PHO710: Words and Pictures
I found this weeks topic very useful to my practice. Its given me the opportunity to reflect on my use of text and pictures in my last two projects. The narrative included in my exhibition Sober Exposure was 50 per cent of the exhibited project. Each portrait was displayed next to a 300 word story, written in the first person, of the person in the image. (see below)
Sinead’s Story
“I cried the first time I went to a nightclub. I was newly 18, it was Fresher’s Week and the student union felt like a horrifically overwhelming jungle.
I was born with a condition called Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, which basically means my heart is flipped over. Having spent a fair share of my childhood in and out of hospital, as I approached adolescence, I decided I wanted to do all I could to look after my health. That included not drinking. That’s how it started anyway.
Before long, I’d seen my friends in various stages of intoxication; making decisions they regretted and suffering with the aftermath (not to mention burning holes in their bank accounts). That turned me off drinking and I decided it wasn’t for me.
To anyone heading off to university, know this: despite what everyone says, there’s no one way to experience university. Maybe your university experience is about finding your tribe. Maybe it’s about being a backing dancer for a drag queen (like me), or maybe its about learning to live away from your parents.
Make it your mission to pour yourself into your passions and I promise you the rest will follow! The right people and opportunities always come along when you’re at your most authentic self. I stayed a non-drinker throughout my entire university career and whilst my student memories aren’t filled with stories of tequila-fueled nights, I can tell you about the semester I spent abroad or the lifelong friends I made.
To anyone, I want you to know you can have stratospheric fun and good times with or without alcohol!”
As you can read, the narratives are personal and are fundamental to the project. Without these , it would just be 12 portraits. The stories here are what makes the project, in some ways they are more important than the image. The image brings the story to life. The audience will initially see the photo and spent a short amount of time looking, they will then be drawn to the story and will spend a longer time reading. The images and stories are real, but the photo ‘decorates’ the text by confirming its truth. I have considered if the text intimates too much for the viewer. In this case it doesn’t. I created the exhibition to provide sober role models for university students and the stories were needed to illustrate the subject’s relationship with alcohol.