My Journey Through Body of Work with OCA
My tutor has mentioned to me before that I might try experimenting with the reflections that are evident in some of my composites. We discussed how this might be a way of subtly inferring to the viewer that something is not quite right with the images - that they are in fact composites.
Knowing when to finish my body of work has been quite an easy decision in one regard and a strangely difficult one in another regard.
The Body of Work module I am studying asks me to defend my work now I am close to finishing it. Probably the aspect of my work I feel it will be most likely necessary to defend is the use of composites to paint a picture of Deptford. That is because while I believe them to depict a Deptford that is changing it is still an artistic vision and needs to be portrayed in this way.
Following on from WiP #11, where I received some interesting feedback from a fellow student, I have decided to experiment further with conveying to the viewer something of the chaos behind the order of my composites.
I have decided to make this post partly for fun during lockdown following on from an informative study hangout about Keeping up Momentum (04/04/2020). I have also made it to inform the viewer something of the chaos behind the order in my composites of Deptford.
At first glance, when looking at the original composite and the composite I’d just made, not much has changed in terms of place. However, upon closer inspection the composites reveal change which took place sometime in the 5 or so months since the original was created. I feel the time between composites allows for change and it is up to the viewer to look for the differences. It is also up to me as the artist to entice the viewer in. I’m beginning to think this will come with how I eventually present the composites (including text) as well as framing the composites as similarly as possible so these differences are more discernible.
I produced another composite with the same framing, based on an original composite of the same location. I happen to feel this particular location is quite strong in terms of juxtaposing the old and the new. In my mind this is a way of symbolising change is taking place within an area. The sleek, modern aesthetics of the block of flats on the left of the frame show they can’t have been there too long, while the disused, dilapidated pub in the centre/right of the frame is clinging on to existence in its present state.
Ironically, as I walked away from another composite shooting session, I was inwardly quite disappointed with how it had gone. I had waited patiently for about an hour once I had set the tripod up correctly (which had taken another quarter of an hour), for people to pass the scene but only two had crossed by the time I was waiting. I feel there are two lessons I have learnt from a practical perspective about the session going forwards which turned out to be quite positive in the end.
After establishing some of the approaches that made the composite technique stand out in WiP #'s 2-5 and culminating in Assignment 3, I aim to start photographing other locations using these approaches.
For this assignment, instead of working on the body of work as a whole, I’ve concentrated on experimenting with one aspect of the project. The aspect is the way I arrange people in the composites, focusing on two locations specifically. It draws on the factor of chance in photography and plays upon it, with my arrangement of people staging the scene and creating potential narrative for the viewer.
