Finished Works
2023
This is a collection of finished works from my Bachelor of Visual Arts degree for 2023.
This portrait reflects the 1610 painting Self-Portrait as a Lute Player painted by Artemisia Gentileschi. We chose this piece as the painting is a self-portrait which at the time was rare for a woman to paint, much less a highly skilled one.
As we wanted to take a more modern approach we thought about how as a woman in that time period you were to be seen a certain way and never really be able to relax.
This is why not only did we change the models outfit to be modernised but also put in a relaxed approach to the work.
Self-Portrait as a Lute Player with a Modern Twist
Jade Maloyd, AJ Simpson, Diana Seepha and Della Chester
March 2023
This series of works came from my exploration with photographic film, the home development process, working with large scale images and different paper types.
For me it was an interesting experiment as I am treating the hands as a body. Curving and moving around and with the objects, the hands not just to be used but to activate the space with the photographic objects. I wanted them to be as large as I could so they could reflect the comparison of the body not just being another tiny part of a photograph but actually celebrated and focussed on.
The images were taken on 35 B&W film Pentax MZ-5 developed scanned and printed A1 on newsprint.
A Celebration of Process
This is a combination of digital and analogue photographic process, thus creating an installation that has both moving and still images.
Movement back, fourth and around, the pull and push can be felt through the work as the hands that reflect a body dance with the camera. Exploring it for the first time with curiosity yet familiarity. They had done this dance before but not quite like this.
The reflection between digital, analogue, past and present is a reflection of my exploration into what it means to be a film photographer today. Where our place sits in the industry or with general public. Through the use of still image, the video that I created of, use of size and placement the work boldly reflects these intentions and is helping me in a personal way to figure out where I stand in my practice and where I stand after university.
Through choice of paper, print size and editing of the still images the strip of photographs immerses the viewer, inviting to move their body around the work. The size to feel the need to come close and inspect ever scratch, spec of dust or nail.
How Do I Move
A Celebration of Photographic Elements
Working with film has two key elements, Photographing and development. Through working with light you are able to capture (photograph) the essence of the world around you and develop into something permanent as beautiful.
In this work my aim is to unlock the light that is used to capture the image. Through experimentation with projection and different transparent paper, I created a work that reflects these ideas. The projector speaking to the camera, the light from the projector reflecting the expose of the film to the sun and the intended target. Of course the film strips printed on the transparent paper in reflection to the use of film in the photographic process. All together creating a loop of photographic processes and the elements that contribute and celebrate the final result/work.
How I See
Here you can see different components of a film photographic practice used to create a work that reflects the passage of time. The analogue is mixed with the digital ways of working to draw out this intention.
Through use of speed, photographic framing and scale the viewer is compelled to step into the world where time ands speed is constantly changing around them. Looking for stability only for 9t to be pulled from them a second later. The hanging film casting a shadow over the work creating the only sense of normality in a constantly changing landscape.
Safe Again
Loss is something we will all encounter at some point in our lives, in such situations we may return to the safety of the familiar. We may have the need to block out everything around us and just focus on one thing at a time. Repeating that one thing, that one task or thought a dependable consent in a suddenly chaos of unknown. Nothing surprising, nothing loud or over stimulating just the same though over and over again until you feel safe again.
Through repetition, choice of location and film type these things are clearly reflected in the work. The aim to give the viewer something that we can all recognise and have some memories tied to. Able to reach back into their past and bring comfort of the times gone.
Current Spaces
Auckland University of Technology BVA Graduate Exhibition, 2023
Here I explore the process of film photography, and works to create deeper connections with my art through acknowledging the step-by-step journey that produced Current Spaces. Current Spaces combines digital and analogue photographic processes to create three sequenced projections, allowing me to develop a deeper connection with the work.
When viewing the work, dance is what comes to mind. The images swaying back and forth of each image jumping from one to another. Light reflects, absorbs and intertwines with the darkness. Absence where the mind craves detail. The sway of the waves rolling you into the work while the leaves fluttering captures and projects your emotions on a wall for all to see. A world so void of colour yet still full of life. Contrasting and fluctuating constantly, you try to grasp a fragment of stability, only to be pulled under again by another wave as the clouds fly by. Time not still, and still not placed. Untouched by major events, the constant flow of traffic or the mundane content of life.