South West Graduate Photography Prize 2018
South West Graduate Photography Prize 2018 Josh Adam Jones Beatriz Temudo Ellie Ramsden Jaime Molina Sam Fradley Karl Davies Molly Budd Amara Eno
introduction
Since the birth of photography around 150 years ago, we have now reached a super-transitional period relating to all aspects of this medium. As Wim Wenders put it: “Photography is more alive and more dead than ever” and one has to face up to this new reality. Because the essence of photography today goes beyond being the realm of the elitist, and now encompasses the everyday and everyone, opening and channelling creativity on unexpected and unprecedented levels. We have never before seen image-making used so much as a vehicle of expression or as being a part of interdisciplinary works. If we were to apply Laszlo Moholy-Nagy’s famous quote to photography, that “it is not a profession, but an attitude”, then we have possibly pinpointed photography’s contemporary meaning in reflecting
our society. Photography fills a social as well as an artistic role. Moreover, whether it is a photo-feed or a blockbuster show, surely the most important question remains - What are we doing with all these images produced? Photography can be studied from a cultural, an anthropological or even a scientific point of view, revealing spirituality, interest, personal ontology as well as the visual heritage of young image makers of today. This world-reflection with a modern approach is presented by eight emerging talents, who are showcasing their work in this years South West Graduate Photography Prize by returning and reinventing the world around them through their own unique lens. Monika Fischbein Visual artist
Josh Adam Jones XO Josh set out to unearth and communicate stories about the expatriate communities of Muscat in Oman. XO concentrates on the relationships between local people and outsiders, with an emphasis on human aspects of the Middle East. With over forty-five percent of the population falling into the expatriate category, Muscat plays host to a rich, diverse and colourful culture. The hospitality and generosity shown by the people of Oman was
overwhelming, and Josh was fortunate enough to work alongside people within The British Embassy and Oman Tourism College. This project was in part a response to Western misconceptions of the East, and misrepresentations of Oriental values and beliefs. Oman is a peaceful and prosperous country; a sanctuary from the conflicts that affect that part of the world.
www.joshadamjones.co.uk
Beatriz Temudo O Milagre da Multiplicação Each year Portugal is consumed by numerous wildfires. However, the attention focused on this issue dissipates quickly. Media coverage of death and destruction is sensationalist, but investigations of the deeper issues are superficial. Portuguese politicians promise preventive measures and greater resources, but nothing is done. The truth is that humans are guilty of the wildfires and industries and governmental organisations profit from this situation.
O Milagre da Multiplicação (The Miracle of Multiplication), explores the impact of the wildfires - and the material, human and national loss to my country. It reflects the sense of grief that most people share, even if not directly affected by the fires. Photographs of the scarred landscape raise questions about why and how this keeps happening.
www.beatriztemudo.com
Ellie Ramsden Too Many Man Grime began as a makeshift music style, blending the eclectic sounds of London’s Afro-Caribbean community. Borne out of an amalgamation of various music genres, from reggae, dancehall, bashment, ragga and dub, to garage and drum and bass, grime has made its way from humble beginnings to a global phenomenon over the past two decades. Today, grime is everywhere. The music genre has surpassed its pirate radio days and has now found its way into charts across the world, attracting critical acclaim for its stark social commentary on living in inner-city London, opening listeners’ eyes to the harsh realities of street life from deprivation, violence and gang warfare, to the intimacies of relationships, friends and family life, to showcasing the cultural backdrop of London’s black diaspora.
Despite grime’s colossal reach, women still remain a minority in the male-oriented genre. Stars such as Wiley and Dizzee Rascal are considered veterans of the music genre, whereas little is said of their equally-talented female counterparts. When grime is mentioned, names such as Skepta and Stormzy come to mind. Some may have heard of superstars such as Lady Leshurr, but few know of other females in the scene. Females who aren’t artists, but still contribute to the grime scene in another medium, such as musicians, producers, journalists, managers, videographers and photographers find it difficult to gain recognition for their work. This photo-book seeks to ask why, and gives the women of grime a platform to share their thoughts and experiences of the scene.
www.ellieramsden.co.uk
Jaime Molina Gatherers Gatherers is a book about people who have an affinity with the natural world. These gatherers have chosen to detour from the path carved out by modern society, finding their way through the woodlands, meadows and coastlines of Cornwall. Each of their stories reveal how humans can become attuned to the rhythms of nature, in which gathering resources is not an endpoint, but a process. It requires curiosity and a feeling of adventure to discover new
flavours and techniques, expanding their knowledge and heightening their senses to adapt to the ever-changing landscape. Through gathering they have not only discovered an abundance of raw materials, but have also unearthed an intimate relationship with the world on their doorstep. This is an insight into the life of the modern gatherer.
www.jmolinafotos.com
Sam Fradley A Handshake with a Martian Provoked by my inner curiosity into the UFO scene in the United Kingdom, A Hand Shake with a Martian is a personal investigation into the British UFO phenomena. I embark on a journey that takes me across the UK to try and understand what has occurred.
Supported by official declassified documents, this project is a photographic response to my journey. I meet the people who believe in and research ufos, as well as visit the locations where these famous sightings happened.
www.samuelfradley.com
Karl Davies The Landscape Of Consumption The last half-century of exponential population growth combined with consumer-capitalism has vastly transformed the topography of our small green planet. The Landscape of Consumption depicts, through dramatic time-lapse photography, these manufactured environments and their perpetual processes of consumption.
Via endless cityscapes and cathedral-like shopping malls, the film takes us on a mesmeric journey through our modern, almost dystopian, reality. Overall, 200,000 still images were created across 3 continents in 20 days to form this 10-minute short.
www.karldaviesphotography.com
Molly Budd The Chair Is Touching the Wall This series is an emotive response regarding the structural barrier of physical and metaphorical spatial confines. An idea retracted from Heidegger’s theory of Dasein; the literal translation of ‘being there’, he speaks of an unencounterable space where the objects can never occupy the exact same entity. Where the chair and the wall occupy a particular space, they do not share the same space and it is impossible for them to do so. Obscuring the boundaries of shape and form, Molly uses self-portraiture and movement to imitate an inferiority amongst her surroundings, enticing a visceral interaction between the materiality of the cyclic framework and the minimalistic chaos of movement.
Understanding her own relation to space, being neither here nor there in the images themselves, the progression throughout this project reflects a similar sense of imperceptible form. As a natural evolution, this series brings the figure back to its most minimal form in order to deplete distraction and focus on the positive and negative space that makes up the frame. Continually studying the body and its relation to space and place, The Chair Is Touching the Wall is an exploration into an abstract perception of her own spatial reaction.
www.mollybudd.com
Amara Eno The 25 Percent Approximately a quarter of households in the UK are headed by lone parents: a figure that has remained for over a decade. At a time where the identity of Britain is being called into question throughout the media landscape, it is more important than ever that audiences engage with the experiences of some of the individuals that make up such a prominent cross-section of British society today: single parents. For too long, single parents have been faced with the burdens of stigmatisation - financially, socially and institutionally. Messages such as “poverty” and “the breakdown of the traditional family” are name-tags that have negatively impacted one too many one-parent
families. It is time to move away from the assumption that growing up with one parent narrows an individual’s prospects for success. Initiated in 2017, The 25 Percent is a photographic project, which aims to challenge these stereotypes by exploring the multi-faceted landscape of single parenthood in the UK. A participatory project driven by honesty and self-expression, it chronicles the positive reflections, as well as the hardships that many single parents face. 18 families-and-counting later, The 25 Percent yearns to initiate deeper discussions around the topic, building a more in-depth portrait of lone-parenting in Britain today.
www.amaraeno.com
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Fotonow CIC is a creative media organisation based in Plymouth (UK). The objective in developing the South West Graduate Photography Prize is to nurture opportunities for emerging visual artists while enhancing the visibility of photographic practice from across the region. Graduates from; Plymouth College of Art, University of the West of England (Bristol), Plymouth University, Falmouth University, Bath Spa University, University of Gloucestershire and Arts University Bournemouth submitted work to be short-listed for exhibition at PhotoMonth (London) with one artist eventually commissioned to work on a residency with Fotonow CIC at Ocean Studios (Plymouth). The eight short-listed artists showcased within this publication were selected based upon their distinct approaches and awareness of how photography can inform and communicate. Published by Fotonow CIC Edited by Matthew Pontin publishing@fotonow.org www.fotonow.org Cover image Š Ellie Ramsden
Back cover image Š Beatriz Temudo
F PUBLISHING
ISBN: 978-1-908678-21-18 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright owners.
Josh Adam Jones Beatriz Temudo Ellie Ramsden Jaime Molina Sam Fradley Karl Davies Molly Budd Amara Eno
ISBN 978-1-908678-21-8