By adopting wholeheartedly the concept of photographing the unseen, all artist that work with visual mediums are able to take their first tentative steps in the world of conceptual art and in doing so realise that the world truly is their oyster. It should prove to be a truly liberating experience. However, it is usually, for the uninitiated, a very difficult first step! We need to start thinking in metaphors or symbolism. This is an early step in changing or giving an alternative suggestion as to what something is about, particularly something that is not tangible.
Case study 1
Peter Mansell suffered a spinal cord injury at the age of 20, and as a result has spent most of his life as a paraplegic. Peter took to using the camera to record his observations and interpretation of his circumstances. One such project was entitled ‘Check up‘, which as the name suggests was a record of a visit to the hospital for a check up. For me, his approach was very thought provoking. For the those of us who are able to walk (i.e not wholly dependant on a wheelchair), there is nothing visceral about this collection of nine images. I feel however that they are much more visceral to Peter. All of the images are taken from his eye level, and yet this is not immediately apparent to the casual observer. For Peter though, I feel that this is his line of vision, and therefore is very visceral. From this subtly different starting point we are taken on a journey with him, through his appointment. It is not the physical scar that he bears that remind him every day of his disability, it is the closed doors and horizontal lines that he photographs which seem to me to act as barriers and deterrents and constant reminder of his circumstance. There are no signs telling Peter that he cannot pass, but that is because they were not designed and put there for that reason. They were put there to help or guided the able bodied, but no thought was put in from somebody having to view the world from that lower height. Following this short pictorial journey left me feeling weary of so many obstacles and barriers. The simplest and most routine of journeys was full of so much negativity! Aside from the imposing, closed X-Ray doors, there are no direct barriers, but the multitude of strong horizontal lines in his images elude to and are pictorial metaphors for barriers or hurdles that Peter has to negotiate at every turn.
Peter Mansell: Check Up. https://clkpete.weebly.com/2011-check-up.html
Case study 2
Dewald Botha, a South African living in China, finds himself struggling to come to terms with the noise and busyness of China, a lack of respite from the intensity of crowded humanity. His did not start off as a journey to capture the abstract or even to be mysterious or esoteric, as few of our journey do, but it was a literal journey which developed along the way. Yes he was looking for peace, and generally it is quite easy to photograph places of solitude and reflection (particularly in place such as China& Japan, where religion and meditation often go hand in hand). The thing that is immediately obvious about this project is that they all contain low ceilings and cast concrete. All of these images are shot below his physical journey, which happens to be a busy motorway, constructed of unlovely vast, cast concrete blocks. The start of his journey saw him walking ‘the confines’ of ‘his area’. By walking the immediate locale of this ring road allowed him to question what he perceived the route to mean, and eventually get a truer or more honest answer from himself. I think that the answer had eluded him for so long, because the answer could only be described metaphorically. Often, if we are unable to put things into ‘actual’ words, then we settle for something easier to describe, and that is what initially happened here. It is easier for us to set boundaries and limitations through lack of understanding than it is to challenge and seek out the answers.
Dewald Botha: Ring Road. https://www.dewaldbotha.net/ring-road.html
Case study 3
Jodie Taylor’s work ‘Memories of Childhood’ is to my mind the easier of the three projects to develop. She was able to revisit places (unchanged) that prompted recollections. Whilst these places still exist, there will always be associated memories. It would have been so much harder had she tried to tackle the memories created by people that have grown old, moved away or died! However, the notion of reproducing or interpreting ‘Nostalgia’ per se is indeed difficult, and what Jodie has latched on to is the tactile things that (almost) all of us will have experienced, things like the rough concrete posts, the Creosoted fences, the confined ‘back alleys’, sticky chewing gum on the soles of your plimsoles, and hot tar bubbles and fresh cut grass in the park! This is where Jodie has excelled, she hasn’t taken these photographs specifically, but her images are enough to evoke a plethora of smells sounds and touches long forgotten.
Jodie Taylor: Memories of Childhood. www.weareoca.com/photography/photography-and-nostalgia
Exercise
Of these three case studies, I think it is fair to say that Jodie Taylor’s ‘Memories of Childhood‘ resonates the most. I would also say that it is probably the most popular, as we all have a past, no matter what it is filled with, good, bad or indifferent. As I have mentioned above, Ms Taylor’s images bring back so many memories that she does not directly address, but she ‘hits the right buttons’ that stimulate my own journey! The use of metaphorical data often appeals to a much wider audience than personal/specific data, and Ms Taylors work is fair testament to this.
When we talk about losing authorial control of photographic images, we will generally be talking about three specific circumstances; When we are producing ‘postmodern’ work, then losing or giving up ownership of work, whether it be in its entirety or more as a way of co-sharing, then this is actually part of the ethos of Postmodernism so isn’t really a point of discussion. In effect, we have produced this work with a view to it being taken on to the next stage by somebody else. When we produce a piece of work which is then used as a starting point or foundation for others to build on, then this should be viewed as a compliment, and surely it will be obvious to the ‘user’ that this is part of the intention of the creator, who would actually be disappointed if the work were not taken up as a point from which to progress and develop. The third circumstance is when somebody ‘steals’ our work with the intention of making personal gain by deception from it (modified/altered or otherwise). When this happens, we have a legal process to fall back on, to fight our case.
If somebody is creative enough to come up with a new style, and clever enough to ‘get it out there to the masses’ in the right way (Banksy) then they have to accept that this new genre is going to be copied, and let’s face it, imitation is the best form of flattery!
I see! 