CHROMA COLLECTIVE
16 Contemporary Documentaries
Designed and Edited by Elizabeth Allsopp, Abigail Wilcock and Jessica Williams
Editor’s Note Chroma is a documentary photography collective, consisting of 16 individuals with a fundamental passion for storytelling. Witihin this paper, a carefully editted selection of these artists’s work is showcased, allowing for a brief introduction into the approach and interest of each photographer and their subject matter. The artists show a thought-provoking engagment with a number of topics including but not limited to: the complexities of family, governmenet funding and construction, as well as thier creative responces to the challanges of coronavirus. With every body of work (despite their contextual differences) there are consistences: a shared moral & ethical approach to the documentation of their chosen narrative by the photographer. Influenced by artists worldwide, literature, art history and each other, a unique and vibrant collection of stories can be found within. We hope that this paper will inspire and prompt reflection on issues within our society, that perhaps go unnoticed in your day to day lives. Photography is a visual language that can be decoded by all and via its consumption we hope that you can form a relationship with the photographer’s subjects, issues and our artists themselves.
We ask you to take our work as an introduction to the questions posed by our concepts. Why have we taken the time to stop and look twice? The answers themselves lie within our subjects, in the landscape around us, our history and the nostalgic and empathetic responses, to name just a few, that we feel discovering stories. We hope you too feel as inspired by the places, people and ideas addressed within the pages of this paper. Thank you. Chroma @chromacollective_
Contents
When it rains, look for rainbows
6
Jessica Daniels
jessicajdanielsphotography@gmail.com @jessicajdaniels_photography_ 07867117492
Growing up British Maria Lovatt
10
marialovattphotography@gmail.com @marialovattphotography 07557055615
Bound
Elizabeth Alsopp
14
emaphoto.portfoliobox.net ema_photo@outlook.com @e_m_aphoto 07807572622
This Transient Time
18
Noemi Filetti
noemi.filetti@gmail.com @noemi.fil +393402790328
How Long ‘til we’re Home? Jake Jackson
22
jjacksondocphotography@gmail.com @jakejacksonphoto 07947865312
Felixstowe Callum Robinson
26
callumrobinsondocphotographer.myportfolio.com cphotographer1@gmail.com @callumrobinsonphoto 07713892040
Listed
Jessica Williams jesswilliamsphotography.portfoliobox.net jesswilliamsphotos@gmail.com @jesswilliams_photography 07447000530
30
Harbour Master Abigail Wilcock
34
UK Detention Centres Charlotte Starbuck
Wilcockphotography.com
charlottestarbuck.myportfolio.com
awilcockphotgraphy@gmail.com
charlottestarbuck1@gmail.com
@_wilcockphotography
@charstarbuck
Phylum Class Order
Nights
Miriam Hauertmann
m.hauertmann@t-online.de
38
+4915128353755
Home before Sundown mikebuttphoto.com mike.a.butt@gmail.com
42
@mikebuttphoto 07413918386
Buy land, they’re not making it anymore
46
Poppy Matthews
poppymatthews.com Poppymatthewsphotography@gmail.com @poppymatthewsphoto 07505110921
Root to Home
50
Chloe Southworth
csouthworthphotography.portfoliobox.net @chloe_southworth_photography csouthworthphotography@hotmail.com 07926895662
A Rubbish Collection
54
Charlotte Parnell
parnell.pb.photography cparnell.photography@gmail.com @charlotte_pphotography 07367469875
Brandan Saviour brandansaviour.com
brandansaviour@gmail.com @brandansaviour 07384272120
Jamessmithimages@gmail.com @Jamessmithelliott
@miriamhauertmann
Mike Butt
James Smith
58
63
67
6
When it Rains
Look for Rainbows Jessica Daniels
The body of work ‘When it Rains, Look for Rainbows’ documents those who have been working through the lockdown caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic to ensure the UK is ticking over: volunteers to paramedics, refuse collectors to teachers. Jessica describes those working tirelessly as “heroes, the rays of sunshine in this current storm” and explains her motivations for the project: “I wanted to complete this project to give back to my local community that I have revisited during lockdown. I owe Lowestoft almost everything I know and I hope the passion I feel for my hometown is reflected in this body of work, the end goal is to thank all involved and everyone who has worked through the pandemic to keep our country afloat, I would describe them as rainbows”.
7
Growing Up British Maria Lovatt
When you hear someone speak of ’Guatemala’, how many of you know exactly where it is, let alone the culture and history of the place? A lost country just underneath Mexico and its historical Mayan temples depicted for all Star Wars fans as Planet Yavin 4. With such a rich and colourful culture for the most part, its capital, Guatemala City has become one of criminal gangs and serious corruption, one of which directly affects the diverse population of the United Kingdom. “The suspension (of adoption in 2008) was introduced in response to evidence demonstrating that: there are insufficient safeguards in the Guatemalan adoption system to prevent children being adopted without proper consents being given and improper financial gain being made by individuals in the adoption process. In particular that: there is a trade in babies being sold for overseas adoption; and mothers being paid, or otherwise encouraged, to give up children for adoption. Such practices are contrary to the principles of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.” - UK Government, Department of Education. As two adopted children from Guatemala, who have grown up in white families and developed perfect English, artist Jose Mario and myself know all too well that this information is not generally a subject that gets spoken about within a family, unless it’s brought up by the adoptees themselves. We discovered this on our own during each of our separate journeys to discover who we were as people. Needless to say, many questions followed before finally finding peace in the knowledge that we do have new, loving families here in the UK. With Brexit having just happened and now a massive world wide movement of Black Lives and Minorities Matter, where does that leave us as coloured adoptees who have the same surname as our white relatives, yet have no physical similarities with them? Having been mistaken on numerous occasions for an Asian ethnicity or mixed race, ticking the “any other ethnicity” on the British census or while filling out an NHS form and then being asked if we’ve misunderstood the question leaves us adoptees in a very grey area. With over 30,000 children having been adopted out of Guatemala and into various countries all over the world, the UK had to close these adoption borders on the 1st January 2008. The youngest of us would now be 12 and beginning to plan their 13th birthday. Jose Mario and I wanted to take this opportunity to record and document eight interviews from Guatemalan/UK adoptees to where about they were in their own journey of self discovery. Each interview took roughly two hours, being led by Jose Mario, with a vast number of different topics being spoken about, depending on each individual. Questions were asked and some were answered. A sharing process took place, between one Adoptee and two others. This
10
is
our
Journey
to
sharing
our
collective
story.
11
14
Bound Elizabeth Allsopp
This project explores the concept of love from a female’s perspective. It takes its inspiration from the Ancient Greek philosophy who broke it down into eight types. The idea of the project was to question how we are bound by love within our relationships with one another and in family, within the relationships we have with our own souls, minds and bodies, and whether this love is obsessive, lustful or unconditional. Within the book, the project tries to address how our relationships with these types of love are challenged by positive and negative complexities within society, such as the influence from media, literature and our own/other’s experiences. What does love mean to you? Can it be defined?
15
This Transient Time Noemi Filetti
As Italy went in full lockdown due to the sanitary crisis, I have been staying in my father’s house where I have not lived for the past four years. This situation led me to experience profound feelings of nostalgia and confusion, often perceiving past and present as overlapping each other. Instead of documenting the quarantine itself in relation to the COVID-19 emergency, I decided to focus on my personal relationship with my father and this place, which I left when I moved abroad to live on my own. During this time, photography represented a therapeutic and reflective process to reelaborate my feelings and expressing them. The series includes pictures of different nature, often embedding symbols open to interpretation. The fragmented narrative aims to be a reflection about time and memory conveying the layering of different feelings experienced in this surreal situation.
18
19
22
‘How Long ‘til
we’re Home?’ Jake Jackson
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, on the 23rd of March the Uk prime minister, Boris Johnston ordered all British citizens to “stay in their homes“. It was hoped that doing so would minimise the spread of disease. The consequences of this decision had many people asking the question, where is home? What is home? Is this home? This selection of images is a photographic response to the lockdown. It simulateously explores the close intimate and personal relationships between my family and I, from our home in East Anglia.
23
Felixstowe Callum Robinson
Felixstowe is more commonly known as the UK’s largest container port. The port serves around 3,000 ships every year and can accomodate the largest container ships in the world. It is the living epitome of the UK’s dependancy on imported goods. However, the landscape around its confines lays testament to another era and of other past utilities. This body of work explores the hinterlands that exist ajoiing the port and the surrounding coastal areas of felixstowe itself.
26
27
30
Listed Jessica Williams
There are an estimated 500,000 listed buildings and structures in the UK. In Cheltenham alone, there are 1,405. The list includes but is not limited to: buildings, statues, monuments, post-boxes, gardens, and shipwrecks. Much of it, by law, must remain unchanged unless special permissions are sought after and granted. There are countless reasons as to why a structure may be preserved, many of them due to their architectural qualities. However, many are actively preserved on account of their cultural and historical significance. The following images were shot around the town centre of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Each image denotes a listed structure or building. Hidden in and amongst these everyday images, are objects and buildings that are subject to preservation orders. This project asks the viewer to reexamination the everyday around them. It shows us a past being subsumed by the future. More importantly, it begs the question what deserves preservation in the 21st century landscape?
31
34
Harbour Master Abigail Wilcock
Documenting Princess Yachts founded in 1965, based in Plymouth. This work looks at the processes behind the construction of a range of Yachts. Ranging from ÂŁ500,000 to ÂŁ12 million.
35
38
Phylum Class Order
Miriam Hautermann
“There is no fundamental difference between man and animals in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery” (Charles Darwin). My project “Phylum Class Order” explores the theme of power between humanity and the animal kingdom. The evolution of Homo Sapiens as a species marked a new era in which mankind managed to climb to the top of the food chain. This allowed us to gain the upper hand on all other living creatures. Due to humanity’s impact on this planet, we have become responsible for life on earth as we know it and its preservation. With this project, I want to pose the question “Who are we, to decide the fate of another organism?”
39
Home Before Sundown Mike Butt
Home before Sundown is a personal project which explores the current coronavirus pandemic, and its effect on my family. The project is built up through an elliptical narrative, allowing the audience to make their own personal connections with the imagery. This project was shot in and around the Somerset hills and is a personal reflection on how these landscapes are made available to escape into and find a brief moment of peace and tranquillity amongst the horrors of the Coronavirus crisis. The portraiture juxtaposes the landscapes observing moments of happiness and sadness, from experiencing a virtual wedding, to Thursday’s new ritual; the 8pm clap for the NHS.
42
43
46
Buy land, they’re not making it anymore Poppy Mattthews
The green fields of England are being replaced at a fast rate by hundreds of new housing developments. Reports say that 3 million homes must be built in England over the next 20 years to solve the ‘housing crisis’, with the government planning to build 250,000 homes by 2022. In 2018-2019 the number of new homes built in England hit its highest level in almost 30 years. This project explores a number of different housing developments around Cheltenham, focusing on the impact that these new housing developments have on the land they occupy and the communities that surround them.
47
Root to Home Chloe Southworth
When the British government enforced the UK lockdown on the 23rd March 2020, I moved from my university accommodation back to my family home in Preston. ‘Roots to Home’ explores my time with my family during this global pandemic. Depicting how I am learning about them and developing our relationships with none of the distractions of daily life. I have lived in this family home since I was six years old with my Mum, Grandad and Nan. My Nan has Alzhimers and whilst she is not immune from coronavirus itself, she is immune from the panic and stress that is infecting the world right now. This is my family’s journey through our lockdown period. A moment in time where the world stopped, yet we stayed together.
50
51
54
A Rubbish Collection Charlotte Parnell
Rubbish collection is not a document that questions the issue od littering. Instead it is a minimal and conceptual visual narrative that questions the very notion of a new archeology. Each object is imaged in its new surroundings, with it gradually and slowly becoming part of the environment that envelopes it.
55
Brandan Saviour Brandan Saviour Brandan Saviour is a Malaysian photographer who went from shooting street photography, portraiture and documentaries before deciding to pursue editorial fashion photography. Since coming to study in the UK, he’s engaged with modelling agencies and make-up artists to collaborate on a variety of concepts.
58
59
62
UK Detention Centres Charlotte Starbuck
Britain is the only European country without a statutory time limit on detention, yet has one of the largest systems in Europe. IRCs are “short-term� holding facilities built to hold inmates for up to 72 hours. Some of these individuals, that haven’t committed crimes, have been held in these conditions worse than prisons for nearly 3 years. Below each image are the names, age and dates of those who have lost their lives in detention centres across the UK.
63
66
Nights James Smith
Consisting of a series of bleak landscapes, human elements and obscure details found among the Scottish mountains, ‘Nights’ is a poetic exploration of the solitude and isolation found within such a harsh environment. Through it’s imagery ‘Nights’ holds a sense of unease and mystery, hinting at the human relationship with the land and the people who seek peace within its grasp.
67
