Informing Contexts: PHO720 Into The Image World

This week we have been asked to consider the ‘intent’ of our photographic practice. How has it changed? Studying the different theories of semiotics has encouraged me to look much closer at how I contruct my images. When I first picked up my camera I was more inclined to see it it as a ‘mirror’. Studying for a Masters Degree has opened my eyes to the true extent of subjectivity in my work and developing this awareness gives me more creative freedom.

Chandler (2017) discusses Saussure’s two part semiotics model in his book ‘Semiotics: The Basics’. Fig 1. shows an image I made looking at gender identity. The ‘Signifier’ in this photo is the photograph of Kate Moss on the wall above the girl. I chose to place this next to the girl (Alice) because of it’s ‘Signified’ meaning. Kate Moss is an image icon and has had a direct influence on Alice’s teenage development. It plays into Alice’s story and her relationship with her gender.

Fig. 1. Warde 2023 Alice

We furthered the connection between Alice and Kate Moss physically by mimicking Kate’s hairstyle. Interestingly, Chandler points out that the link between a Signifier and the Signified does not need to be directly connected and can be arbitrary in nature. This can be seen when the context of the image changes.

I have begun to consider how the context has changed in my recent work. I am currently expanding my work by exploring narrative in a sequence of photographs (part of the same project). The process of seeing one image in relation to another (as in a diptypch) can change the meaning (as Saussure suggests). It is in it’s early days, but my most recent work (Fig. 2,3 and 4) I would like to be viewed in a book. Showing my work in this context will be new to me and there will be many layers of ‘meaning’ to consider.

Fig. 2. Warde 2023 The Day After

Fig. 3. Warde 2023 Farley Mount

Fig. 4 Warde 2023 Bhavna

CHANDLER, Daniel. 2017. 3rd ed. Semiotics: The Basics. London: Routledge