Sixth and Seventh dummy book

In response to all the feedback I've received concerning my dummy books, I've made two different dummy books, so as to see which approach works the best.

Book Six

For this dummy book I've changed the font, its size and positioning to the bottom right, in order to emulate the intimate nature of the project, as well as symbolising that what is hidden away or not seen, much like the images in the book.

I also changed the beginning of the sequence, so the two images shown here better reflect one another.

But overall I've changed the layout of the images to make them look more dynamic in a portrait format, making some picture smaller to create intimacy, whilst others are made larger to create a larger impact.

Book Seven

For my seventh dummy book- I made the book A5 so it could be more intimate, allowing the viewer to come in closer to the work. Apart from this, I changed the font and title to Game of Life, which links in with the board game in one of the images in the sequence, and how life nowadays feels like its a game, in addition to coming to the realisation now that life has always been a game, even when I was younger.

Furthermore, I've laid out the images slightly different from Book Six by making the similar sized images the same, and I've moved the undeveloped photographs around to be used as transitions between sections: the first transition goes from archive images and objects of a seemingly happy childhood, to modern pictures that explore displacement, identity and not knowing what will happen next (which are represented through the grey photos).

Section depicting seemingly happy childhood

After the undeveloped photo, it transitions into modern photographs

And the last transition goes back to the archive and objects, examining the goings on of my younger self, ending on a perhaps bittersweet note.

It was great to develop the book further and think how I can make the sequence better, by being objective about the work and see how I can refine the flow and narrative of the book.

Book making workshop and dummy book feedback from Richard Higginbottom

For Richard Higginbottom's workshop we looked at photographer's dummy books, so as to get ideas for our own books. He also showed us a presentation discussing how to make a binding book ourselves, as well as the definition of a photobook, with quotes from Marcel Feil stating "the selection and order of the images, the chosen format, the way in which the images are arranged on the page, how they relate to each other... is all an inextricable part of an artistic process that is both complex and intriguing." This is very interesting to consider when composing the sequence.

Richard also gave us advice for our books, like:

• Make a sequence that surprises, challenges, puzzles and asks more questions than give answers.
• Consider rhythm and flow of work. Sequencing photographs is like composing music.
• Make the edit and the sequence, and then do it again and again, because it can always be done better.
• And finally, when you have something you really think works, make a book dummy which is as close as possible to the final book. This will give a sense of the outcome of the work on both a visual and tactile level.

Later, after making my fifth dummy book at university, I showed the finished book to Richard, and he said that the images are really good, but I need to consider more about the book. For instance- he said to think about what book size would be ideal for this project, and what does the size infer (A5 might be seen as more intimate, like a small book hidden away in a loft).

Furthermore, he stated to "play with the layout more, like putting images together", to think about image size and what they mean, as well as playing with a portrait orientation for the book, to see how it looks.

Finally, to clarify what the book is about, he said to include a foreword/conclusion or a written piece of work.

Overall- it was good to get advice from someone who hasn't seen my work in a book format before, especially from someone who is knowledgeable about photobooks. Because of this- I will use the advice to develop the book further.

Fifth dummy book

After Rich recommended to refine the book, I used my last dummy books as a template and laid the work out in the same order, since I've received good feedback on the sequence.

For the layout- I've kept it simple for now by placing each image on separate pages, and pairing the conceptual images together, as I wanted to see if the images worked well when presented in a complete book (whilst experimenting in an A4 landscape format, since my final piece last year was presented as an A4 portrait).

I chose the title Dario, Not Dario because it links with one of the images shown here, as well connecting to the idea of not being sure who I am, due to not knowing what I want to do or what will happen in the future.

Overall it was fun to organise the photographs in a cohesive manner and I look forward to what it'll look like when I print it at university; this is because they have the facilities to create a more complete piece of work, compared to my last dummy books which were inconsistent, page orientation wise.

Meeting with Rich

After the presentation- I had a meeting with Rich and showed the latest dummy books I have made; he thought that the sequence is coming together now, but mentioned to start refining the book more now, by making the pages the same size, and to consider layout, title, text etc., to see how well the sequence flows as a more cohesive piece.

Rich also presented Paul Graham's The Whiteness of the Whale for layout, which contains his American trilogy American Night, A Shimmer of Possibility and The Present. You can tell that  every image has been considered to flow naturally to the next image, with each layout befitting their subject matter.

The Whiteness of the Whale

2015

Another artist Rich introduced was Lorenzo Vitturi's layout in his book Dalston Anatomy, where it seems the visual style is chaotic, but the layout and sequence makes the photographs complement each other.

Dalston Anatomy

2013

An aspect Rich wanted me to consider about the work is to brainstorm key words of what the book is about, and from there I'll find the title for the work, as that can help focus and capture the book's theme.

Finally, he asked me questions to ponder upon, which will be important for the presentation as they may ask me similar questions, like why haven't I included myself in the current images? And why have I used a certain amount of archive imagery in the project?

In conclusion, considering all this in mind will let me look at the work from an objective perspective, allowing the images, layout and sequence speak to me, as well as looking at other influences that will refine this project even further. And thinking upon the questions asked to me will let me think inwardly and consider all the choices I've made for this project, whether I was conscious of them or not.

References:

• The Whiteness of the Whale: http://blog.photoeye.com/2015/10/book-review-whiteness-of-whale.html
• Dalston Anatomy: http://www.hiwaterfall.com/store/books/spbh/dalston-anatomy-lorenzo-vitturi/

Reminder presentation and tips for our presentations

At the start of the day we were shown past student blogs, to see the difference of what they did with their blogs, and how they laid out their websites. 

We were also given a recap of what deadlines there are this term. For instance:

• 14th March- there will be an interim exhibition at university, showing our work one last time for feedback in an exhibition format. 
• 11th May- it'll be our final submission for our CRS and exhibition materials, like paper type we might be using or certain frames for our images.
• 21st May- we will be showing this years work in presentation formats, which should last for twenty minutes, no more or less.

For the presentation, they gave us tips on how to have a good presentation; they told us to read aloud what we're going to say in the presentations to ourselves, to see how it'll sound. They also said to time it so it falls in the boundaries of twenty minutes, and to practice in front of friends and family, so we become more confident when presenting in front of people.

It was very helpful for giving us tips on how to do well in our presentations and reminding us all vital dates for this term; because of this, we can plan what we need to do and work backwards from the dates. 

Individual tutorial with Liam

In my meeting with Liam I showed him the dummy books I've done so far; he said the work has really come along, and was able to grasp the current theme by looking at them, which I was very much glad for. He also stated that the line between my images and the archive is blurred, which makes the work interesting and keeps the viewer guessing as to what the next image will be.

However, we discussed ways to develop the book, like re-photographing the photocopy images of my old school books, so that it is a bit clearer, which will let the viewer to see the detail in the drawing and colouring lines, for example.

Examples of photocopied images used in the dummy books

Whilst looking, he got a sense of sexuality that was coming through the images, which I didn't notice and might be interesting to consider if I were to develop the project afterwards; at this moment I wouldn't want it to be the main focus of the project, since it isn't about that and there are other parts to myself than just my sexuality.

This links in with Liam's question during the meeting, when he saw the Italian badge grouping, and asked if I would take photographs of my family in Italy; as previously stated, it is part of who I am but it isn't a key aspect of what this work is about.

Furthermore- he said to consider making the undeveloped photos act as markers in the project, separating and differentiating between the images by spreading them across the page full bleed. And as a challenge, he mentioned to narrow the images down to twelve that convey the main essence of the project, and bring in other images to expand it.

Finally, Liam thought the last image in the sequence was too final, and thought it might be better to make the ending more ambiguous by finishing on a written note or book.

Final image in sequence

Overall it was very stimulating to be given all this feedback which will help my work and keep pushing it forward, in particular the challenge of narrowing the images down, since there are a lot of images that convey the project's current intentions. But this will help strengthen the work as a whole by using strong images and supplement them with photographs that will connect them all together.

Third and Fourth dummy book

From the feedback I got last week about my second dummy book- I gathered all the work I've done again and tried to think of how to expand it, creating two dummy books in the process: one including conceptual images and another that is more focused and refined.

Book Three

Book Three sequence

For this book I incorporated images that didn't develop correctly, which break up the images; the images always reminded me of a static TV screen, or like a mind that has gone blank, creating an unknown quality and ambivalence to the work, especially when reflecting upon the past and future which links with the theme of the project.

Book Four

Book Four sequence

And in this sequence I simply refined and rearranged the images, to make it more direct, without any images that look out of place.

In conclusion, it was good to experiment and advance the project along, in which I slowly get closer to finalising the project.

First group meeting with Yan Preston

After explaining what my project was about and the intentions behind my current dummy book to Yan Preston, she and Rich thought the sequence worked really well and that what I was conveying in the book (the sense of displacement) was coming through; I was relieved because I was worried that I was seeing into the images what I wanted to see, rather than what was actually depicted, which was mentioned in my CRS meeting with Rich.

Consequently- they told me to explore book making with various paper types, book layouts etc., and to look at other photobooks and sequences. For example, they mentioned When I Was Six (2015) by Phillip Toledano, which explores his sister's death when he was six years old, and depicts someone who was gone but very much alive through photographs and belongings (similar to my theme of displacement).

When I Was Six

There is a mixture of items that belonged to her, and pictures of imaginary landscapes that the photographer created, in order to "save him" as a child, due to his fascination with space and astronomy. In doing this project, it became not only a study on his parents and sister, but about himself and his place during this event in his life; this is reflected in the different imagery that contrast and complement each other.

Speaking of which, the conceptual photographs might be interesting to implement and contrast in my own work, like I mentioned in my meeting with Alex.

Also, because I used film photographs that were mistakes, Rich said it would be interesting to include more images like these within the sequence, to see how they look.

Another comment Rich mentioned was to look back at my notes from last year, to see how I approached making the dummy books and the process I went through, since I did really well in that module.

In conclusion, the meeting was very helpful as it gave me a lot to think about when it came to refining my work, and it has given me newfound motivation for the work, as I now know that I am on the right path to do the project justice. Therefore, I will look at different photobooks to become inspired, in addition to refining the sequences.


Reference:

• When I Was Six: http://www.bjp-online.com/2015/03/phil-toledano-when-i-was-six/

Second dummy book

For my second dummy book, I collected all the work I've done thus far, so as to make connections between them all. This included digital, film (from my disposable camera shoots) and archive imagery.

What I found between all the photographs was that they are seemingly mundane imagery, especially that of the archive. However, they also depict something that used to be there but has now gone, conveying a sense of displacement (which reflects how I feel in my life). As a result, I tried to form a narrative that reflected a sense of displacement both in my current life, and in the archive images, to show that everything isn't as fond as I remember.

I did four different versions of the sequence, with the middle section changing in each iteration; the final sequence I chose was less constricted to grouping all the images together that came from the same location, and was more fluid (which is what Rich mentioned for my work to be in my CRS meeting, to not confine my work so early on).

The chosen sequence

It was really good to see all the work I've done so far and create a new narrative, since it has given my project a new focus after I felt I had lost the core theme of what the work was about. Because of this, I will continue to develop and refine this new theme.

Group peer review and feedback on own work

Later on in the day we presented new work on the wall, and were put into groups, to access and give feedback to our respective group's images. We were given questions which allowed us to give meaningful feedback to help everyone, and wrote it down on post-it notes instead of relaying it; as a result, the activity was quicker than the last time we gave group feedback, and allowed us to think more about the realm of photography in order to help people.

Own work and post-it notes feedback

Despite this, the feedback I was given wasn't very helpful, as it either didn't relate to my project, or it told me things I already know; for instance, I know the initial two images didn't really relate to the rest of the sequence, but they were there as placeholders, to present the idea of having conceptual photography to help convey the sense of purposeless that I currently feel, whilst researching ways of presenting this.

Also- the mention of Richard Billingham was interesting, but it didn't seem relevant to my work (in particular Ray is'n Witz), as his images display a gritty and surreal environment not many people may have seen before, compared to my project which is an inward study of how I currently feel compared to my younger self. Nonetheless, there is a similarity between his work and the archive imagery in my project, due to the snapshot aesthetic that depicts seemingly normal or not normally photographed family situations.

Ray is'n Witz

1996

And the size difference between my images was due to some images coming from different shoots; however it may be something that may be deliberate once I have focused on the final sequence.

Overall, I'll carry on developing the work by doing what I said in my meeting with Alex: gather all the work I have so far and see what new connections I can make.

Reference:

• Ray is'n Witz: https://artphotobook.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/richard-billingham-ray-isn-witz-1996/

Tim Brown presentation

At the start of our day, Tim Brown gave a presentation and advice about what to do when approaching the exhibition, considering he was in our positions two years ago.

Out of the information given, he mentioned to work in parallel with making new work and sequencing current work you have, in order to stay consistent with the project. He also mentioned to order small test prints, experimenting with paper type and colour balance/ saturation, and to experiment with layouts when presenting the work in the exhibit, to see what is appropriate for your work.

Finally, he recommended to write a catalogue statement for the project of various renditions: one thirty words and another hundred words depending on where the work is presented; the artist statement should open questions for the work, rather than close it off by simply stating what the work is.

Because of all this information, it was very helpful relaying what we need to do with the final submission, which should hopefully take some pressure off if I plan accordingly.

Tutorial Meeting with Alex Beldea

When having a meeting with Alex Beldea to discuss the latest shoot for the project- alongside the rest of my work- he said that the work was well composed and successfully convey my current intentions with the project (which is to portray the relationship between the space at home and the memories that come with it).

However, to focus the project even further, he suggested to portray a sense of confusion or purposeless, in order to fit with the theme of how I am feeling currently in my life; this would contrast against the memories that come with the archive imagery. I suggested composing conceptual photographs to illustrate this, which would compare and complement the other imagery.

He also mentioned retaking some images of objects in the attic or focusing on certain aspects of the space around me; examples being a closer shot of the sleeping bag in the attic (perhaps obscuring the object in the process) and a close up or far away shot of the kitchen.

Another aspect to work on is to make links with objects in the archive images and objects in the attic, even to reference them by linking them with similar objects, so as to not make the work too obvious.

Therefore, I will look through all the work I've done so far, make links between them, and bind them into a dummy book, to see where the project currently is.

Speaking of books, Alex introduced me to George Georgiou Last Stop; though the subject matter is different from my project, the concertina book proved very interesting, by being able to make connections between the images by folding certain pages over.

I feel much more confident in the project after this meeting, now that I have a clear idea what I need to do to develop the work.

Reference:

• Last Stop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L_xvf1s04Y&t=11s

Thirteenth Shoot

After reading the books my tutors mentioned to me in my meetings, I decided to focus more on the relationship between the archive image as a picture as well as an object, and my relationship with the rooms at home, and the surrounding space.

Consequently- I searched for images that I thought would be interesting to reproduce, to show the passage of time and the differences with how my life once was when I was younger, to what it is currently. For example, Image 5 contains an archive photograph that contains life and activity, with the posters placed on the wall and other memorabilia; contrast that with the modern picture that is stark, muted, and in the end melancholic, with only a dressing gown to suggest human life. However, the evidence of hands in the archive image suggests trying to be noticed, but failing, thus blurring my memories of my younger life being better than it is currently.

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Overall I am happy with how this shoot went, as it conveyed my current intentions which will help develop the project. Next time I will gather all the work I've done and see what new connections I can make, to see where I can go from here. I may also compose new shoots that feature other found objects in my attic, or that expand upon the relationship with my surroundings.