A Central Theme or a Signature Style?

Assignment 1 talks about getting out there and taking photos to develop your ideas in a visual sense, rather than, at this stage, thinking too hard about what the end product might be. I am a little guilty of this pre-planning as I have been thinking about what my Major Project should be about since I started my last Level 2 course 18 months ago! I now need to empty some of those thoughts and let my ideas grow.

At the moment I am structuring things around a central theme; that of how we engage with and value land (as discussed in an earlier post), through a series of projects but with each one tackling a different aspect and potentially approached and presented in a different style. My initial concern has been that each of these projects might be founded in different genres of style thereby diluting the impact and message of whom I am as a photographer.

I am, however, also reminded of an exhibition I went to at the Baltic in Gateshead about 18 months ago showing Mark Wallinger’s work. His theme was about ‘order and chaos’, which he tackled with 4 or 5 completely different installations. This added different perspectives to this singular theme and thus allowed the audience to fully engage with the subject matter. With a little further research, I came across an article from The Guardian which was based on an interview with Mark Wallinger ( http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/sep/29/mark-wallinger-life-in-art/print ). The author of a book of Wallinger’s work, Martin Herbert, was quoted as saying of Wallinger, “his work is tied together by consistent, if evolving, thematic concerns“, and described, “his long-term resistance [to adopting] a signature style.”

From this, I am a little more at ease about my idea of concentrating on a central theme delivered in a variety of ways, as opposed to developing a singular concept that is delivered through a singular genre of style.

For now I want to focus on developing a set of projects associated with how we value land. I am, however, open to change as this work progresses and, who knows, I could end up with a single project if it ended up growing brighter than any of the other projects in the series. For now I am reassured of the potential for success irrespective of the final path that I follow.

Reflecting on my Style

I wanted to write this personal reflection on my style and approach before I fully engage with this project. This may of course change over time but I just wanted to set out my current thinking so that I could use it as a milestone from which to compare in the future.

Just recently I had a day of photography with no specific intentions in mind which reminded me of how I can enjoy photography for its own sake, and not just for the photographs that it can produce. It gives me the excuse and motivation to engage with land and takes me to a creative place that my normal, everyday life does not allow. I physically go to places that I would not normally consider, and discover things that I might normally ignore. This process of discovery is refreshing, uplifting and enjoyable and something that I want to incorporate into my photographic practice to ensure a longer term engagement.

I am also mindful of my preference for being what I call “a realist rather than a surrealist” when describing my approach & style. I need to appreciate and take advantage of this, rather than spending too much time pondering on areas I am less comfortable with.

In a similar light, I also know that I am more motivated by things that interact with the mind rather than emotions. With the ability of art to express emotions, thoughts and ideas, I have to admit a leaning towards these latter aspects of art, but perhaps without being too dismissive of my emotional connections and responses to things as well.

And so, if I am to sustain my practice in the longer term then I need to find an approach to this Major Project that enables me to engage with the land, is focussed on reality, and which can potentially stimulate the mind, but without being too dismissive of other approaches to self-expression.

Hopefully, the concept of my Major Project which I have explained in an earlier post will fit with this approach.

Embarking on a Major Project

The aim of this Major Project will be to investigate the different ways in which we value and engage in land. The supporting argument to this is that we often hear about, and are shown images of, man’s detrimental impact on land and how we need to change our ways in order to save the planet. The problem with this environmental concern is that the issue can seem too big for the individual to make an impact, and images are often of places too remote to seem familiar, therefore, we can become passive towards our own approach to environmental conservation. This project aims to take a look at both the positive and negative ways in which we value and engage with land in order to challenge the viewer to think more deeply about why we should value land for what it is, as well as appreciate it more for the things that it can do for us. The hope being that the more we appreciate land as instrumental and intrinsic to our everyday lives then the greater attachment we will personally give to its protection and conservation.