Evaluation

PHVP 3412 Final Major Project Evaluation

The brief was to respond to an external brief/stimulus, in my own case to find a competition that applies to my own style of work and create [a series of] work to enter in. To find which competition would be best for myself it was not only necessary to look into the briefs (what they were asking for, certain categories available etc.), but to research the selected finalists/winners of these competitions to see what is successful and what kind of work the judges are looking for.

My own approach to photography is art-based. My work tends not to follow narrative (non-fictional); rather it’s expressive or conceptual. So I needed to aim for a competition that is more open to art-based photographic outlet. I had narrowed down two competitions that seemed closer to my style: Aperture Portfolio Prize and IdeasTap Photographic Award. Upon researching the selected finalists/winners of these competitions I had made my decision to choose to follow the IdeasTap brief, down to finding that much of the selected work from Aperture tended to follow a documentative series – albeit artistically-done, but it was further away from my own style.

Now I had discovered which brief I was to follow, the conceptual category in the IdeasTap Photographic Award. My beginning idea grew from wanting to follow some sort of story, but keeping the aesthetic artistic and abstract – strong composition and cut off forms, less visual context. I had researched the likes of Adele Watts who studies the interior spaces of homes, and the relationships that co-exist within them – how traces of human existence can be found. An idea then stemmed from this to travel back to previous homes I had lived in to study the space within them, to see how they had changed over the years, if at all. My troubles here were contacting and maintaining trust with the current home-owners, and when I had come to complete my first testing shoot the images that were produced seemed to lack something. Potentially, had more been produced it could have worked well as a series, but what had stopped me was gaining permission to enter the other homes. I had to change my aim.

My new approach was to concentrate on the objects within the home space, but it was this idea that finally led me to work with still life imagery. So my next step was going back to research. I wasn't throwing away the whole idea, I wanted to concentrate on the aspect of objects - mundane/household - their use and relationship between another. My research led me to several areas of inspiration for myself, in both modern and traditional senses. Sarah Palmers series The Village Of Reason had definitely kicked it off, her photographs of seemingly juxtaposed [random] objects are wild and seemingly inconsequential – that may trigger elements of mental pattern and thought. It is from this I found the effectiveness of juxtaposition with objects. Linus Lohoff was another photographer I had drawn inspiration from. His Constructed_Picture(s) are bold and creative, the mere use of colour in these images brought me to use colour within my own work, bringing life to the photographs. To fully understand still life imagery, however, I had to look back to where it had first began, in painting. It was the understanding of the significance of symbolism that lead me to deepening the meaning behind my work, but reversed to what it typically stood for. My own approach to artistic photography tends to avoid creating for a specified declarative reason; for I believe that within art, greatness equates with multivalence.

There is a strange irony to the images. The photographs stick to a fairly minimal aesthetic, bold/static backdrops with one object of interest But the meaning behind it? Not so simple. Its a play on the typical still life symbolism, somewhat mocking the deep symbolism and to those who look for it, or those who believe it's entirely necessary in a piece of art to be worth interpreting. The juxtaposition of objects is to confuse/change their use - therefore, potentially, their meaning. Visually, some images become either what it is trying to be or something entirely different. For example, the cut avocado mimics the shape of a flame. Whilst the grape sitting on top of the candle stick becomes nothing, just shape.

 Uninterpretable shape. It means nothing besides the new shape it's become. In other images, I have used colour reversal to almost mock the object. A dying banana, now black, with a bright yellow backdrop to highlight its death. Again, the irony here is the use of symbolism. It is far from traditional still life, but the use of symbolism here is slightly humorous. 

I do believe that I have successfully filled the brief, given that competitions as such are purposely open for artistic play and creativity for the artistic/photographer. What I would suggest to myself next time, however, is to make sure the idea I hope to follow is accessible in the time frame I have left/been given. I had relied on permission I had not yet received and that is what left me with less time further on in the project. So, for future reference to myself I ought to given myself more time, especially when site permission is needed, formal or informal.

What I have gained from this project is a worthwhile tool for all future projects. Although the theory behind my work remains to my style, I feel I am able to talk more thoroughly about my approach and the reasons behind what I do. Thorough research and theoretical research behind a projects’ themes is what has helped increased my ability to talk about my work. For future projects, I plan to stick to my own approach to artistic photography – I still believe a shoot now, think later thought process is key to artistic outlet, but the lesson I have learnt is that theoretical backings/research are essential when it comes to declaring an idea. It is important to observe another’s’ findings and theories, to compare with your own and yet another’s. So, for future work I plan to research artistic theory much earlier in the game.