This week has all been about moving forward with the Landings exhibition, producing a photobook, preparing a workshop and the deliverables of oral, CRJ and portfolio. It is a balancing act between maximising the learning from doing everything while keeping an eye on the time needed for the work that will be marked.
The photobook is done. I enjoyed producing it more than I thought I would. The number of choices of paper, binding, layout, flow, linkage, cover, curating and design are limitless. Even simple things like double sided printing were a lesson. I am glad I have got the first one out of the way but learnt so much producing it. It has made me interested in producing a photobook one day. I now realise I will go through many dummies before. I went back to look at Alec Soth’s Sleeping by the Mississipi, Sally Mann’s One Thousand Crossings, Mathew Brandt’s Reservoirs and Lakes and Oliver Klink’s Cultures In Transition to look at great examples of beautifully produced photobooks that are a treasure to hold and to look at.
I have talked with a local printer who is also producing a simple printed A5 version of this book this week.
I am making good progress with an exhibition called ‘Forlorn’ for the Landings event. Link I have the images and the idea for the exhibition as in the link. I started with a link to my main project taking some images of me and using the windows of Susuz as a metaphor for inner states. I worked this with a number of people who quickly got engaged. The leap from the images of me to the windows was too big. However, as I assimilated all the inputs I got the idea came up of mentioning the emotional impact walking through this village had on me. Through this I have made the connection to my main project and produced a moving piece of work about the village of Susuz as was in its Turkish guise to Souskiou as is now with its Greek name but as I stood back I really felt the place is forlorn.
Tomorrow I go to the printers to see some test prints. Also going to the exhibition space to plan placements on the walls and discuss setting it up.
The workshop is structured and planned for September. I felt it too much to do this as well as the deliverables, exhibition and book all before August 19th. Link I am looking forward to doing this workshop as I have found people really engaging with the subject matter as I asked for inputs. I am excited about awakening the haptic pleasures of playing with printed photographs and inspiring people to get out there and have a go at a project.
Had a good portfolio review and exhibition review with Laura Hynd. There is a lot of work to do. Link In the link I had started to give some structure to my portfolio with images in classifications of Just Me, Alien Me and Conflicted Me. I now need to ruthlessly cull to the core for submission and consider whether to classify as above or pull together as a mix with surprises. Work to do.
I have also been out with my camera playing with some new ideas for a project around Gone in X Years. X can either be the Roman numeral for 10 or some indeterminate period. This was partly inspired by my experience of my local supermarket Mas Y Mas. I realise this place will probably not exist at all in La Xara in less than ten years. It is quaint, the staff are lovely and friendly but it will be crushed by Carrefour who have arrived. Carrefour will probably be crushed by Amazon or some equivalent as ‘progress’ marches on. I was found photographing shopping trolley’s in the supermarket as an example of something that will generally be gone very soon. I overcame the barrier of embarrassment at the quizical looks people gave me as I took my photographs.
Looked at Andy Sewell’s latest project as a link to this idea. ‘Known and Strange Things Pass’ looks at the internet as an example of something we imagine is out there in the cloud but actually is physical wires and connections across sea beds and criss crossing the planet. He got access to the pinch points where some of these wires land in the USA and UK and took some images that show how we thing of something is quite different to what it looks like. I am getting more and more interested in his work. A year ago it would have completely passed me by.
© Andy Sewell
A lot going on.
Categories: Coursework, Surfaces and Strategies