Curious 2013 University of South Wales
(formally University of Glamorgan)
BA Photography Exhibition 1
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Curious
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Others J A Keane These photographs are of the people that are peripheral to my life. The people that are not, in most cases, aware of my existence or even notice me. The idea or concept was to endeavor to highlight people around us that we do not necessarily observe but who can still influence our lives. Imagine going to the cinema with no one else there, the atmosphere would be flat and unexciting. Thus while these people are not important to my life their very presence has a knock on effect on how we experience our lives and presumably our presents influences how they experience theirs. These photographs are a celebration of those people; a recognition of the part they play and an acknowledgment of the need we as humans have to be in the presents of others, to be part of a wider community.
www.janeanne.co.uk 4
Relations of Dependency and Devotion Tifanie Lewis These photographs represent a period of time I spent working with disabled children at Ty Gwyn Special School in Cardiff. I aimed to produce images that illustrate the positive vitality that dwells within Ty Gwyn, demonstrating the strong bonds between the pupils and the teachers/carers.Significantly, I wanted my pictures to commemorate the genuine love of those who care. Simultaneously, I desired to illuminate ability over disability and attempt to challenge assumptions of disabled individuals based on their appearance.
www.tifanielewis.wix.com/ tifanielewis 5
Place Ilona Robinson This project explores the depiction of the term ‘home’ through photographic imagery. I wanted to capture the contentment found in a home by using my own experience and memories as a theme throughout. This was captured through the camera acting as my own eyes, concentrating primarily on the idiosyncrasies that makes a place our own and highlighting the distinctive features within it. Each individual image offers an insight of a feeling or emotion that transpired while growing up in my childhood home. These photographs are an exploration of self-discovery and a realisation that the home I grew up in is no longer the place I live, as I move on to adulthood.
www.ilonarobinson.com 6
Built Not Bought Peter Kennard Built not Bought is based on the theme of Identity. My photographs focus on modified automobiles and their owners. I have explored modified car culture to understand how people use their cars as a way of self-identity, representation and expression. I have chosen this particular topic because every driver has a unique connection with their car. They represent us and give insight to the type of people we are and how we want to be perceived and identified. In particular I feel the modified car has the highest level of identity because it will be modified in a personal way by the owner, no two are the same. Built not Bought demonstrates this notion, as the two cars addressed are the same manufacture and model. Built not Bought gives an insight and passenger seat to these cars and the people who drive them.
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Thematic
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Wilderness Magnified Jessica Davies I use the outdoors as my studio, and work mainly with natural light. Wildlife has been a massive interest to me from a very young age, and when I discovered photography during A levels, I combined the two and never looked back. I am fascinated with the miniature world of insects at the moment, and with wildlife photography being so competitive, I have placed myself in the niche of photographing insects hoping this will make me stand out as an up and coming natural history photographer. “The most insignificant insects and reptiles are of much more consequence, and have much more influence in the economy of nature, than the incurious are aware of; and are mighty in their effect, from their minuteness, which renders them less an object of attention; and from their numbers and fecundity.� — Gilbert White
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The Eyes are the Windows to the Soul Sophie Gregory My project works with the Yiddish proverb “The eyes are the windows to soul”; it shows the eye as a symbol of the all seeing and all knowing in a very confrontational way. The circular presentation represents the subject’s outlook on the world and their own experiences. Although we all have the sense of sight, what we see and experience in everyday life shapes our perception and our personalities, the eyes have a way of revealing a truth about us that we cannot hide. So if you really want to know someone and really want to understand someone, look carefully into their eyes for the eyes really are the windows of the soul.
www.sophieclarephotography. co.uk 11
Background Histories David Holliday The exhibition is a typology of confrontational street portraits with historical elements in the background. The background of a portrait can add a different dimension and atmosphere to image. It allows the viewer to not only see the subject, but to sense the atmosphere as well. The exhibition is a series of street portraits, documenting people who visited the St.Fagans Heritage Museum in Cardiff. It records people from all ages, both male and female, who were photographed with the historical buildings of the museum in the background. When a person views the portraits, he needs to read the context of the five pairs of portraits in the exhibition and make a subjective conclusion about the relationship between two people in each pair and also the historic building. Hopefully he will find in the background, a sense of history. 12
Stalin Street Party Hannah Neal Stalin Street Party is a fresh up and coming Cardiff band. With a unique and eclectic style of music, they have bombarded the streets of Wales with their electro/bass vibes and of course sense of humour. I have documented the boy’s journey so far in various visual ways, creating images which show movement and emotion, with the use of lighting and angles. Each individual image was taken in a different place and time, reflecting their ongoing journey as a band. The images portray a band which is in the early progression stages of the music Industry, a time where everything counts for the now.
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Severn Spring School Samuel Legge This body of work explores Severn Spring School. The School first opened its doors in 1987. Previously, the building was an occupied stately home located in 12 acres of woodland on the edge of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The school opened as Cheltenham’s first rehabilitation and educational centre for children aged between six and sixteen with extreme behavioural and emotional special needs. The school was shut on the 11th of July 2012 citing an ‘inadequate progress with regards to special measures over a period of fourteen years.’ Much speculation has followed since the institution’s closure, a great deal of which concerns the mistreatment of its vulnerable pupils.
www.samuelllegge.wix.com/ photography 14
The Body Chloe Brind My series of work looks at the male body, in particular bodybuilders. I wanted to look into the reasoning, motivation and dedication behind achieving a body that is continuously difficult to maintain. The photos were taken in the studio to create the best lighting for accentuating the definition of their muscles. I created this set of images to be viewed from an unbiased perspective, the viewer can make up their own minds about the images and whether they find the physique attractive.
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Life Between Reality and Fiction Benjamin Torr These images focus on a single cosplayer along with the characters and personalities that they chose to take out of a fictional environment and to represent in reality. Throughout our lives we form connections to fictional characters from our favourite forms of media whether its video games, print based media like comics and manga or moving image such as TV, film and anime. The performance art of cosplay allows fans to recreate their favourite characters in reality as well as creating their own characters that choosing everything from gender and personality to clothing and habits.
www.benrtorr.wordpress. com 16
Happiness Alex Holt I have always had a passion for art but only truly began to venture towards photography when I came to University to study it. The idea that a memory can be caught on camera and that an image can evoke emotions and memories from us has always fascinated me. For this exhibition I wanted to work with the subject of positive emotions being caught on camera, as that has always been a big fascination for me. I love the way that the crease at the corner of an eye or the smirk that spreads across someone’s face as they relive a memory can give so much away in terms of how they are feeling about that particular moment in their life. The text accompanying each image is handwritten by each of the subjects saying a little about what happiness means to them or what the happiness day of their life was.
www.alyy72.wix.com/ amphotography 17
Lightbox Ieuan Flowers This project explores the philosophy surrounding photography and the way that it presents the world we see around us, and how this can be used to better understand our own place here. Using a pinhole camera, my aim was to capture people during everyday situations, actions that are prevalent in their lives. The nature of pinhole photography dictates that the people that were photographed are not present in the resulting photographs, questioning the value of such endeavours, in the eyes of one’s self, and of society as a whole. The work also engages with notions of photographic truth, and questions the inherent objectivity and honesty that is generally accredited to photography. www.ieuanflowers.co.uk 18
Confusion of Identity Rhian Dixon The project is based on the confusion of identity and gender. What you see in the image is the model expressing himself on the outside, how he feels on the inside. Many men and women everywhere suffer from gender confusion and are confused with who they really are and how to express how they feel on the inside. I wanted to make the images appear as honest as possible. Because I’m a fashion photographer myself I wanted to include some element of that photography genre with glamourising the message too much. There is also a hint of androgyny in the image which is something I wanted to touch upon too. My project shows there is a lot more than being a boy or a girl.
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Undergrowth Maisie Burrows Photography introduced me to the inclusive electronic music community, which lies at the heart of the Cardiff rave scene, when I first arrived here nearly three years ago. The underground electronic music scene offers refuge to all who seek to escape the daily grind, choosing to celebrate unity within a chemically heightened musically enhanced atmospherefree from the stipulation and boundaries imposed on day-today life. From my many nights spent capturing the ravers of Cardiff I have gained a further love and appreciation for this hedonistic, yet supportive culture and growing understanding of the many socio-political factors that surround and influence it. Undergrowth is a conclusion of these thoughts and a photographic representation of the individuals that make it, which hopes to shed light on this profoundly misunderstood culture. www.maisieburrows.wix. com/maisieburrows 20
Landscapes
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Encoding, consolidation, retrieval, deterioration Georgia Tilley As we age, the memories we retain from childhood may seem to depict only trivial and idle recollections, visually fragmented and ambiguous in their significance to us. ‘Encoding, consolidation, retrieval, deterioration’ is an attempt to visually document these personal, unique and flickering memories of early childhood. See video at: www.georgiatilleyphoto.tumblr.com
www.georgiatilleyphoto. tumblr.com 22
A Sense of Home Nia Jones I have produced a body of work that I feel many people can relate to. The landscapes shown in this series are places where I feel most comfortable and most ‘at home’, and this is what prompted me to document them. In addition to this I decided to create these images because many people find the countryside a very daunting experience and so would not feel as comfortable here as I do. I therefore wanted to portray these places in a way that challenges the viewer’s perception. This series of images demonstrates a very personal and emotional response to the landscapes that are depicted. They show a connection between myself and the land, and illustrate a reflection of some personal memories that I have of the places that they show. www.njonesphotography. wix.com/niajones 23
The Enduring Valley Tim Jenkins The South Wales Valleys have been in decline for many years, since the loss of heavy industry which once made the area a hub of economic activity. Since these industries disappeared, the Valleys have become a symbol of the decline of the Welsh economy and its people. In a contemporary context the Valleys are often depicted in many photographs and paintings with tiers of terraced housing set against a backdrop of mountains, suggesting a unique and picturesque topography; yet in this setting a cultural isolation can exist, a result of routine, complacency and frustration. The Enduring Valley is a photographic discourse about this culture; of towns or villages, as scenic as they can be austere, tentatively coming to terms with the economic and cultural changes of recent years.
www.timothyjenkins photography.co.uk 24
Deep Silence Ryan Evans This photo series is based on my subjective interpretation of the music produced by ‘Burial’. To me, it soundtracks the late night empty city and suburbs at 2am, and conjures feelings of loneliness and disconnection within densely populated areas. His music holds a deep beautiful sadness, and in this series I have tried to photographically re-present these emotions I feel. These photographs predominantly depict dead city and suburban scenes, standing ghostly quiet in the night while their usual inhabitants sleep. The presence of others is always felt here, but never visible.
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Perspective Caitlin Tyler  This is a predominantly film-based body of work, seeking to express a state of mind experienced during the transitional time of coming to the end of University and preparing for what to do next. The work seeks to convey the confusion and uncertainty felt throughout this time. The photographs are placed in linear formation, which is set to perplex and challenge the viewer, as they appear as a narrative, but do not actually read as a coherent storyline, which adds to the notion of feeling lost and disoriented. The person within the work acts as a representation of myself, resulting in the photographs holding a self-reflective and self-expressive nature. Using locations that are of great significance to me also reflects the need to revert back to one’s roots, in order to discover the next step in life.
caitlintylerphotography@ gmail.com 26
Realm of Imagination Suzanna Hughes The concept of this brief was to produce a well thought through series of images engaging with the concept of “Realm of Imagination�. I wanted to address the connection between the descriptive clarity of the photograph and the haze of memory. I wanted to place the viewer between the landscape and their own consciousness or place them in a mental state reflecting to the brief period between sleep and awake, where conscious thought is relaxed and the possibilities of another realm or state of consciousness exist.
suzannahughes@hotmail. co.uk 27
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Identity
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Don’t ask me how I’m feeling Hazel Guppy The body of work presented here before you is, quite possibly, the most bizarre and eccentric take on a diary entry you may ever lay your eyes on. Both the photographic content and the unusual production methods employed are inspired by the immense power, yet fleeting inconstancy, of mood swings; a psychological phenomenon that has recently consumed every slice of my existence. With a strong emphasis on body-image and an unhealthy relationship with food, these photographs represent an unstable and hugely troubled state of mind. The volatility of the silver emulsion coated watercolour paper supports this sensation of instability and makes the work appear as a personal documentation; a fleeting thought; a superfluous, trivial memoir. www.hazelaine.com 30
Dreams and Nightmares Abigail Lewis My work was initially intended to be an evolution of the idea that both dreams and nightmares were one in the same. I wanted to create a series of images that showed how one person could be anyone they wanted to be as soon as they were asleep no matter how happy or dark their dreams were. I decided to base this work in the fashion photography field and more precisely a look book.  By collaborating ideas with different models, hair stylists and make up artists we came up with characters that would fit in with my theme and narrative. Even though it wasn’t part of my initial idea I feel that this process turned into a kind of phototherapy, with all the creatives and myself displaying parts of ourselves within each character.
www.facebook.com/ abigaillewisphotography 31
Turning Into Me Inga Fresberg “Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves” – Henry David Thoreau I like to use photography as a way to study the world and myself and eventually come to terms with who I am, to find myself and my place in the world. I grew up moving a lot and I have lived in many different cities and countries. Previously I have used photography to look at the world around me and to find my place in it. In this series I am looking at myself, to find me. Originally influenced by the media and its depiction of women, this soon became a personal journey; a journey of self discovery. I studied my features and looked at myself in a new and different way, from new angles and close distances. I wanted to explore my features and portray them in a unique and slightly obscure way.
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Misfits Chazz Maggs Misfits is a documentary project about a couple in their early twenties, the things they do together, how they spend their time, how they see one another. They are just like any other young couple, except for one difference. One half of the couple is transgender. But does this make them any different from any other young couple? Is the nature of the relationship altered by this fact? In short, no, and this work aims to prove that. Through a series of photographs of the mundane, every day activities that my partner and I undergo, I have tried to convey the idea that his extraordinary (though ordinary to us) situation, doesn’t make us the ‘Misfits’ that some people would believe us to be.
www.chazzmaggs photography.com 33
Keepsakes Jennifer Pinnell ‘Keepsakes’ is a series of photographs depicting twelve treasured possessions held by their owners. We all own an item that we will keep for years that reminds us of our past. But why do we do it? I wanted to explore why we feel the need to hold on to certain objects in our lives and how they hold sentimental value to us. Each object placed in the hands represents a precious history. Interviewing each person allowed me to determine the true sentimental value of each item and what makes something ordinary transform into a ‘keepsake’.
www.jenniferpinnell.wix. com/photography 34
Untitled Joshua Chatterley This series of self-portraits is a reflection on social anxiety and the constraints that anxiety can have on a person. We all as individuals have our own anxieties and fears, yet for some this level of anxiety is increased to life changing proportions. These images explore the topic social anxiety and its affects metaphorically, presenting anxiety as a ‘hand’ that has the ability to hold one from feeling comfortable or fulfilling their potential. The photographs are digitally manipulated in a surreal manner and were taken in a home studio for the aesthetic of a fear of the outside world.
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“All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together.� Jack Kerouac Lucy Theophilus My project was created to photograph the trapped, frustrated feeling one can experience in life, dreams you once thought you could achieve seeming to become impossible .The desire to escape from the everyday and exist in the realm of your own imagination. Everybody has dreams and desires whether they get forgotten or just exist in their imagination I wanted to create a variety of photographs, which people could relate to which express this. For me, this work represents the state of my mind and how trapped I feel, other people may relate to this work in alternate ways, and with different conceptions about how they feel in their own life and in society.
www.lucytheophilus.wix. com/lucytphotography 36
We would like to thank all of the teaching and The Atrium support staff for their help and support over the last couple of years. It is difficult to adequately express our gratitude and appreciation here as individuals are too numerous to mention. However we wish to say “Thank you� to those particular people who have been especially valuable in assisting us to reach this point.
Thank You
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