Write a Statement of Intent of 250-500 words that clearly contextualise;

• What you want to explore?
• Why it matters to you?
• How you wish to develop your project?
• Which form you wish to present your study (photobook, film, prints etc)
• When and where you intend to begin your study?

The topic I am most interested to explore is Stereotypes, in particular, gender stereotypes. I chose this topic as I really enjoyed the Femininity vs masculinity project that we did as a previous class topic and I think I produced a few of my best photos during that theme. Stereotypes are a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong. They are able to shape our perceptions of groups of individuals which can lead to misunderstanding and sometimes discrimination. I want to be able to show things such as stereotypical activities, clothing and actions that are done by each gender as well as showing opposites. I also want part of my project to explore the evolution of male and female stereotypes over the decades and uncover how different expectations in our society have shifted with time. My project will consist of a range of photographic techniques including portraiture, staged shoots, group shoots and individual ones too. I’m hoping for my photoshoots to include different ages and genders, since I will be focussing on generations I am hoping that I will be able to get family members involved. My project will have separate parts to it as I’m conducting a few different ideas under the topic of stereotypes. This will include the evolution of stereotypes over generations, male and female stereotypes now amongst teenagers and the current generation and also exploring opposites within stereotypes.

The first idea I am wanting to explore is stereotyped of male and female teenagers nowadays. This is generally focussing on gender stereotypes but within my age group. My aim is to show through photos groups of teenagers in their usual life engaging in their usual activities. this would include groups of male friends, groups of female friends and also them together. I plan to use many different environments when creating the staged images such as schools, urban spaces and private environments to fully show the individuals lives and how environment can affect certain traits and experiences. I also want to conduct some photos in the studio using artificial lighting to gather more in depth images focussing on one person. this idea links mostly with Cindy Sherman who very clearly focussed on the topic of female stereotypes. She regularly alters her appearance beyond recognition through makeup, prosthetics, and costumes. To create her images, she assumes the multiple roles of photographer, model, makeup artist, hairdresser, and stylist. She becomes the character in the story she is attempting to portray through her images. My idea links to her the most as I am also showing gender stereotypes however I am focussing on both genders and also the stereotypes of teenagers. I want this idea to explore both documentary (windows, observational) and tableaux (mirrors, staged) images as I can create staged images using my own models but I also can observe others and collect photos in that way. This idea also links with the artist Justine Kurland who is known for her elaborate staging of photographs. Kurland has used staged tableaux to explore the social landscape of girlhood, life on communes, and life in the wilderness. My shoot will also focus on stereotypical roles of genders and showing how they can be shown by both genders and not just one. This idea is mostly going to be conducted in the studio using artificial lighting. My main idea was also used during the femininity and masculinity project where I photographed my friend who is a dancer. I really enjoyed taking and editing those photos and I think it works well with the stereotype theme as dance is stereotypically a ‘girl sport’ and I can show that by using a female model engaging with her sport but I could also try showing a male doing the same thing as nowadays there aren’t really female or male sports because its been normalized for all genders to take part in any sport. This idea links mostly to the artist Claude Cahun who was known mostly for her photography work where she would dress up as different people to create different stories within her photos. Cahun presents herself in a variety of guises, adopting different personas and exploring the fluidity of identity. She dresses as both men and women when exploring the theme of identity and gender roles.

My second idea is exploring stereotypes over generations. I want to show how stereotypes have transformed over time and how society has adapted overtime. I will mostly focus on females for this project and use my own family members. I want to show how things such as clothing, activities and styles have changed over generations by using my Nan’s, Mum’s and my own generation. I am basing this shoot mostly on photo albums as that will be my own source of photos for the past generations. However, I also plan to hopefully find a model in my own generation who will recreate photos that were in my Nan/Mum’s generation.

All of my photos will include people as the main focus however some of the photos in photoshoot 1 will also focus on the place and background as it will show the environment of the groups of people. My photoshoots will include both outdoor and indoor locations as I will focus on the environments of that individual as well as including set up shoots in the studio. the shoots will be a mix of documentary and tableaux as some will be photos of observation of certain groups of people making it a window however some tableaux images will be staged and more mirror based images. I’d want to present these images in a book where each photoshoot has its own part of the layout. I’d want to include text to some images to explain them but also leave some of the photos down to interpretation for the viewer. I will also include editing such as AI technology to make my images more interesting to the viewer and show different skills within the photos.