Summer Research - Starting Point

OBSERVING/DOCUMENTING LIFE

What to explore -

- Why people record and document their lives

- Different ways people document experiences

- Importance of preserving life

- Social and cultural impacts of documenting

- Comparisons between creatives and ordinary people

Practical Response - Final Prints

These prints are based on the most successful drawings made during my stay at Faslane Peace Camp, forming the finalised body of work of my reportage project.

Practical - Reflective Post

On reflection, I learnt a lot about reportage work and story telling when carrying out this project. I discovered the challenges of creating a coherent body of work whilst experiencing a new place and immersing myself into the story and the group of people that the story is about. It was difficult to balance my existence within the place I was visiting, to be a member of the camp and to contribute to it, but also be a passive observer of the camp documenting what I was witnessing. I think in hindsight I was perhaps too much the former than the latter, and could have made more work had I been less involved. However I do still believe that being involved is a way to learn about the subjects more and to get a better understanding of the story you are telling through the work. Another tricky thing was to figure out what the story was that I was trying to tell, and how to create and consolidate the work created into a body of work that effectively communicates that. Deciding on an angle to approach the project is something that can often be illusive until a later stage, making it difficult to create the work whilst on location with said angle in mind.

Drawing on location itself is a struggle. Without keeping the practice up, getting back into it can be disheartening and disappointing when the results don't turn out too great. Trying to balance this accurate capturing of forms whilst also making sure the story is being told in a justified way is a constant battle.

As a practical exploration of my essay I am unsure how successful the project was. I don't think I really explored my question very much within the work I made throughout the project, in that I didn't make a body of work that addressed the issue of the truth claim of reportage very specifically. I did carry out a reportage project and with that I can question the truth claim, but perhaps I should have approached the project and practical with more of a focus on the question I was supposedly exploring. Also, the project itself was very limited, consisting only of the trip to Faslane. Had I been more proactive and productive I could have made more work outside of the trip about the same topic, giving the project a more varied and rich response.

Practical Response - Drawn Accounts

These drawings were all made during the few days I spent at Faslane Peace Camp in February, observing the goings-on there, documenting what I saw and lending a helping hand around the camp.

Practical Response - Written Journal Accounts

I believe that my journal accounts are as much a part of the reportage project as the drawings and final prints are. The written documents inform the work, recording my experiences and collating my thoughts and feelings about my trip. Even just as a day to day log of what happened, it is an invaluable part of the body of work. 

Practical Response - The Plan

Study Task 5

I propose to carry out a reportage project about a topic I am interested in, capturing moments and experiences in written, photographic, and illustrated forms. In doing this, I am hoping to explore the truth behind the images I create, evaluating how they are read by an audience and how well the topic I have tried to portray is communicated. With my essay being about subjectivity in image making and the truth claims of visual journalism, I am going to analyse how my images are inevitably subjective and influenced by my bias and opinions,  and how there is a disconnect between what I witnessed and experienced and what was captured on paper. If anything, it will give me the opportunity to explore the difficulties when it comes to creating informed and 'true' images that communicate an issue or message effectively, giving me a better understanding of the relationship between how images are created and how they are read by an audience.

My process will involved visiting places of relevance to my topic, talking to the people there and immersing myself in the place in order to learn more and research. I am hoping that the conversations I have and the things I witness will all contribute to how the resulting images turn out, which in turn will tell the story of my experience and the overarching topic.