Exam Project.
Attached.
For my exam project, I have chosen to explore the word 'attached.' This word as a project stood out to me due to my love of people and relationships of all sorts. There is an unbeatable sense of immortality and sensitivity in the capturing of others in organic movement. I’ve found my inspiration flourishes in environments where I’m able to encapsulate raw behaviour and catch moments filled with quirks of an individual, of their character, mannerisms etc. Whether metaphorically or literally, I want to display the word 'attached' and it’s connotations in a way that could be recognised by and resonated with most people, with our shared human experience of the constant forming of attachments.
Exhibitions.
Centre for British Photography
I went to the Centre For British Photography which had on a number of exhibitions. The first one I saw was titled Headstrong. It explored the idea of self-presentation and the portrait, and the expectations society has as such concerning women and their image. There is a heavy duty on women to be conscious of the way they present themselves, and this exhibition saw women reclaiming their image and using self-portraiture in an empowering way; taking ownership and pride of their identities.
For me, the most intriguing work by Jo Spence with the collaboration of Rosy Martin. Spence began her work as a photographer taking family portraits and wedding photos. These happy and posed pictures sparked the interest of Spence to explore what lay behind the conventional smiling images presented by stereotypical family albums. Moving away from commercial photography, Spence then embarked on a photographical career of exploring photography as a form of therapy.
In the images below, Spence dressed up and transformed herself into her mother and father using prosthetics and makeup. She looked back through family albums to find images to recreate. The pictures she chose were of her mother and father and various stages of their lives; she was particularly interested in comparing her mother in photographs before she had children (radiant; smiling) to after (worn out; sad). This was to try and empathise with her parents and understand them better despite a strained relationship. Spence only did one project on her father but plenty more on her mother. This was to look deeply into the societal roles expected of women and mothers, to interact with the notion of women having to serve and give themselves up when they have children, and the effect this has on both mother and child.
For me, the most intriguing work by Jo Spence with the collaboration of Rosy Martin. Spence began her work as a photographer taking family portraits and wedding photos. These happy and posed pictures sparked the interest of Spence to explore what lay behind the conventional smiling images presented by stereotypical family albums. Moving away from commercial photography, Spence then embarked on a photographical career of exploring photography as a form of therapy.
In the images below, Spence dressed up and transformed herself into her mother and father using prosthetics and makeup. She looked back through family albums to find images to recreate. The pictures she chose were of her mother and father and various stages of their lives; she was particularly interested in comparing her mother in photographs before she had children (radiant; smiling) to after (worn out; sad). This was to try and empathise with her parents and understand them better despite a strained relationship. Spence only did one project on her father but plenty more on her mother. This was to look deeply into the societal roles expected of women and mothers, to interact with the notion of women having to serve and give themselves up when they have children, and the effect this has on both mother and child.
Another exhibition that interested me at Centre for British Photography was Natasha Caruana's 'Fairytale for Sale.' Caruna's installation is comprised of a series of online adverts of brides selling their old wedding gowns, uploading pictures from their 'big day' to showcase their dresses.
The faces of the bride, groom and other guests are all hidden, either by being blacked out, whitened out, or covered with blue tac. This has been done by the brides (the sellers) in order to preserve anonymity and the identities of those in the previously private images from the wedding album as they are released into the public domain of resale sites. Caruana impersonated a shopper on the hunt for a wedding dress in order to get in contact directly with the sellers adn find out the reason for their selling, reasons ranged from the decluttering of wardrobes to divorce. Caruana documented these reasons and presented them in the words of the ex-brides in her installation.
The final exhibition that stood out to me in this gallery was 'The English at Home.' It featured works from a number of 20th century photographers, capturing people from different walks of life in their domestic environments. These works presented a commentary on English society, highlighting deep flaws and clear restraints of the class system, and the stereotypes that come from with.
The exhibition takes the viewer on a journey from different locations, from out in the street where it explores the notion of how community streets are an extension of the home, and then into private quarters such as the living room or bedroom.
The Photographer's Gallery
The second gallery I visited was the photographer's gallery. There were a number of exhibitions here, but the one that stood out to be the most was 'A Chance Encounter' by Bieke Depoorter- in particularly, her installation 'Daniel.'
In 'Michael' Depoorter examines the life and the disappearance of a man she met on the streets of Portland, Oregon in 2015. Deeporter takes on a detective role after obtaining three suitcases full of personal items that belong to Michael. The items are of a range of things, such as sketchbooks, family photographs, essays, etc. Aside from objects, Deeporter also interviews some of Michael's family and friends to speak about his disappearance but also to get hold of text messages and other sorts, which are presented as printed screenshots.
Depoorter documents her immersive, perhaps obsessive, quest to find Michael and to understand his life. The project explores questions of collaboration, the limits of a creative friendship, performance, boundaries and authorship.
In 'Michael' Depoorter examines the life and the disappearance of a man she met on the streets of Portland, Oregon in 2015. Deeporter takes on a detective role after obtaining three suitcases full of personal items that belong to Michael. The items are of a range of things, such as sketchbooks, family photographs, essays, etc. Aside from objects, Deeporter also interviews some of Michael's family and friends to speak about his disappearance but also to get hold of text messages and other sorts, which are presented as printed screenshots.
Depoorter documents her immersive, perhaps obsessive, quest to find Michael and to understand his life. The project explores questions of collaboration, the limits of a creative friendship, performance, boundaries and authorship.
I really liked and was intrigued by the installation, as it was essentially a missing persons case in the form of art. The walls were covered with photographs, letters, clippings etc with notes and scribbles decorating everything. A clip played too in the installation, immersing the viewer even more in the experience. It felt like going inside somebody's mind, seeing their life spelled out in different formats around you.
Strand 1: Entwined
For my first strand, I wanted to explore attachment through the perspective of physical attachment. I want to look at bodies intertwined with eachother, and how humans express and display attachment through physical touch. I found many works to respond to and take inspiration from, from a range of photographers. The three artists and their pieces I took inspiration from in particular were Jack Kenny's 'Entwined' ; Robert Gebbie's 'Entwined BnW' ; and Rachel Glottman's 'Entwined Souls.'
Jack Kenny
Robert Gebbie
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Rachel Glottman
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All three photographers I looked at shared an extremely intimate, vulnerable feel to their works I wanted to replicate. Either the bodies filled the frame, or when there was a background it was just black, forcing the viewer's eye to just be on the anatomies and how they combined, touched and intertwined. The focal point of the photographs are how the bodies interact with each other.
My response
I dressed my friends up in revealing pyjamas so I could capture their limbs. I wanted the focus to be on how their bodies fitted together like puzzle pieces.
Best edits
Having taken my original photos, I then used photoshop to black out the previously white background. This allowed the focus of the image to be of the bodies, eyes drawn to the textures of the skin. I also increased the sharpness and definition of the images to further emphasise the texture.
I am happy with the edited pictures and think darkening the background worked to improve the quality of the photographs allowing the focus to be directed only on the legs. I like how prominent the texture of the skin is and how the body parts take up basically the entire frame.
Strand 2: Personal relationships
For my second strand, I wanted to explore the attachment we have between family members and generational links. How through sharing blood, whether we like it or not, we share characteristics, both physical and mental. I was inspired by the work of Jo Spence I had seen at the exhibition 'Headstrong' at the Centre for British Photography. Her roleplay and costume donning saw her throw herself into the bodies of family members to try and understand them better. I was fascinated with her take on familial relationships and delving beyond the traditional family photos. I liked how she questioned the conventional role of the mother and more broadly the woman, and explored society's impact on strained mother / daughter relationships, where women almost feel as if they have to entirely give themselves up, and the consequential blaming this can have on the child. For technique, I took inspiration from the artist Flora Borsi and her project 'Siamese.'
Flora Borsi- Siamese
Flora Borsi is a contemporary fine art photographer from Hungary. Through digital manipulation of the photographs, she creates surreal images that explore deep into the human psyche. The most occurring concepts featured in her work include: identity; emotions; dreams; and relationships. Her work often features the female body and she plays with hiding and revealing the eyes or face to leave only the feminine form, exploring questions of female representation and the relationship between body and self.
lora Borsi’s 2016 experimental project 'Siamese' unveils black-and-white images of the artist as she twists, morphs and duplicates herself as conjoined twins. It isn’t a remake of the famous 1800s circus act of “Siamese Twins” Chang and Eng Bunker, or a 1930s Picasso piece, it’s solely Borsi’s visual take of her inner struggle—the epic battle of good vs evil—which she explains, “the one who always remains silent, wants to escape, and everyone has this part in themselves.”
lora Borsi’s 2016 experimental project 'Siamese' unveils black-and-white images of the artist as she twists, morphs and duplicates herself as conjoined twins. It isn’t a remake of the famous 1800s circus act of “Siamese Twins” Chang and Eng Bunker, or a 1930s Picasso piece, it’s solely Borsi’s visual take of her inner struggle—the epic battle of good vs evil—which she explains, “the one who always remains silent, wants to escape, and everyone has this part in themselves.”
I was really intrigued by Borsi's merging technique, and wanted to utilise this technique in my response. However, instead of exploring the relationship with the self as Borsi does, I wanted to look at familial relationships, so instead of morphing two portraits of the same person together, I morphed the faces of mother and daughter (my mum and grandma).
My response
My response
I took a series of portraits of my mum and nan in front of a maroon textured curtain my grandmother has. I took the photos using a DSLR camera. This gave me excellent quality. I chose the curtain instead as a background instead of say a white wall as I liked the warm tones but also the simplicity of it. Despite it having texture and some detail (the curtain folds) it did not distract from the subject. The dark red curtain too felt fitting as I asked my mum and nan to pose almost theatrically, and the curtain looked similar to that of a theatre curtain.
After taking the portraits, I used the software Picsart to morph the respective faces and bodies into one multi limbed, conjoined being. I layered the images on top of each other, then removed certain areas to smooth out the bodies as one.
After taking the portraits, I used the software Picsart to morph the respective faces and bodies into one multi limbed, conjoined being. I layered the images on top of each other, then removed certain areas to smooth out the bodies as one.
Best edits
I am pleased with the overall outcome of the images as I think I effectively merged the separate photos of my mum and grandma together, as it looks smooth and fairly natural, with the textures and crevasses of their retrospective skins blending. However the final image lost much of its quality when I was editing as I added two photographs of my mum which meant for my layering. Unfortunately some of the image quality was lost. In these pictures I wanted to show the inescapable physical attachments that we have with our family. Even if a relationship is strained and there is constant clashing and conflict, the DNA and blood within is the same. The sharing of genetics and environment mean there are inexorable similarities that will surface, despite how much people often like to claim they are nothing like their parents.
Strand 3: Attachment to objects
For my third strand, I wanted to take a different approach and instead of looking at attachments between people, explore the attachment we have to our phones. I want to reflect just how strongly dependent and addicted we are in this day and age to technology and social media.
Antoine Geiger- SUR-FAKE
Antoine Geiger's project 'SUR-FAKE' sets out to highlight our dependence on mobile phones. His candid images catch humans being sucked into their screens metaphorically, and then through an editing process Geiger presents this physically. The french photographer fuses our phones and faces into one, showing just how absorbed we get when in front of our devices. Geiger regards the phone as a great obstacle that disconnects us from the physical world around us. It prevents us from seeing the beauty of our surroundings. His work serves as a forceful and prevalent reminder to put our phones away and look up and around.
My response
I took both natural and posed pictures of people faced down looking at their phones. Some of my classmates and also people I came across in public.
Once taken, I then went to photoshop to edit them in a similar way to Geiger. I used the lasso tool to select which areas I wanted to edit, then dragged down the subjects' faces towards their phone using the smudge tool.
Best edits
I effectively edited the photos in the same style as Geiger and conveyed a similar message through the images about mobile phone dependency. However, doing this strand made me realise I much preferred the other two where the focus was on attachment between people rather than singular people being attached to technology. I also realised I prefer photographing in inside, private/ personal environments rather than out in public. I feel as though personal spaces as a whole are more fitting to explore the topic of attachment in.
For my chosen strand, I have decided to further explore the theme of personal relationships as an interpretation of attachment. I want to focus on the different sorts of relationships we have with different people, and how they present.
Development 1
Brotherhood
The first relationship I wanted to explore was brotherhood. I had looked at mother daughter relationships in my strand development and wanted to continue the theme of familial relationships, however this time of the opposite gender and of much younger ages.
I wanted to photograph two brothers who I am very close with who are the children of my mum's long-term friend. The boys are 11 and 14. They have always had a very close and playful relationship and I wanted to capture this in my photographs, as well as their respective personalities and how this incorporates and presents in their brotherly relationship. The younger, Titus, is cheeky while the eldest, Oscar, is more sensible.
I used black and white film on an SLR to capture these photos. I wanted to use black and white film as I am used to using colour therefore wanted to experiment with something new, and also wanted the opportunity to develop the pictures myself so I could be in charge of how they came out in regards to the contrast etc. Additionally, I thought using black and white would give the pictures an added sense of nostalgia, as they would emulate old family photos you would come across.
I wanted to photograph two brothers who I am very close with who are the children of my mum's long-term friend. The boys are 11 and 14. They have always had a very close and playful relationship and I wanted to capture this in my photographs, as well as their respective personalities and how this incorporates and presents in their brotherly relationship. The younger, Titus, is cheeky while the eldest, Oscar, is more sensible.
I used black and white film on an SLR to capture these photos. I wanted to use black and white film as I am used to using colour therefore wanted to experiment with something new, and also wanted the opportunity to develop the pictures myself so I could be in charge of how they came out in regards to the contrast etc. Additionally, I thought using black and white would give the pictures an added sense of nostalgia, as they would emulate old family photos you would come across.
Contact sheet
Best edits
This shoot was my first time developing a film, and while I am pleased with some of the pictures, I damaged way too many in the process of developing. I made the mistake in the dark room when rolling the negatives around the film spiral. I struggled with this greatly as I could (obviously) not see, and found it confusing and hard to navigate where I was putting the film. This caused the negatives to overlap in many places as can be seen in the contact sheet which resulted in most of my photos being ruined. I also felt the quality of the ones that were not damaged was not very good, with lots of specks etc on the images. In my next development I would like to use a digital camera instead.
Development 2
Friendship
The second type of relationship I wanted to look at was friendship, and in contrast to my previous experiment wanted to capture this relationship using digital colour photography. When photographing my friends, I was drawn to one of my favourite photographers Nan Goldin for inspiration.
Nan Goldin
Nan Goldin is a contemporary American photographer who is known for taking intensely personal, spontaneous, sexual, and transgressive photographs of her family, friends, and lovers. Her project 'The Ballad of Sexual Dependency' is an exploration into her and lifestyle and environment, and that of her friends. We are informed through a long powerpoint of snapshots. Through the greatly personal photographs, we the viewer experience ecstasy and pain through sex and drug use along with the subjects.
“The Ballad of Sexual Dependency is the diary I let people read. The diary is my form of control over my life. It allows me to obsessively record every detail. It enables me to remember.”
My response
I chose the location of my friend Freya's flat in Dalston to shoot. I thought this to be an appropriate and interesting setting to explore friendship, as the flat is newly inhabited and is the first of my circle of friends to move out and have their own place. This causes it to be a vibrant hub of social interaction. There constantly is a ceaseless flow of people coming in and out of the space; sometimes the same people occupying for days at a time. It is filled with signs of the presence of young people, with clothes; cans; cups etc. ornamenting the mantlepieces and floor.
Best edits
Using photoshop I removed some of the objects towards the front of this picture which were on the shelf which caused focus to be drawn away from the subjects of the image.
Development 3
Romance
Still inspired by the work of Nan Goldin, in particular her work 'The Ballad of Sexual Dependency' I wanted to make a film exploring my next sort of relationship- the romantic type. 'The Ballad' featured 700 snapshot-like portraits against an evocative music soundtrack. In my film I wanted to do similarly documentary style shots, and also against an expressive piece of music. I chose a song from the score of the film 'Fallen Angels' as I felt it gave the right kind of yearning emotion that is present in love.
I chose my friends Dani and Finlay to shoot, as they have been in a relationship for over a year and are extremely close. Their mannerisms are those of people completely comfortable around each other reflecting their closeness as at times their movements and speech almost mirror each other. I wanted to capture this in my film.
I chose my friends Dani and Finlay to shoot, as they have been in a relationship for over a year and are extremely close. Their mannerisms are those of people completely comfortable around each other reflecting their closeness as at times their movements and speech almost mirror each other. I wanted to capture this in my film.
I decided when in the editing process to leave in long uncut shots as I felt it gave it more authentic and candid feel. The scene going on for long enough meant that the viewer can fully immerse and engage with it. I was happy with the way it looked and the clips fit together, and think there is a clear inspiration from Goldin's work.
Development 4
Richard Billingham
Introduced to Billingham at the exhibition 'The English at Home' at the British Centre for Photography, I was intrigued by the simultaneous exuberance and gloom of his pictures. His photobook 'Ray's a Laugh' is a photoseries, titled after his father, exploring the life and environment inhabited by his late mother and father in their Blackpool tower block flat. The photos are of a documentary, snapshot style; intimately and rawly immersing the viewer in his parent's dysfunctional lives and his father's alcoholism. The photographs are rich in colours, patterns and textures as a result of the patterns of his parents' clothes and decor. The almost claustrophobic feel of the images that is a result of the dynamic and complex, clustered composition, conveys the attachment between the photographer and subjects. There is a real sense of genuine judgment-free understanding here which comes with being part of someones family.
My response
This photoseries reminded me of my grandma, due to her similar eccentricities and maximalist house interior. I felt a similar empathy and understanding between me and my Nan as was conveyed with Billingham and his parents. I spent a long evening with her at her house as I would do any other day so the photographs were candid and natural, rather than stiff and awkward. I followed her with the camera through conversation and tasks to capture organic movement.
Best edits
The attachment stems beyond the lens and subject as it does in Billingham's photoseries. There is a strong sense of attachment and reflection of identity in the house, and the things inside of it. An attachment to behaviours and memories that become absorbed and mirrored in the surroundings. My nan has lived in the same house since the age of two, therefore it holds a core role in my family's life. I feel these pictures captured a similar sense of vibrancy and eccentricity as in 'Ray's a Laugh.' The character and personality is translated through the image.
Development 5
Bieke Depoorter
After being introduced to Deeporter's project 'Daniel' at an exhibition at The Photographers Gallery, I looked further into her other works. Her project 'Ou Menya' (the Russian for 'At My Place') saw Deeporter travel around Russia spending the night with stranger families in their homes. She would take a note, written in Russian, asking for their hospitality. This came as a result of not having enough money for hotels, but also the fact the small villages she was visiting not having hotels. Deeporter noted a deeper sense of comfortability in taking photos in this way than just regular street photography. The way people behave in their homely environments are extremely revealing and authentic, and the homes act as a hub of multiple attachments, with often very large families of multiple generations living all under one, often small, roof.
The works reminded me of Richard Billingham's, with the viewer similarly being placed centrally into another families life. The dynamics fill the composition almost chaotically; there is something going on in every aspect of the frame. They share a sense of fluidity and intimacy with the likewise busy compositions. It seems more evocative than simple 'fly on the wall' photography; instead of the viewer being a passive watcher, there is a prominent sense of communication and understanding between the camera and subjects.
The difference however is that Billingham was photographing his mother and father, subjects he obviously was extremely familiar with, whereas Deeporter's subjects are complete strangers. There is an interesting contrast here with the anonymity between Deeporter and her subjects compared with the affinity of the photographs.
The difference however is that Billingham was photographing his mother and father, subjects he obviously was extremely familiar with, whereas Deeporter's subjects are complete strangers. There is an interesting contrast here with the anonymity between Deeporter and her subjects compared with the affinity of the photographs.
The authenticity of the subjects mannerisms as they are in the safe and familiar environments of their homes was similar to the photographs of my grandma. I wanted to explore the idea of a shared space and the attachments that pass and go, as well as form, in them. 'Ou Menya' reminded me of my own family photographs, and of how all the people close to me and my family have spent and spend countless hours, days, weeks and years (in the past) in her home. This inspired me to look through some photographs in my grandmother's house.
I found hundreds of pictures of my nan as well as other various family members. As she has lived in the same house practically all of her life, there were photos taken inside of the house featuring countless relatives and close ones spanning over the past 50 odd years. You can see links such as same pictures or ornaments on the walls, but in different rooms and different places over the years. You can see the changed location of the kitchen; bathroom; chairs; etc, but with the same familiar faces surrounding them.
I decided to make a collage of some of my favourite of the photographs, featuring: my nan; her parents; my mum; my dad; various neighbours; friends; distant cousins; pets; and even me and my sisters. My nan's house, in a way, acts as a time capsule of experience and attachments- this is what. I wanted to convey.
I decided to make a collage of some of my favourite of the photographs, featuring: my nan; her parents; my mum; my dad; various neighbours; friends; distant cousins; pets; and even me and my sisters. My nan's house, in a way, acts as a time capsule of experience and attachments- this is what. I wanted to convey.
Development 6
I wanted to continue using found photography so with these images decided to delve deeper into the contexts and memories surrounding them, looking at the attachments we have with images and the consequential immortalising of relationships and moments.
I decided to ask my grandma to recount some of the relationships with people in said photographs, and about the stories behind them. She looked through the pictures in the collage and through photo albums and recounted her memories that were triggered by the pictures and the people in them.
I decided to ask my grandma to recount some of the relationships with people in said photographs, and about the stories behind them. She looked through the pictures in the collage and through photo albums and recounted her memories that were triggered by the pictures and the people in them.
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Development 7
For my 7th development, I wanted to make a short film of my grandma inspired by the film Georgetown by Lewis Kahn. I wanted to continue on from my previous development, now instead of asking my grandma about memories related to pictures, I wanted to ask her about the house as it is a pivotal aspect of all my family' s and friends' lives.
Georgetown, Lewis Kahn
Georgetown is a film by Lewis Kahn that delves into the life of his friend and neighbour George, through the exploring of George's flat and interviews. Along with being interviewed, Kahn takes a series of portraits to go be seen along with the rest of the footage. The film explores his personal life and eccentric character, both of which are reflected through the interior and items of his flat. It is a film made with great fondness, and lets George tell his story in his own words.
https://vimeo.com/99681489
"A friend, a neighbour, a familiar face in the street. Georgetown is a view into the life of south london resident, George. During a period of my adolescence that saw playing football in the street as a daily ritual, George and myself often shared the same space. Frequently we would meet with a simple nod, more frequently a hello, and on occasion George would join in for a kick about. "Georgetown is informed by six years of these impromptu and informal meetings in the street, usually the same one."
My response
Similarly exploring the subject's domestic space as did Kahn, I filmed my Nan in her living room and around her house and asked her the story of moving in to the house where she has lived in since she was a little child.
I enjoyed this idea of exploring my nans house as a hub of attachment and wanted to take this further. I liked the outcome of the short film.
Final Piece
For my final piece, I wanted to incorporate many elements of all stages of my project, and all artists I have taken inspiration from.
Through all my developments I have looked at different sorts of attachments on a small scale. At first I looked at attachments between 2 specific people in the earlier stage of my project. Then, I moved on to more exploring one persons attachments with many different things and people, when I looked at my nan in response to Richard Billingham.
For my final piece, I have been inspired by my work of my nan and want to use her house as the stem for my piece. I have taken inspiration from Bieke Deeporter, who's work I looked at when collecting family photos. But the work of hers I am mostly inspired by was her project 'Daniel' i saw at an exhibition and wrote about previously on my website.
Through all my developments I have looked at different sorts of attachments on a small scale. At first I looked at attachments between 2 specific people in the earlier stage of my project. Then, I moved on to more exploring one persons attachments with many different things and people, when I looked at my nan in response to Richard Billingham.
For my final piece, I have been inspired by my work of my nan and want to use her house as the stem for my piece. I have taken inspiration from Bieke Deeporter, who's work I looked at when collecting family photos. But the work of hers I am mostly inspired by was her project 'Daniel' i saw at an exhibition and wrote about previously on my website.
This installation completely immerses the viewer in Deeporter's mind as she frantically attempts to solve Daniel's disappearance, but also provides the viewer with a privilieged insight into Daniel's life. The walls are covered head to toe in pictures, letters, screenshots like his entire existence has been printed onto paper and mounted around us. I liked this style of work and thought it would have a great effect for my final piece. I decided I wanted to look at my nan's house as she has lived there for since she was a small child. It is a place where so many different attachments have passed through. We have celebrated birthdays, christmases, halloweens and everything inbetween there since I was little. I had birthday parties there from my 18th to my 1st, and my mum similarly had her 21st there and also her wedding party. Whenever I have a close friend I often take them to my grandmas house to stay over with me. This is why I thought my grandma's house would be a fruitful stem to explore attachments.
I want to create a similarly 'step into somebody else's mind and life' feel that comes from Deeporter's work. I will similarly be using found photography and items.
I have collected hundreds of different photos, and numerous amounts of letters and cards and other personal items to make this almost 'mind map'. I want to cover all the attachments that pass and go from my grandmothers house, and find links between them.
I searched my house as well as my nan's to find items to incorporate. I came across my mums old book from school she made as a child. It featured the drawing of the same house, and had pages written about her 'mummy,' 'cats' and her grandparents. This was a great starting point as it her childish drawing of the house from over 40 years ago provided a visual point on how the house and been there for so many years and seen so many things.
Aside from Deeporter, I have taken inspiration from all the artists I have looked in my work and also exhibitions, and my final piece is a product of these developments. Richard Billingham inspired me to explore the use of domestic personal spaces, and this piece is centred around the domestic space of my Nan's house where my friends and family spend so much time. Jo Spence's work looked at complex and strained family relationships and sought understanding and empathy for family members through throwing herself into their shoes through cosmetics. In my project, I too am looking for some similarities between family members are experiences.
I want to create a similarly 'step into somebody else's mind and life' feel that comes from Deeporter's work. I will similarly be using found photography and items.
I have collected hundreds of different photos, and numerous amounts of letters and cards and other personal items to make this almost 'mind map'. I want to cover all the attachments that pass and go from my grandmothers house, and find links between them.
I searched my house as well as my nan's to find items to incorporate. I came across my mums old book from school she made as a child. It featured the drawing of the same house, and had pages written about her 'mummy,' 'cats' and her grandparents. This was a great starting point as it her childish drawing of the house from over 40 years ago provided a visual point on how the house and been there for so many years and seen so many things.
Aside from Deeporter, I have taken inspiration from all the artists I have looked in my work and also exhibitions, and my final piece is a product of these developments. Richard Billingham inspired me to explore the use of domestic personal spaces, and this piece is centred around the domestic space of my Nan's house where my friends and family spend so much time. Jo Spence's work looked at complex and strained family relationships and sought understanding and empathy for family members through throwing herself into their shoes through cosmetics. In my project, I too am looking for some similarities between family members are experiences.
My grandma since she moved in as a child has always engaged and been close with whoever lived next door on both sides of the fence. In this case she dated on of the neighbours, and also actually at a different period of time dated the neighbour on the otherside too! We have kept a solid relationship with the family who lived on the left, and despite my grandma's friend's death, I still regularly see the daughter and grandson. My family also was friendly with the next family that moved in and i too see them often. I want to showcase this in my final piece, demonstrating the generations worth of different attachments that have stemmed from the house.
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iI will stick the pictures and items onto a display board, exploring their links and connections. I will also have a video playing in the installation.
The video I want to have playing on a monitor on a table inbetween the two boards. It is just of my grandma speaking how she usually does, telling very long anecdotal stories. I took this video during my response to Richard Billingham's 'Ray's a Laugh' in a prior development. I felt it encapsulates the nostalgic feeling I want to create with my piece, and reflects the topic of attachment to our memories and our memories of attachments. The story she is telling involves the house which is the focus of my final piece, with the people in the story being previous neighbours and subsequent lifelong friends.
The video I want to have playing on a monitor on a table inbetween the two boards. It is just of my grandma speaking how she usually does, telling very long anecdotal stories. I took this video during my response to Richard Billingham's 'Ray's a Laugh' in a prior development. I felt it encapsulates the nostalgic feeling I want to create with my piece, and reflects the topic of attachment to our memories and our memories of attachments. The story she is telling involves the house which is the focus of my final piece, with the people in the story being previous neighbours and subsequent lifelong friends.
Along with the video, I want to present the booklet my mum made as child in the installation. I also will have some framed family pictures and small items and other books on the table surrounding the monitor.
Outcome
Overall I am really pleased with the outcome, as every picture is connected and links formed smoothly. It is a map illustrating the intertwinement of our experiences and attachments, all linked under one roof.