The Porcelain Room:

"The Porcelain Room" was one of the most memorable exhibitions to me from the whole commune trip as it was exhibited in such an immersive way. The room featured examples of porcelain made from the Ming dynasty throughout the 16th-19th century for different markets, religions and social groups. The exhibition was divided into 3 distinct sections, with the intimate all golden space being the main showstopper.  

"First Orders"- a term usually attributed to the first commissions of Chinese porcelains by the Portuguese after their arrival China, these are extremely rare with only 150 having survived to the present day, however we were able to see 45 examples throughout the exhibition. These included a small group of rare examples made for the Islamic market as well. 

Even though the golden room was surreal, my favorite part of the exhibition was the second part that features a wide selection of daily use objects represented as natural and surreal forms to imitate animals, fruits and vegetables. Originally created around the 1760's for table sets and home decor for well to do households. What originally attracted me to the displays was the vibrant color schemes, consisting of reds, greens, yellows all with intricate details. I love the surreal nature of them, I'm not really basing this research off the historical themes, but more of how people were able to add detail and history and therefore value to a material such as porcelain. 

 The photo above is part of his ongoing "Set in the street" photo series where he creates elaborate sets out of materials sourced in skips and unwanted parts found on the street. After building the colorful and intricate sets, Bettman would leave the sets up on the street, allowing passerby to shoot their own photos and share it using the hashtag: #setinthestreet

I find there's two different components I really like about Bettman's work:

1. The creative direction behind the sets, his signature use of pastel colors and patterns and styling choices that echo the vintage 50's aesthetic remind me of director Wes Anderson's movies. The sets are polished and all the elements are coherent, ultimately creating a picturesque environment. Even though the models are the main focal point, I find the sets so well put together that I could crop out a specific element and that alone could become a still life photo.

2. What makes Bettman's photo series distinct is how his sets interact with the environment it's in. He encourages the community to interact with the set instead of putting a "Do not Touch" sign around it and creating a barrier/ boundary. Additionally, on his website, he doesn't only post the final photo of the model in the set; he would also include a photo with a larger crop showing the environment the set is based in. This juxtaposition, such as a picturesque 50's styled living room against modern day busy ties square is eye-catching and almost creates a collaged effect. 

Created as a reflection of our society's toxic habits as consumers, Luis Fernandez creates a juxtaposition between the fun connotations behind the brightly colored toys and the sombre reality of how much unnecessary Stuff we own and continue buying. 

The use of its oversized scale adds to the sense of overwhelming-ness, the explosion of bright colors compared to the otherwise monochromatic modern scene almost assaults passerbys. I also found the use of plastic appropriate as it can be interpreted as a reflection of our reckless consumption of plastic as well. 

When thinking about creating distinct characters and developing narratives for a potential shoot, I found myself rewatching episodes of Little Britain to see how Matt Lucas and David Williams bring vivid, convincing and relatable characters to life through styling and studying their behavior. 

Anton Kuster's "The blue skies project" was one of the first pieces that welcomed me in The Photographer's Gallery. 

Through this project, it turns out that the collection of 1,078 polaroid photos, all depicting a different blue sky taken at the last known location of every former Nazi-run concentration and extermination camp in Europe before and during WWII. 

The photos are blind stamped with the number of known victims at the site along with its GPS coordinates. I feel that the significant context behind the installation almost juxtaposes the calm photos of the clouds, however with the way it's displayed through its scale and use of multiples, the audience is encouraged to study each image and to experience sense of overwhelming commemoration of the past from this abstract piece. 

I find myself identifying my approach to my work to Mark Neville through how he integrates both art and documentary practices and the social function of creating community-based projects. 

Neville began his project back in 2016 on the day Britain voted to leave the European Union. Based in Guingamp, Brittany (also knows as little Britain), he produced portraits over a three year period capturing the local football team, cultural Fêtes, the farming community and smaller demographics within Guingamp. Neville blends candid and posed photos, and manages to document interesting subjects. One of my favorite things about his photo series was the use of color and compositions of the photos, even in the candid photographs.

Prior to reading the plaques introducing Jan Svoboda, I've never heard of him before, and his work was a bit too minimalistic and confusing to me. I wasn't able to understand nor appreciate the significance behind his work or his process as I just didn't know it. 

However, as I continued walking around the exhibition, I noticed how svoboda places emphasis around themes of deconstruction, experimenting with presentation and medium.  

In comparison to the other exhibitions I saw, I noticed Svoboda's non-orthodox use of edit, such as displaying the reverse side of images, documenting piles of photos, and mounting photographs on glass to create a floating effect on the wall. Svoboda's work ultimately challenged my preconceived impressions of what my final outcomes could be, I find myself thinking of a wider range of ways to present my work. 

In the photo above (and the video below) is my favorite piece of the exhibition. Named Tables (1970), the photo series features photos of the same oval wooden table but captured from all angles in various lighting conditions. By displaying the photos on glass, the viewers are welcomed to examine all aspects of each photo, mirroring the approach Svoboda took. Additionally, he also added writing to some of the photos, adding a further significance to the otherwise banal photos. 

Andy warhol's nearly 500 screen tests consist of short silent black and white film portraits that featured friends, celebrities and factory visitors gazing at the camera at shoulder length angle. 

The films were only 2.5 minutes long, but were edited into slow-motion moving images. 

When studying these film reels, I find myself going back to the self, portrait and body politics' focus on "the gaze".As the subjects are forced to face the camera front on, with no props, posing, it's quite an intense and vulnerable position to be in. I also find the tests to be intimate, the idea of looking into someone's eyes for 2.5 minutes is almost unrealistic, especially in an age of technological advancement, such a personal exchange is foreign and intimidating. The subjects weren't allowed to talk or move, and were forced to sit.

Additionally, the organic aura of the subject captured by the medium of film distinguishes itself to a painting or a still image.

(https://revolverwarholgallery.com/warhols-screen-tests/)

Augspurger's work is an interesting mix of humor and nostalgia as most of his works are heavily inspired by the signature 90's aesthetic. His shoots originated from an accidental test shoot of his roommate to test a set of 80's Photogenic FlashMaster lights. His roommate, wearing a 3 piece tweed suit reminded Auspurger of his old family photos, and he then decided to tone the images to match rest of the aesthetic. 

"I still remember when companies like Olan Mills would set up their lights in the basement of the church and hit you with their flash"

I like how he stays away from professional models in his work, he prefers to photograph friends who don't shy away from being goofy. Another aspect I really like is how he creates stories for his subjects, and asks them to take on a new persona and he would title the image with the name of the make-believe character. 

“I’ll tell my friend, ‘Okay, you are Bud Kaiser and you work at Consolidated Affiliates and you are the company manger and your mom sent you home with that casserole after dinner so you have indigestion today and you’re having some trouble with the kids at school, but you still have to get the paperwork in and still have to do the company photo shoot and I am your photographer.’

Initial notes:

-nice color scheme

-Pay attention to what camera you use for capturing final outcomes

-Inspired by dorky 90's school portraits, styling choices are ultimately influenced by the colorscheme and style of the shoe.

-Presented as diptychs and through a fashion film, the audience can see the direct correlation between the portrait and photo of the shoe. 

-faded green color scheme with contrasting hints of reds, yellow and oranges 

-Bright pink dress presents itself as the focal point against the green, especially as it's closer to the camera, and takes up 1/3 of the photo composition.

-Candid posing and composition shows the classic archetype of a typical family life

Finding a way to communicate a specific scenario/ experience to my audience and encouraging them to find the significance in a garment that otherwise means nothing to them has been one of the challenges I find myself circling back to throughout my creative process. 

As a result of limited library access, I've resulted to researching and finding interesting material from social media, specifically instagram archive pages. In "The Great Indoors", Parr created an artificial beach environment set inside The seaside resort of New Brighton. Parr manages to convey the sense of a beach getaway in a confined space, and communicates a sense of community to the viewer as well. With the use/ imagery of a beach, props and models, the sense of being outside in the summer heat along with invoking past memories is cleanly executed.

This was one of my favorite photos from Nadia lee Cohen's portrait series, from the positioning of the subject, to the 

Some photos of a die hard man city fan I found on social media...

Finding Lois' work on depop, Lois reworks football scarves into both mens and women tops, skirts and shorts. 

I found Ray Materson's work through Adbusters.org, and it caught my eye because it was one of the few pieces that weren't graphic works, but Materson still manages to very clearly communicate the underlying themes of power and class and his own struggle battling with a serious drug problem through his work. Additionally, one of the most fascinating things I found about his work was the medium he worked with. He actually stitched his collection of small tapestries out of threads from socks, reflecting back to when he was incarcerated for 15 years, and socks were the only fabric he had access to.

In the disney movie "Onward", brothers and