Irwin & Read - Project Proposal
The last year and a half at UCA have been incredibly valuable to me, both in terms of improving my artistic knowledge, and my personal development. I’m really proud of the work I’ve managed to produce, especially under lockdown restrictions, and I hope to continue producing work at this level. I’ve been very lucky to have been able to use the facilities on campus and learn techniques from professionals in the field, and I hope to continue expanding my practice through a photography degree next year, which will aid me in eventually becoming a full-time photographer/artist. I chose Lens Based Media because I’ve always been interested in it, and it’s the only thing I’ve ever really felt I’m good at. Through workshops, assessments, and peer feedback, I’ve learned a lot about my personal practice, interests, and developed my skills both digitally and with analogue techniques. I’ve loved learning how to use the darkroom in particular, including experimenting with different techniques like double exposures, dodging and burning, and camera-less photography.
My FMP is focused on the themes of family and identity. I aim to create autobiographical pieces by exploring the relationships I have with my relatives, and how that impacts the way I view myself.
Due to me being in foster care from ages 5-17 and having contact restrictions from Social Services, I’ve never really got to know my most of my family. After my grandmother passed this winter, I became curious about my family’s history and the lives of my relatives. In particular, I’ve wondered about how my grandparents’ lives have affected my upbringing, and how that affects my identity today.
I have an interest in analogue photography practices, so I’d like to take inspiration from any film negatives or slide film that my relatives may have, then analyse the themes I find. I can then explore the themes, or take the project in another direction and try to recreate the images. I want to interview my grandparents as part of my research, and find out what their lives were like when they were young, and see if photography played a similar role in their lives compared to the role it plays in mine. I will also look into artists such as Donald Rodney and Louise Bourgeois to see how their families, childhood experiences, and relationships shape their current worldview and the way they create art.
I’m also interested in exploring self-portraiture in the context of family and identity, and possibly comparing these images to any self portraits I see in my grandparents photos. I’d like to present my FMP outcome as a zine or book, as I have made a few of both during my Extended Diploma and really loved the process and final look. Ideally, I’d do as much of this project with analogue processes as possible, but I realise that this might not be possible with COVID restrictions. However, this could be a chance to really focus on my digital photography skills and further my knowledge of digital techniques. There are a lot of techniques I would like to explore in the next 10 weeks, such as collage, layering, and I would like to develop the way I create and portray narratives. I think keeping a journal will be crucial for this project, as it will give me an opportunity to explore my thoughts as I delve into the theme I have chosen and start to think about how to present those themes in a photographic way.
I will keep a journal throughout this project to document my daily thoughts, ideas, and any feedback I get from my tutors and peers. I will also have a blog to keep track of my work and progression, which will be part of a website. The website will display all my research, idea generation, outcomes, and the blog itself. My feedback from the last project was to work on analysing my own images, so I will do this on the website too. I’m going to set time aside time each week to make a reflection of how I think the week has gone and any quick thoughts or ideas I want to explore in the next week. I will also be reflecting on every photoshoot, piece of research, interview, and peer feedback session I attend.