Commission: Critical Appraisal

From the commission briefing I had two initial ideas based on the theme of waste however one concept stood out more for me. I began to consider the idea of materialistic waste first inspired by Adam Fuss’s ‘My Ghost’ images who used the technique of photogramming to expose items of clothing; the result was very ethereal as the clothes looked faded as if in memory. I was also inspired by Riitta Paivalainen’s ‘Imaginary Meetings’ series where clothes are frozen in a position, as if it contains a memory; I was also enthused by the way the clothes look isolated in white. 

'My Ghost'

'Imaginary Meetings'

I consider how I would represent this theme and as I wanted it to be quite personal due to my attachment to materialistic items I looking through clothes in the attic and through photo albums where I discovered some the clothes were captured in a photograph, in time.  This led me to research the photographer Irina Werning’s series ‘Take us Back to the Future’ who recreates scenes from people’s pasts; I like the way she explores the effect of time and also comments on our societies obsession with nostalgia & possession, a need for connection to memories and family. 

'Sarah and Jim 1988 & 2011 Boston'

I then look at Melissa Moore’s ‘Plas Teg’ series where she explores the idea of abandoned space & belongings. Moore creates a sense of stillness & silence, making her own memories through wearing other’s clothing exploring the concepts of abandonment and waste, she is frequently faceless allowing the audience to relate.

'Untitled' from the series 'Plas Teg'

I read a book called ‘My Mother’s Wedding Dress’ which made me think about outfits only ever worn once in a person’s lifetime eg. a wedding dress, then kept as memory which leads to materialistic waste. Justine Picardie explores themes of hoarding, keepsakes, memories and traces in her book but overall discusses the idea of attachment to belongings and female aspirations  past down from mother to daughter.  

I became interested in exploring the idea of abandonment further through researching the works of Yuki Onodera & Danny Treacy; although very different topics, both portray this idea of isolation & detachment through the way that the clothes hover within an undefined space. I was particularly interested in Treacy’s work looking at thrown away items of clothing which he has fashioned in to new outfits and worn; identity-less he allows people to explore the clothes more- noticing stains, rips, the evidence of use. 

Them #8. 2005

Portraits de fripes n°3, 1994

I was stimulated by the dark space surrounding Treacy in his work so I researched the work of Simon Ward & Gerhard Richter; Simon Ward explores the theme of mortality through the process of scanning his deceased pets. 

'Bobsicle

The effect this procedure has is eye-catching, the way the animals float, isolated, lost from memory; it also seems to reflect the space that they will end up very similar to the way our clothes end up in the dark spaces of attics or garages. Gerhard Richter’s ‘Betty’ creates a sense of expectation, his daughter featureless looks back at one of his monochrome paintings, looking at what she aspires to be in the future. Certain items of clothing that are frequently kept such as christening dresses & wedding dresses are highlighting the expectations of future generations to achieve. 

'Betty'

From this research a couple of key visual references stood out for me, the way items of clothes hang bodyless within a space, unattainable & the use of darkness to create emptiness & undefined space or time which I feel represents my ideas of materialistic & aspirational waste through the way clothing is kept and stored away, unused. 

I narrowed my clothes choices down to very important events in my families lives, my Nanna’s function dress worn once in the 1960s, my mother’s wedding dress worn once in the 1980s, my christening dress worn once in the 1990s and my sister’s prom dress worn once in 2000s. I really liked the way that they represented three generations of females in my family line building this sense of waste within just one family. These are all moments in life that most women aspire to achieve and therefore allows the audience to relate to the images.

I experimented with ways I could make the items of clothing stand bodyless by using mannequins (with black material to blend it into the background), light-duty wire and bubble wrap to pad. 

After doing this I felt my visual interpretation of my concept would be very strong; I proceeded to do my shoot in the studio. I played around with two ideas initially where I would wear the clothes to create this idea of my aspirations however I felt the final look wasn’t very effective.

Contact sheet 1

So I shot my main idea of empty clothing which all turned out well however I was very concerned with the background which did not turn out particularly dark. I managed to overcome this in the darkroom by using burning techniques also used to fade the edges of the clothing to look as if they could be fading into their surroundings representing the way they are stored away unnoticed in the dark spaces of our homes, giving a sense of fragility. I had the clothes posed like in the original images (used as reference) of them to create this bond between dress & memory.  

  

Contact sheet 2

The light coloured items & bold contrast also allows the audience to notice stains, tears and creases from the use of them as well as the storage of them; the void creates an uneasiness which represents fear of what’s beyond- the expectations people hold as well as the time in which these items were worn and now trapped, a wasted material of our society.  

 

I feel that I have managed this unit well, finding lots of inspiration used to narrow-down and hone in on my final concept of aspirational waste. I was able to develop ideas for my final visual representation and create an effective series of images. I did have trouble booking out a studio despite leaving plenty of time & I did little planning when considering ways in which to make the backdrop black; however I was able to solve this by using learnt skills of burning in the dark room. 

For my publication I plan to present my final series in a gallery environment as I feel my images would best suit this due to their repetitive nature & subject matter. I imagine them to either be life –size for each item of clothing to create this confrontational set of images or small as if possibly a photo from a family photo album to create this sense of intimacy. I would have the images presented in a small dark room with just spotlights on the images to highlight the way that they have been hidden away in a dark space also exaggerating the dark undefined space. I feel due to their similar composition they would look good on separate walls so that the audience looks at the pieces as individual as well as simulating the feeling of being boxed in as the clothes have been.