I wanted to make my final project about something current and relevant, I think we can all agree that there is nothing bigger or more relevant right now than the Covid-19 lockdowns. So that is exactly what I have based my project upon. The title of my project is ‘What It Felt Like’ because that is exactly what it represents, what it felt like to live during lockdown. We have all had to adapt to a new way of life over the last year and now, finally, it looks like we may be moving past all of this. So with the UK lockdowns soon to end, I felt now was a great time to look back on the bizarre year we have all had to endure and to try and encapsulate some of the key moments from that time, that we can all relate to.
Ornstein (1975) describes the eye as the most important avenue of personal consciousness’ and it is estimated that 90% of the information we receive about the external world reaches us through the eyes.’
My project is about students. I feel through the coronavirus pandemic we have been ignored and pushed aside, left to deal with college/school on our own, forced to adapt quickly to online learning, which has been difficult for many people. For my project I have photographed a range of different students, showing how different and individual we all are. I find that eye photos are quite uncomfortable to look at, but they’re so interesting at the same time, you can’t look away from them. With this project I want to force you to look at students for once – don’t ignore us, we are all talented individuals, we should be treated as such. Don’t look away from us.
My Independent project is called ‘As a Woman’ and explores the women in my life as well as things women are expected to do to fit into the patriarchal society we live in. My project also looks at topics like misogyny, stereotypes about women and looks at small details in women’s lives. I want to show how all women are different yet we are all brought together by feminism and issues regarding how women are treated and seen in society. My project aims to bring women together and educate people on feminism but also illustrate to women how the stereotypes and standards for them shown in media and fed to us everyday has brought about a patriarchal society and ‘as a woman’ we do not need to comply with these rules to be fulfilled or happy within ourselves.
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.
Within this project I wanted to express the importance of normalising mental health issues portraying this from a young person’s point of view, mainly using environmental portraiture and documentary photography. I have created a collection of cohesive images all linking towards the overall subject. I believe that the subject about mental health is still very taboo and stigmatised, it was my intention to create a project where it encourages the viewer into thinking about themselves and issues others may be dealing with. This is very personal to me. Due to this I have put a lot of thought into this project, wanting to approach this topic respectfully.
My final project focuses on the idea of society’s view on how people ‘should be’ and showing that being different is normal. It consists of topics such as body positivity, toxic masculinity, and feminism. However, it also celebrates culture and fashion. The aim was to raise issues in society, similarly to Richard Misrach’s landscape work that illuminates world problems. I aim to evoke emotion from the audience, I want to help them gain more understanding surrounding the ever-changing complexity that is society.
This creative independent project focuses on themes found in the 1930-50s classic film style also known as Film Noir, I chose this because I enjoy the darker themes and undertones as well as the overall style of old crime films and the typical portrayal of gender. These photographs portray the stereotypical characters of film noir, the femme fatale being the most notable. I edited my digital photography to make it look more like old black and white film and took my photographs both in the studio, outdoors and at my home for a better and more believable mix or backdrops and ‘scenes’. I was inspired by Damien Lovegrove and his classic evocation of the genre.
Project Title: Cinematic Urban and Rural Landscapes
For this project, I decided to take most of my inspiration from famous film directors, such as Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino and the lesser known, yet equally talented, Terrence Malick. In terms of content, I tried to include topics that I take interest in, such as cars, architecture and the more vibrant side of nature, so that I can look back on this project and feel a sense of connection. I decided to choose the particular artists and directors I found, as their work is the type of content that I also have a personal interest in, such as peculiar architecture and interesting colour usage in artwork, Furthermore, as these interest were portrayed in film, another one of my intensive interests, I was more likely to see them. As a creator, I also aimed to distance my images from those that inspired me, as I feel that uniqueness in a project is imperative.
My desire for this project was to create an emotional impact with my images. I want to create awareness for everyone that has experienced abuse and show the effects that abuse can have on individuals of such that you don’t see or do see and don’t help, domestic abuse has skyrocketed this last year with lockdown. This project is relatable towards my family, I wanted to bring out a personal side to my work. I have gathered models and shown the side of abuse that I have seen, to do this I had used hard, soft lighting and photoshop to create bruises on the models, taken portraits of them in vulnerable positions to create awareness for abuse.
For this project I wanted to focus on the ideologies of feminism, more specifically the mistreatment people receive due to their gender identity. I wanted to raise awareness about issues that have affected me personally, or the close people around me. My work aims to evoke emotion, it aims to shock the audience into paying attention to the topic at hand. I produced this work with sensitivity and want the audience to relate to the issues and engage with the intended message. Some of the subjects are considered ‘taboo’, however photographs often speak louder than words…so what better way to start this well-needed conversation?
