When I started this degree in 2014 it was with the aim to achieve a number of very personal goals. Being self-taught my view on photography was very singular, I was a landscape photographer pure and simple. I never envisaged moving beyond that to explore the possibility of providing a voice through images of a community. Sustaining your Practice (SYP) has formed the last twelve months of my BA journey and there have been several challenges and changes along the way. Moving to a fully electronic submission format during the Body of Work course meant that I had to transfer to a method of displaying my project away from my original intention of submitting prints. For me photography is about the physical print, but I think the changes I have made still offers the viewer a full understanding of the narrative to this project.
This course has given me the opportunity to really focus and research a personal project for the last three years, with the last year concentrating on disseminating my work out to the market. One regret I still have is not using my medium format camera, however this would have resulted in a very different narrative. My aim was to be an observer. To discover how these women who called Ngawi home live and survive in the isolation and environmental conditions.
This project started as an area of research into rural mental health within New Zealand and to explore how other photographers used the camera as a tool to highlight the condition. Various techniques were used from self-portraits to landscapes, from surrealism to photovoice. My main aim was to blend in, to document and not disturb or influence. I know that is in fact not possible and the images I have created are biased, but by spending time to get to know these women friendships were formed and the barriers were lowered. I was able to blend into the background as they went about their lives.
Prior to even picking up my camera I researched many photographers that produced work in a similar vain to this project. For example, Adrian Hollister who photographed the remote community of Loch Ewe in the highlands of Scotland, Chris Killip and the community of Skinningrove and Tess Bunney who observes the lives of people in her environmental portraiture. All work that could be related to any community around the world and so I felt I needed to look a little closer to home and at the work of Odette England, West Coast photographer Julia Johnston and Fiona Clark, all of which gave a unique way of looking at the Kiwi way of life. The making do, patching up and living with what life and mother nature throws at you.
It was important to not just document the lives of these women but to show how they were overlooked as many would just drive through the village to see the cray boats, tractors and then on to visit the lighthouse and seal colony. To form the whole narrative, the images needed to capture elements of the location/space as well as the ‘male’ aspects, thus giving a balanced perspective to the project.
Through various student forums (Level 2/3 Student Group, Rest of the World Group, L3 Support Group and SYP Network) and professional reviews I received comments and feedback on the various book designs. This process allowed me to understand how to prepare for reviews and to also analyse and review the feedback received. One of the most valuable aspects of this part of the course has been how to identify and bring out my personal voice in this project and how to grow and develop my future practice. Producing images is just a small part of this whole process. Editing the images to be used in either a book or exhibition to tell a story or document a cause is such a powerful aspect of photography.
Working with a fellow student, and a professional author on the collaborative pieces and the designer for the final book has helped me to grow as a photographer to explore and experience the whole process of producing a photobook. Understanding that it isn’t just a case of putting images on a page but creating a narrative around a project, editing and reediting, research and gaining feedback has been so important to the journey to completion. To set the scene with the written text but without overpowering the images, letting the viewer form their own opinion and making the final design an interactive part of the story was a challenge but one that achieve the best results for this project.
For me photography is about the physical print, seeing the results on a wall either at home or in an exhibition. This project gave me the opportunity to return to the darkroom and complete my first solo exhibition. I did not want to just produce inkjet digital prints but create images that were bespoke using an alternative printing method from digital negatives. Research and the opportunity to attend a workshop in Christchurch led me to platinum and palladium printing. Not the cheapest of alternative methods but one that offered the individuality I wanted. The process was not without its challenges, and several had to be repeated, but in the end twenty prints were produced, matted and either framed or boxed for the exhibition.
The production of a solo exhibition drew on several of my other professional skills such as communication, planning, co-ordination, and procurement of all the necessary materials. Once a location had been found, which was almost twelve months in advance, I needed to plan back from that date to ensure all the prints were completed (adding in contingency for any mistakes and ordering chemicals), matt board and frames cut or procured, and the marketing agreed with the gallery.
The design of the gallery was extremely simple – the classic ‘white box’ apart from planning for doors and windows. Change-over time between exhibitions was limited so I needed to go prepared so arranging the layout prior to the day of hanging was critical. I had seen on several on-line talks the use of a maquette – a small physical representation of the space. I contacted the gallery owner for the dimensions and made the scaled version of the space along with copies of my images. Initial edit was via the physical prints I had produced on a table and on a wall, placing the scaled versions on to the maquette gave a whole new perspective. Using the model allowed me to really visualise how the different layout designs would work – or not, within the space. This technique is something I will continue to use in my future practice.
SYP has prepared me to move forward with my practice. Skills have been gained that allow me to explore different areas of the profession and how to promote my work. I still struggle with entering competitions and don’t think that this is something that I will explore further. I would like to undertake another exhibition and following the success of selling the book and the feedback I have received I think producing a book or zine is something I would like to explore again in the future. I aim to continue my studies and include more alternative printing methods in my projects.
Michele Usher 