On Wednesday we went to go visit some of the photo archives linking to Elizebeth Castle.
Photo archives—collections of photographs held by libraries or museums—have long been essential tools for research in the humanities.
Since 1993 Jersey Archive has collected over 300,000 archival records and it is the island’s national repository holding archival material from public institutions as well as private businesses and individuals. Jersey Archive is the Island’s national repository holding records on all aspects of Jersey’s history. Researchers can use archive resources to trace their family history, the story of their house or street and to find out more about over 600 years of our unique history including the German Occupation of Jersey during the Second World War.
Societe Jersiaise is where members of the public are able to access the content from the archives and gain information.
“Our mission is 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 our island community.”
Chris Marker, (1921-2012) was a French filmmaker, poet, novelist, photographer, editor and multi-media artist who has been challenging moviegoers, philosophers, and himself for years with his complex queries about time, memory, and the rapid advancement of life on this planet. Marker’s La Jetée is one of the most influential, radical science-fiction films ever made, a tale of time travel. What makes the film interesting for the purposes of this discussion, is that while in editing terms it uses the language of cinema to construct its narrative effect, it is composed entirely of still images showing imagesfrom the featureless dark of the underground caverns of future Paris, to the intensely detailed views across the ruined city, and the juxtaposition of destroyed buildings with the spire of the Eiffel Tower.
Le Jetee is about A man is sent back and forth and in and out of time in an experiment that attempts to unravel the fate and the solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world during the aftermath of WW3. The experiment results in him getting caught up in a perpetual reminiscence of past events that are recreated on an airport’s viewing pier.
Film and Narrative.
Le Jetee is told through still images, and archival images, the photos represent similarities of WW2 in the fact it is talking about atomic bombs as they were last used in WW2 as world war 3 hasn’t happened yet.
Film narrative: Narrative film: A fictional or fictionalized story. As opposed to documentaries (non-narrative films).
What is a narrative?
A narrative, story, or tale 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. A story that is told in a sequential order of events.
What is a film?
A series of moving images shown on a screen, usually with sound, that make up a story.
La Jetée ) is a 1962 French science fiction featurette directed by Chris Marker and associated with the Left Bank artistic movement. Chris Marker, (1921-2012) was a French filmmaker, poet, novelist, photographer, editor and multi-media artist who has been challenging moviegoers, philosophers, and himself for years with his complex queries about time, memory, and the rapid advancement of life on this planet. Marker’s La Jetée is one of the most influential, radical science-fiction films ever made, a tale of time travel. Furthermore what makes the film interesting for the purposes of discussion, is that while in editing terms it uses the language of cinema to construct its narrative effect, it is composed entirely of still images showing imagesfrom the featureless dark of the underground caverns of future Paris, to the intensely detailed views across the ruined city, and the juxtaposition of destroyed buildings with the spire of the Eiffel Tower.
LA JETEE
La Jetee was composed of static images with a VoiceOver which provided the necessary information for the audience to understand the short film. The phrase ‘La Jetee’ translates to English as ‘The Pier’ more specifically ‘a small pier for use as a landing-place’ which relates to the meaning of the film. ‘The story of a man forced to explore his memories in the wake of World War III’s devastation, told through still images‘ which suggests ‘The Pier’ connotes this idea that its his path to freedom once he is able to relive his memories he has forced to hide. Furthermore the main theme that La Jette is trying to explore is morality. As how the man lives to only find out the moment that has marked his entire life is the memory of his own death, from a philosophical point of view, La Jetee is an existentialist tale of doomed existence, inevitability, and predetermined death.
We are planning to create a film made up of a series of aesthetically based shots that focus on the individual components of the castle and its surroundings. Here are some short films that we may draw inspiration from.
We have also decided to draw inspiration from the work of multi-Oscar-winning director Wes Anderson. I think that the way he frames and arranges his shots is very thoroughly considered and this is a key characteristic of his films. He also adds pastel tints to the frames and this could be something we explore in post-production.
The Société Jersiaise was founded in January 1873 by a small number of prominent Islanders who were interested in the study of the history, the language and the antiquities of Jersey. Membership grew quickly and the aims of the new society soon widened to include the publication of historical documents, the founding of a Museum, and the study of the Island’s natural history. The charity’s mission is “to produce and facilitate research, and to share that knowledge with the widest possible audience for the benefit of our island community.”
What we did
We began the day with a talk from the Chief Archivist Patrick Cahill and Assistant Archivist Rochelle Merhet about the importance of the archive and how it works. They told us that the Photographic Archive works to allow the island to see and understand its past with images that either depict exactly what happened at a certain point in history (photographs from the Nazi Occupation of the Island) as well as what is believed to have been there in the past (drawing of St Helier Harbour or drawings of the hermitage on the Elizabeth Castle breakwater as it looked in 555 AD).
Our plan for the film we are making is telling the history of the castle through the architecture, mainly the 1500 hundreds era and the WW2 era.
When we start the film, we will be exploring the old castle, the castle from when it was built in 1588 until the Battle of Jersey in 1781. We are hoping to be able to explore the entire area, especially the chapel of St Helier, where he lived until his death in 555 AD. We also are interested in filming the green areas and the main tower of the castle, as it has a view of most of the castle from it. The Parade Ground was rebuilt during the Georgian era to how it is seen today with an Officer’s Barracks that housed 12 officers; an Infantry Barracks that housed 300 men with 6 wives of the Garrison staying the attic; a canteen at the North end; the Ordinance Store at the South; and the Gym, Library and Fire Station next to the Ordinance Store, we may use these in our film. Using the sounds from around the castle we’re hoping to create a soundscape to play throughout this portion of the film along with some music. At the end of this part there will be a cannon sound and that’s where there will be a shift in atmosphere.
In the end segment of the film we will switch to showing the fortifications from the Second World War, with a much darker tone, we will explore the different artillery bunkers on both the East and West sides of the castle both have the original guns from when the bunkers were built, none of the castle has been changed until recently, these current changes are just refurbishment and won’t actually change any of the historical significance of these buildings. We will also be filming the different fortifications including the anti-tank gun, the guns on the bunkers and the anti-aircraft weaponry. This entire segment of the film will have quite a dark, gloomy atmosphere to it, we will have some melancholic music playing in the background and some crackling music playing throughout this part. A searchlight on rail-tracks could be wheeled out of its protective bunker under the Georgian Hospital to a position that could patrol the harbour. 100 Nazi Soldiers lived out at the castle and nothing has been changed at the castle until today. The majority of the bunkers are open to the public, with the guns being the originals and were never removed from their positions.
In both segments we will have some sort of voiceover describing what is happening in the film, or even some history of the area, some parts of the voiceover possibly being in French if there is French information posters around the place but our plan is to mainly use music and our soundscape instead of spoken facts.
The latest exhibition by Art House Jersey shows the work of multiple artists, and as the put it is an “ambitious exhibition that explores the idea of ‘home’ in the 21st Century”
The exhibition shows the works of multiple artists working in a range of mediums from sculpture to tapestry, painting to film. They believe that it will challenge people’s perceptions of what an art exhibition can be and has been designed to appeal to a broad variety of ages and not just for those with a firmly established interest in art.
“For many it will be a sanctuary, but for some it may have less positive associations. No Place Like Home builds a rich narrative and delves into personal stories, global issues, childhood memories, and speculative worlds as well as the bleak realities of the current housing market. The artists do not shy away from difficult issues, but rather tackle them with inventiveness, pathos, humour and a generosity of spirit. Alongside the gallery works, three installations will be announced in the coming weeks which will take their place in surprising settings around the Island.”
Laura Hudson and Rosalind Davis – Curators of ‘No Place Like Home’
Ernest Badoux – view looking across St.Aubin railway station and harbour at low tide, topsail schooner berthed in harbour, The Bulwarks (Le Boulevard) and Noirmont in background. 1870-1873
The Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive was founded in 1873 (Société Jersiaise, n.d.) and acts as a service to supply knowledge and artefacts to the Jersey community about Jersey heritage. The archives are of great importance to our understanding of the past, which, in turn, allows us to better frame our view of both the present and the future. Comprised of drawings, documents, paintings, photographs and records, the archives allow us to reach back in time and attribute meaning to our heritage. The images found in the Photographic Archive focus on many areas – there is documentation of wildlife found on our island, the islanders themselves, the geography of the island itself, and of key events that have taken place here. The Société’s mission is 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 our island community.’ (Société Jersiaise, n.d.). This attitude of inclusivity is well evidenced in the ways that the Société interacts extensively with the local community; they take part in community outreach schemes, research collections, and their numerous relationships with local partners. The impact of the archive’s extensive work to preserve our past is seen throughout the island’s art scene, as the relationship between art and history grows stronger. The Archisle Contemporary Photography Programme, hosted by the Société Jersiaise, has commissioned artists such as Tom Pope, Martin Parr, and Michelle Sank, to name a few, to create work about Jersey since its inception in 2001 (Archisle, n.d.). Hence, through the careful cultivation and conservation of artefacts donated to the Société, the members can truly contribute the value of heritage to the community. The archives allow us to physically contextualise our history, and to contextualise is to gain knowledge. Knowledge strengthens our ability to understand the world around us and therefore become more conscious.
Photographer Ernest Badoux is an important contributor to the Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive and its material. Born in 1828, Badoux worked in Jersey from 1869 from a studio at 11 Craig Street and 51½, 56 and 59 New Street (Jerripedia, 2022). Of his work, 1350 images are available to view online at the Jersey Heritage website and the majority of these are portraits. The sheer volume of these portraits, as well as the fashions worn within them, indicates to us that there was a vast culture of wealth on the island, as only the particularly rich could afford to get their picture taken at the time. Portraits were the artist’s speciality, but he also photographed landscapes, did commissions on clients’ houses, and documented major events of the era. His images of various Jersey scenes are valuable in their representations of how the island once looked, and they help us to understand where things have changed – whether for the better or for the worse. Therefore, the variety of imagery supplied by Badoux to the Jersey Archives gives us a decidedly rich visual resource in a view of Victorian Jersey life and acts as a key example of how the archives can function as repositories of knowledge and experience.
I have chosen to analyse Badoux’s image of ‘view looking across St.Aubin railway station and harbour at low tide, topsail schooner berthed in harbour, The Bulwarks (Le Boulevard) and Noirmont in background.’ (Jersey Heritage, n.d.) taken between 1870 and 1873. I have chosen this image because it shows a part of the railway which no longer exists in Jersey, which demonstrates my point that Badoux’s work can be used to explore the changes in island life and geography. One would be inclined to assume that this image was produced with the chromotyping (or carbon printing) process, as this is how much of his surviving work was produced. Chromotyping is defined by the Collins Dictionary as ‘a procedure in photography that uses photographic paper that is made reactive to light by the use of a salt of chromium’ (Collins Dictionary, n.d.) and this was a rather difficult and laborious process, which made the carbon prints ‘about twice as expensive as platinum and up to five times more costly than silver’ (Jerripedia, 2022). Furthermore, the images are printed with pigments instead of dyes, which makes them last longer than those made by any other process. The image uses natural lighting and appears overexposed in the top left but is balanced elsewhere. The mise-en-scene presents a view of St Aubin from a vantage point, with the railway station as a focal point in the centre of the image. It appears to have been taken with not much thought or intention given to the artistic elements but rather more as a documentary image, which is implied by the composition being regular and deadpan. The piers and railway tracks create sweeping lines through the image, drawing the eye away from the rather wasted space of the grass in the foreground. Overall, this image is important to the question of how archives function as repositories of knowledge because it can be compared to a more recent one to analyse the differences between Victorian and modern Jersey.
In conclusion, the value of photographic archives to someone interested in studying the social, archaeological, or ecological history of a specific area is substantial, and this is clear in the nature of the photographs stored by the Société. They cover a wide range of studies, and their usefulness has been demonstrated throughout the years. Images from the past allow us to learn more about who we are and where we come from, which links smoothly to the action of artistic inspiration. To an artist, archives are valuable because they serve as a valuable tool to aid self-exploration, demonstrated by the work of many photographers and artists who use archival material in their work. Having studied the work and life of Ernest Badoux, I have learned that the archival material I used to do this was essential to my study. It allowed me to view a wide range of his work to a fairly good standard and to learn the methods he used to produce it, and this therefore illuminates that the archives are a key factor in the way we view our island and its history. They are important to both those who were Jersey-born and those who moved here later in life, which illustrates that they build a tapestry of how our island once worked – which we as islanders can use to navigate our way through its future.
Bibliography
Archisle, n.d. Archisle: About us. [Online] Available at: https://www.archisle.org.je/about-archisle/ [Accessed 2 October 2023].
Collins Dictionary, n.d. Chromotype definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary. [Online] Available at: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/chromotype [Accessed 2 October 2023].
Jerripedia, 2022. Ernest Badoux – Jerripedia. [Online] Available at: https://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Ernest_Baudoux [Accessed 2 October 2023].
Jersey Heritage, n.d. Collection Search | Jersey Heritage. [Online] Available at: https://catalogue.jerseyheritage.org/collection-search/?si_elastic_detail=archive_110472499 [Accessed 2 October 2023].
Mason, D., 2023. ARA Excellence Awards 2023 – Archives and Records Association. [Online] Available at: https://www.archives.org.uk/news/ara-excellence-awards-2023#:~:text=In%202023%20over%201%2C000%20votes,at%20Lothian%20Health%20Services%20Archive [Accessed 2 October 2023].
Société Jersiaise, n.d. History, Mission & Governance. [Online] Available at: https://www.societe.je/history-mission/ [Accessed 2 October 2023].
Société Jersiaise, n.d. Société Jersiaise: About. [Online] Available at: Société Jersiaise [Accessed 2 October 2023].
