Portfolio Review

On Friday 31st August I had a Portfolio Review with Julia Bunnemann from Photoworks, she joined Photoworks as a curator in 2018 and has curated a number of shows since. We spoke about my current, and past projects and what I plan to do next.

I created a 12-page portfolio with a total of 12 images that came from two projects, one from second year, and the other from third year. I felt as though the projects tied in together well as they both had almost the same subject matter – the mind. Here are some of the images I included within my portfolio review, the first two are from my current project, Phobos, and the second two are from my second-year project, Here I Find Myself [Insert Emotion].

Overall, the Portfolio Review was very successful, and I hope to have gained a new contact that will help me greatly in the future. I have been given new ideas and great advice that will also help me with the work I create and be able to display it in a way that I did not think I could do before.

Portfolio Review Reflection

On Friday 31st August I had a Portfolio Review with Julia Bunnemann from Photoworks, she joined Photoworks as a curator in 2018 and has curated a number of shows since. We spoke about my current, and past projects and what I plan to do next.

I created a 12-page portfolio with a total of 12 images that came from two projects, one from second year, and the other from third year. I felt as though the projects tied in together well as they both had almost the same subject matter – the mind. Here are some of the images I included within my portfolio review, the first two are from my current project, Phobos, and the second two are from my second-year project, Here I Find Myself [Insert Emotion].

Agora

Spheco

Here I Find Myself [Insert Emotion]

Here I Find Myself [Insert Emotion]

We first spoke about my current project, Phobos. Julia asked why I chose the black and white images over the colour.

My answer: I chose black and white over the colour images because I found there were less distractions. The colour took the emotion away and made the images less unsettling to look at because the warm colours of the skin and objects overpowered the fear. The work is also inspired by the works of Alfred Hitchcock, and I find that the black and white only adds suspense, much like his work. There is not much you can look at to distract yourself from the phobia and general discomfort of the images, as the black and white draws your attention to the main focus more than the coloured images did.

She then asked me why I had to change my project to this one and why I chose to do this for my project.

My answer: I had to change my initial idea due to Covid-19 as I was not able to get the materials, I needed to continue to build the models I was creating. But when I had to change my project idea, I had only made a few images and I quite liked how I had names them and why they were named what they were. For example, one image was called Thalassa, the Greek word for ocean, and the fear I was representing was Thalassophobia, the fear of deep and open water, so Thalassa + Phobos = Thalassophobia. I found this quite interesting and realised that if I called a project ‘Phobos’, I could then name the images after the first half of the fear, so when they’re put together, it will give the viewer the name of the phobia.

I found it really interesting and helpful being able to describe my project to someone who knew nothing about it. I was given new ideas and ways to tie the two projects together and how to add to the current project. We discussed my idea of creating a short film in the style of Maya Deren. It would be better to have only music in the background, this way I can build suspense in the right places, especially if I compose my own music for the short film. I could create the film and have the person featured face their fears, this could be in a hallucinatory way, or all within the mind. I found this incredibly interesting to discuss as it gave me new ways to adapt the project even further.

After a discussion about the project ‘Phobos’, we moved onto my second year project Weird and Wonderful, which I named ‘Here I Find Myself [Insert Emotion]’ She asked what the project is about and why I made it.

My answer: Weird and Wonderful is a project about mental health. Many people suffer with anxiety and mental health, but many people feel as though they are alone on this journey and that nobody else understands. I decided to create this project to show people how one may feel, this project is inspired by personal experiences.

During this project, I chose for all of the images to feature a person covered in a sheet, this represents the thoughts inside the mind, they are unclear and you can’t see who is telling you the thoughts inside your head, hence why the sheet shows nothing but a ghost-like figure.

I decided to take the images in different locations, some of which were in a more eerie location that was open and isolating. Other images were taken in the dark. These all represent different emotions, what emotion they represent is up to you. It will depend on your personal experiences and your mind, everyone else may interpret the image differently.

Julia found the topic really interesting and we then discussed the idea about combining the two projects, as the face being covered by various objects – a large sheet, or something more constricting like cling film or water, is another fear in itself. The images gave her the feeling of claustrophobia, the fear of tight or crowded places. I agreed with this, as some of the images do have the same feel as the images in the current project have.

One image that caught her eye was one taken at Brentor Church in Tavistock.

She was mesmerised by the floating sheet and asked how I managed to achieve such an image. I talked her through the steps I took – I had someone stand underneath a sheet, but the wind was quite strong, and it made the sheet blow around quite a lot, exposing the feet. So, when I was editing the image, I simply removed the legs and feet of the person stood underneath the sheet. After this conversation, it gave me the idea of doing a project inspired by this image. The way the sheet stays in the shape of a person, but there is no evidence of a person there, makes the image quite haunting, yet interesting.

Finally, we discussed my plans for the future. I told her that I plan to build an exhibition in Bath with a friend, and I hope to achieve this easily as I have built a range of good contacts within Bath, for example, the former Major of Bath who helps out with all of the art festivals in and around the City of Bath. I gave my idea of creating an exhibition space that resembles a maze, this way the viewers would have to navigate their way around the images and be faced with dead ends, this would perhaps confuse and disoriented the viewer more, much like the images could. This would hopefully help me in achieving my goal of having the viewer feel more empathetic and understanding towards those who suffer with phobias.

After telling Julia my idea, she suggested that I have the room completely dark, but have the images gently illuminated, only enough for the viewer to see what the image is. I found this idea extremely interesting, much like the maze, it would disorientate the viewer more, but in a more suspenseful and fearful way, because another fear that affects a lot of people, is the fear of the dark, as well as this, I was told to include the models I create, as they gave the images more narrative and they were also very interesting on their own. If I am to go forward with this exhibition, Julia has told me to contact her so I can ask questions and help with the space. This would be incredibly helpful to have someone with so much experience to assist me with the exhibition space.

Overall, the Portfolio Review was very successful, and I hope to have gained a new contact that will help me greatly in the future. I have been given new ideas and great advice that will also help me with the work I create and be able to display it in a way that I did not think I could do before.