My intentions for my project was to raise awareness and reduce stigma surrounding mental health. Many of us have or know someone who has struggled with a mental illness, but we still avoid the topic or shy away from the conversation. Through my images, I narrated feelings of anxiety and isolation as well as also showing images associated with seeking help. I wanted the images to be something that people can feel connected to, and like someone has visually shown how they’ve felt. I wanted people to know that they aren’t alone, and that their mental health matters.
To challenge myself I wanted to create a series including artefacts from different Wars. I aimed to show that war was unnecessary. Throughout the series, I aimed to continuously show themes of peace. With a minimalistic approach to the work, the soft lighting relates directly to the sensitivity I aim to convey. My images have a simple aesthetic. War embodies chaos and I wanted the complete opposite for this series. I want my audience to feel at peace when viewing this work, this represents how there could have been a peaceful solution that would have saved the world from so much despair.
My creative independent project title is Perspective. The project includes topics such as feminism, gender stereotypes, toxic masculinity, and LGBTQ+ community. Raising awareness about these topics is important in my eyes as it needs more recognition. I have included macro photography within my portraiture work as this is what I started with and it developed into my project. I want to raise awareness about these serious subjects. I want to show the negative stereotypes of some of these topics and show that we need to change our views on this and start looking for the positives.
My project explores the negative effects of forced gender roles in society, how we are expected to dress, speak and behave in a certain way. I love drawing the fabrics and textures of clothes so decided to focus on stereotypically gendered outfits. I combined this with the artist Jose Romussi to created layered embroidery artworks to represent he disconnect between how people want to express themselves, and what people choose to wear. I also created a series of life drawings to explore physical differences between people of different genders and body types to show how we are immediately perceived judged by others.
The theme for my project was ‘expression through abstraction’. I wanted to look at how techniques such as collaging, and abstraction of portraiture can give a piece an expressionist aesthetic. I started by looking at portraiture and the different ways in which I could abstract an image/portrait. I also wanted to incorporate the colour theory into my work as I believe that this helped me grasp the ideas behind giving my work more of an ‘emotional’ approach.
In this project, I explore the subject of manhood and masculinity. Specifically, from a biological stand point, what differentiates men from their sexual counterparts; what traits are innate to men from a biological and evolutionary standpoint, such as competitiveness or dominance; from an anatomical stand point – build, muscle tone, facial sexual dimorphism – and how these traits have been gradually restrained and altered over time and up to contemporary society.
Why do men have thicker bones, broader shoulders? Are these traits, stemming from a primitive age, useless in modern civilisation? Aside from these physical traits of typical masculinity. What are the mental features which distinguish men from women? I plan to explore through colour psychology and symbolism, a range of different colours and combinations that attribute male psychology, e.g., coolness of emotion via cool colours, but on the other end of the spectrum of male temperament, testosterone-induced passion via warm colours.
In my research, I have responded to the works of Da Vinci’s anatomical drawings. I have made drawings inspired by his scientific dissections of muscles and bones of men; furthermore, I have also to make use of his materials, such as quill pens and chalks. On top of that, I made art in response to STELARC’s biotic limbs and organs, which has helped to pose the question of how important the evolutionary traits of men are in the modern world when considering the integration of technology into our daily lives. This is a major concern in the work industry with labourers losing their jobs to machines – what’s the need for strength when a machine is several times more efficient?
My project was to design a brand-new train operator which will be replacing and running multiple new routes, the goal was to design the routes which it will operating, and to provide a map for people with intermediate stops listed on there as well as the brand identity for the operator; a key image for it which will be used across all the designs.
Aside from these things, I wanted to make a website where people can easily get answers to questions, the website needed to be a key point of support for people so making sure that it is easily understandable is key.
Main bits of the operator will also include a social media branding kit as to which I will needed to design a banner and a disruption map as this will allow people to obtain information quickly and easily.
A-Level Photography allows learners the opportunity to express themselves creatively while exploring ideas and concepts that are personal and meaningful. This is clearly demonstrated across the wonderful work created by this years A-Level cohort. I could not be prouder of the work and achievements made by each member of the Photography group.
Learners often choose issues within society as a means to connect their Photography to an audience. The course consistently challenges them to problem solve and improve both quality and concept as they progress. This ultimately prepares them for both industry and Higher Education.
Industry-standard software and equipment are embedded throughout the course to again support progression, exploring the Creative Cloud Adobe Suite with programs such as Photoshop and Lightroom for image editing, along with InDesign to create their stunning portfolios and project work. To allow for a deeper understanding of photography, learners are encouraged to work with both modern and traditional techniques such as darkroom and Cyanotypes. This 2-year programme builds theoretical and practical knowledge to allow our learners the creative means to express themselves through Photography.
I hope you enjoy exploring the work from this year’s Photography learners.
Simon Morris, A-Level Photography Tutor, Dudley Sixth
In this project, I explored the portrayal of monochromatic still life photography, examining the differing ways to adjust and manipulate a photograph through compositional techniques.
I had a diverse set of inspiration from the photographers I chose, allowing me to experiment broadly within the darkroom as well as at home, with various mediums and objects. I looked thoroughly at shadow, lighting, placement, texture and detail, identifying how to assemble an image appropriately with my given objects.
I then went on to produce two distinct final images, done in two different styles, all depicting the techniques accumulated within the entire investigation.
