influenced them the most. Certain movies could have also shaped how they perceived the world as they grew up or what kind of lifestyle they wanted to live.

Music: listening to old music that they enjoyed, or was just played, can bring back memories or experiences from that time, whether it was certain songs their mother used to sing to them or the song they used to play with their friends.

Environments: natural based elements such as weather, temperature or even specific places can produce nostalgia, causing the homesick feeling for experiences of nature, species, and past environments.

The exhibition “Playtime” by Will Lakeman beautifully displays the theme of nostalgia as Lakeman explores his sentimental memories of the old Fort Regent using artificial intelligence. Will takes advantage of exploring all of the sense by using things such as soundscapes and smells to trap the viewer into reminiscing on old and sometimes forgotten memories – whether they were also from Fort Regent or not – which was heavily influenced by Wills Synaesthesia. Not only does this show off the latest technology but how it is already pushing the boundaries both academically and creatively.

AI is used in “Playtime” as a way to explore Wills often broken or incorrect memories, artificial intelligence was manipulated to piece together and merge how he remembered the old Fort Regent looking and not how it did look in reality. I think this is a very clever and unique approach to take, each image produce would be completely different from the last while still holding that sentimental and nostalgic touch. Another reason why I enjoy this concept so much is that AI can also produce very dream-like images, which is where Lakeman got most of his inspiration and memories from, that are just not quite right or even possible.

I really like that I can understand what Fort Regent looked like in the 70s-90s as I only remember what remains now while it still allowed the older generation to explore their memories again. The bright colours and unusual patterns show off hoe Will remembers the Fort looking, its a mixture of the unreliable dreams and the over enhanced perception of a child.

“I’m really excited for people to see this show, which I now realise I’ve been trying to make for most of my adult life. I have a really intense interest in a specific era of Fort Regent’s history – the funfair and swimming pool – but I have hardly any photos of myself there. I had to try and recreate my memories, and the more I tried the stranger the results became. The show involves photographs, reconstructions made with Artificial Intelligence, a soundscape, found objects and even some smells. Although it’s rooted in “the Fort” I tried to capture something universal in the experience of being a child, beyond excited to go to the leisure centre. I hope it says something to everybody. “

Will Lakeman – Playtime

FRANCESCA WOODMAN

Francesca Woodman (April 3, 1958 – January 19, 1981) was an American photographer most famous for her black and white portraits of either herself or other females. She often used long exposure to merge the model with the background or cover some of the nudity in her photos. She made her first mature photograph at the age of thirteen and created work that has been critically acclaimed in the years since her death. Over her short career, she took over 800 photographs.

She grew up in an artistic environment as her Father was a painter/photographer and her Mother a sculptor, her brother went on to become a professor of electric art. Her family spent most holidays in their farmhouse in the countryside near Florence, Italy and many of her photographs were taken there.

Her photography often included dreamlike and surreal imagery that blurs the lines between reality and fantasy. She also often included the environment around her whether it was furniture, wallpaper, etc. Her monochrome style could represent nostalgia and timelessness which links to her recurring theme of identity.

She gifted her boyfriend at the time many of her photos which often included intimate messages written around them.

COMPARISON

WHAT DID I DO?

Environmental – For this mini project I photographed a friend in a library in multiple different poses and places as that is where she spends a lot of time. I wanted each picture to be different and dynamic while it still working well with each other. I also wanted to try incorporate the school life scenario as that is what my model represents

Studio – For this one, I set my model up in the studio with the lighting placed around her in different places for me to try out. I instructed the model on different natural poses to try and took the photos in a which which complimented the model and lighting. I experimented with Rembrandt, butterfly, and back lighting.

Identity – For this set, I had my model sat in the studio and instructed them to move around while I take the photos. I had set the shutter speed low to allow as much light in as possible which creates the blurred movement effect. I wanted the model to try different expressions/movement such as screaming, smiling, spinning, etc. so keep the photos different from one another and link with my theme of identity.

WHAT WAS SUCCESSFUL?

Environmental – I think this project was very successful, I really like how the environmental portraits looked in the end. I think they were different to what most environmental portraits and I really like how well they worked together as a set. I think each pose was unique and contrasted well with the theme behind the shoot of capturing the models personality, interests, and life. The pictures also feature a range of different textures, colours and elements which is not usually included in portraiture.

Studio – What I really like about this project is how they all work together and how I have used the light in multiple different ways while keeping it looking simplistic and elegant. I especially like the back light so we can only see her silhouette because it creates a striking contrast between the background and the model which generates a dramatic yet mysterious look. I think I have effectively been able to show off all the different types of lighting and my standard portraiture skills.

Identity – I think this project turned our really well and I especially liked the long exposure which creates the sense of movement and motion while keeping them dramatic and distinctive. There is also a ghostly and blurred effect on the photos which I really enjoyed, they created abstract patterns and shapes which links very well with the theme of identity.

WHAT COULD’VE BEEN DONE BETTER?

Environmental – I think some of the images look a bit crowded with all the background colours and objects so to make the project better I think I would take a few more simplistic images to contrast well with the more crowded ones.

Studio – To make the images better, I would make sure the photos are not as dark so I don’t need to edit them as much later on.

Identity – Similarly, I think these images were very light and yellow when I did intend for them to be darker so to make the images better, I would’ve played around more with the lighting until I got to a point that I liked the lighting and the effect. I think if I had done this then the images would link better to Milica Marković. Additionally, I could’ve linked my photos more to Claude Cahun and their style of portraiture.

OVERALL ANAYSIS OF PORTARIT PROJECT

Overall, I really like how this project turned out, I loved learning about new lighting techniques (e.g. Rembrandt, butterfly) and camera setting (e.g. long exposure). I also really enjoyed exploring the femininity vs masculinity theme, I was able to have complete creative control and produce exactly what I wanted. However, I do think my environmental project could have been built on more, I think I should have done another photoshoot to complete it.

Born in 1984 in Serbia, Milica Marković often creates self portraits about identity and her state of mind. She loves to create abstract, black and white, long exposure photographs which involves multiple different textures and patterns which makes each photograph different.

EDITING MY PHOTOS LIKE MILICA MARKOVIC

What I really like about this edit that it is almost the opposite of Milica Markovic (with the colours) so it still links to them while letting the pictures be there own and still letting me add my own ideas. I see these edits more as my twist of Milica Markovics photographs compared to me just copying her.

The editing:

I have created a virtual gallery which shows off my best images from the entire portrait project and displays them grouped in the way that I think works the best and compliments each other.

Clare Rae is a photographer and artist working in Melbourne, Australia. She explores feminism through photographing women’s bodies in a performative and awkward way in hopes of showing the the dominant modes of representation.

She visited Jersey in 2017 where she research Claude Cahun, produced new material, and ran workshops as a part of the Archisle international artist-in-residence programme. Rae created a series called “Never standing on two feet” which featured some of Jerseys beautiful landscapes as Clare considered Cahun’s engagement with with the physical and cultural environment of Jersey. The project was exhibited in Melbourne at Centre for Contemporary Photography as Entre Nous: Claude Cahun and Clare Rae from 22 March – 6 May 2018, and then in Jersey at CCA Galleries from 7–28 September 2018.

“Like Cahun’s, my photographs depict my body in relation to place; in these instances sites of coastal geography and Jersey’s Neolithic ritual monuments. I enact a visual dialogue between the body and these environments, and test how their photographic histories impact upon contemporary engagements.”

– Clare Rae about ‘Never standing on two feet’

NEVER STANDING ON TWO FEET

IDENTITY POLITICS

“Political identities refer to identification with and meaning attributed to membership in politically relevant groups, including political parties and national, ethnic, linguistic, or gender groups” – Huddy (2013)

The term ‘identity politics’ is typically coined as a political movement in Western societies. According to many who deem themselves as advocates of identity politics, it centres the experiences of those facing systemic oppression; the purpose is to better understand the result of racial, economic, and gender-based oppression (and others) and to ensure no one group is wrongly affected by political actions.

Identity politics emerged out of the Black civil rights movement in the 60s, it questioned the state of the political world at the time and looked to helping underprivileged groups that had experienced oppression in their lifetime.

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.

– Audre Lorde

CULTURE WAR

Culture wars is disagreements about cultural and social beliefs between groups, especially between people with more conservative conservative opinions and people with more progressive opinions and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices.

These conflicts can help bring light to issues that need addressing but can cause heated debates and social diversions.

Perry’s interview in Sheri Berman’s article:  ‘Why identity politics benefits the right more than the left‘

WHAT – I want to take long exposure portraits (similar to below), I think this a great way of showing off identity and femininity vs masculinity as the blurring represents how interchangeable and fluid they can be. The movement can also reflect how people grow and change while exploring their identity. I also like how the persons emotions can still be read so that I can experiment with the different emotions people may feel during the weird and confusing time identifying themselves. However, there could be some photos where it is harder to see the face which could symbolise hiding your identity.

WHERE – The photoshoot will be in the school studio

HOW – I will increase the shutter speed so that while the photo is being taken, more light will be in the photo which creates the movement lines.

This is how I plan on laying out my final images.

SET ONE

I like how these four images work together and want to display them separately as a group. This is because I think that this set of images can tell and story and compliment each other nicely.

SET TWO

This set of images will be on foam board with a black background as I think the black will compliment these light pictures very well while still showing off this group of images.

SET THREE

This image will be presented by itself as it does not link with any of the others but I still think the image is powerful enough and to stand alone.