PHOTOGRAPHY

A DEGREE OF SEPARATION

This documentary style project is a harrowing portrayal of graduate prospects after university. One in five UK university leavers who entered the labour market failed to find a job last year, as graduate unemployment reached its highest level since 1995. This project looks at a number of recent graduates across a range of ages and cities. The series exposes the truth about the hardships faced and reveals the reality of employment after university in today’s economic climate. During the economic recession and on the brink of rising tuition fees, my project portrays a possible future of employment for graduates. Since late childhood, the media, educational institutions and parents have lead us to believe that gaining a degree would fast track you to employment, above people who did not. With graduate unemployment at its highest for over a decade, is the reality different?

Photographer: Ben Millner [bfh22@sussex.ac.uk]

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

Photography can be seen as a new form of Art. By capturing different elements within a frame, one can express different views and emotions. When capturing an object from a different angle, the normal object can become very unusual. My work aims to challenge the traditional form of representation in landscape photography, to express it in a totally different perspective to viewers, and to overturn the normal value of landscape photography. By composing and framing my images with various methods, for example reflections on a window, I produce images of ordinary surroundings in a “not ordinary” way, so that they each look like an artwork. I intend viewers to read what is inside the frame, and to think about what is beyond it, and how the image is captured. By doing so, I hope to encourage people’s imagination and also their inclination to view ordinary things from a different angle, and to get a whole new image.

Photographer: Tsz Ying Natalie KO [tnk20@sussex.ac.uk]

BODY WARS

Notions of female identity are commonly associated with issues of body confidence, self-expression and “improvement”. Young women feel pressured to meet the extremely high beauty standards of near flawless perfection. The project uses a young female subject to explore ideas of self-image, questioning the lengths females are willing to put their bodies through, in order to look a certain way from such a young age. The over-exaggerated use of make-up mocks the fashion industry’s representations and expectations of women when presented within a studio setting. The plastic surgery lines represent the way extreme body modification is made to seem normal in today’s society. Irving Penn’s explicit and shocking demonstration of the strains women place on their bodies was highly inspirational when carrying out my project. The technical side was heavily influenced by Richard Bush’s lighting style and framing techniques.

Photographer: Roseanne Lindsay [roseanne_lindsay@hotmail.com]

CAPTURING COMMUNITY IN THE 21ST CENTRURY

My series of images aim to capture an element of society that has been lost within contemporary society with the last decade. In an age where technology has taken over all forms of communication and entertainment, I aim to exhibit a series of images that exhibit how people still embrace door-to-door culture as a form of showing community and social togetherness. My images will show different people absorbing their neighbourhood from their doorsteps, and showing that even in times where technology has dominated people’s social lives, they still enjoy the joys of their neighbourhood.

Photographer: Laurence Hind [lah32@sussex.ac.uk]

FASHION & SOCIETY

The idea of my project is to represent the world of fashion, in the society that we live in today. I believe that Fashion is something that affects each one of us in this modern society. We are subconsciously made to compete and to keep up to date with the fashion trends around us.

Fashion is meant to be an expression of individuality, but branding and logos have limited that voice. My intention was to reflect the social outburst through fashion and with the impact of the environment, surrounding my composition. My main innovation was to show fashion, in a way that we are not used to recognizing. I was inspired by Guy Bourdin’s unique and contemporary take on fashion photography. He influenced me to challenge the way fashion can be used as a reflection of social eruption. The unidentifiable individual in my work emphasizes how the personal identity of a character can be concealed in Fashion and Society.

Photographer: Karman Rebecca Sangera [sangera14@hotmail.com]

FASHION BEHIND THE SCENE

We see beautiful fashion photographs, but do we understand the work behind the scenes of fashion photography? There are two issues that recur in fashion photography: the relationship between model and photographer, and the role of the model in relation to the reader. Obviously, these issues have to be addressed by the fashion photographer, but how? The fashion photographer has to create wonderful fashion photographs from a concept and then tell the models how to show the concept in still image.

There are not only simple steps behind it; the photographer has to get a clear idea of what the client wants/desires, and then work it into a fashion concept. After that the photographer has to do research to see if the concept is viable and manageable, then he/she has to find models, hairdressers, make-up artists, stylists and find the location.

All of these steps link to each other. Fashion photography is not just about the photographer, and it has to be worked out with the whole team. Fashion shots are not only about clicking the shutter button; they involve lots of work behind the scenes.

Photographer: Xiaoxi Sun [xiaoxi0612@hotmail.com]

FOOD WASTE - A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR SOCIETY

“Love food hate waste”

Food waste is becoming a serious problem in the whole world. In the UK, 6.7 million tonnes per year of wasted food (purchased and edible food which is discarded) amounts to a cost of £10.2 billion. This translates a cost of £250 to £400 a year for every British household. Food waste can have a dramatically varied impact, depending on the amount produced and how it is dealt with. In some countries the amount of food wasted is negligible and has little impact. However, in countries such as the US and the UK, where according to some estimates, food represents around 19 percent of the waste dumped in landfills, where it ends up rotting and producing methane, a greenhouse gas. The social, economic and environmental impact of food wastage is enormous.

For this project, I mainly research the largest fast food company in the world - McDonald’s, and try to find out how much waste they are producing every day/every year.

Photographer: Baokun Lin [bl50@sussex.ac.uk]

HIDDEN TRUTHS

One in four people will experience mental distress throughout their lives, yet despite this statistic those who are diagnosed often feel isolated, alone and stigmatised.

A large number of stories we are exposed to in the media emphasise danger, unpredictability and violence in those who experience mental illness. These representations are often unfair and inaccurate, contributing to negative public attitudes which can have damaging effects on individuals who are experiencing mental health issues. In an increasingly mediated world, it is important to show more than one side to a story.

In a series of photographs that explore personal space and objects, the viewer is able to enter into an intimate and private world of someone living with a mental illness. The project explores identity and aims to question how we judge a person. By seeing someone else’s private possessions and personal space, what do you discover about them? What do you discover about yourself?

Photographer: Rosie Croome [rac31@sussex.ac.uk]

HUNTS

This collection of photographs looks at hunting and the individuals involved. It is an insight into the social side of hunting, trying to understand why it remains such a large part of rural life for many people, despite changes in the law. Hunting has long been a controversial issue as well as a historic rural tradition. This project explores these issues in a documentary style looking mainly at the younger generation of hunters, at meetings as well as individually, who are carrying on a rural tradition. The work tries to understand how this new generation got into hunting?

Photographer: Sebastian Silburn [seb_sil@yahoo.co.uk]

ME & YOU

Me & You is a photograph exhibition about the photographer and her deceased grandmother by exploring the themes of the daily life at the time of 60s in Hong Kong.

This series of photographs captures the beauty of Chinese women with objects, streets and buildings etc. in both the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. The photographer did a lot of editing by using Photoshop in order to visualize special and unique moments through eight series of photos. The location of the United Kingdom is chosen as Hong Kong was a colony of British during 1960s. Therefore, the project takes place in both the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

The whole project has a special meaning to the photographer personally, and brings back memories between herself and her deceased grandmother, in order to express her love towards her grandmother through this exhibition and has better understandings toward her grandmother. By working on this collection, the photographer felt that she was there with her grandmother. These eight images create unforgettable memories between the photographer and her Grand-mum. The photographer is glad to share her “memories” with her grandmother with all of you.

Photographer: Hiu Lam Chan [hc74@sussex.ac.uk]

MUSIC MATTERS

This documentary piece looks into the influence of one man’s ability to inspire, educate and conduct a medley of people from a diverse age range using the influence of roots Brazilian music. Paul Dodd, the main subject of this piece, forms the narrative of this series, capturing the importance of his work in often forgotten-about communities of Brighton. Paul has spent over 10 years of his life mastering Brazilian percussion in the style of Maracatu and Samba, while expanding his collection of Brazilian instruments, which are the tools of his trade. There are 3 bands led by Paul Dodd, which feature in my series; Silversound; an old people’s community band, Maracatu Cruzeiro Do Sul; Paul’s core band and a disabled youth band. The series captures the focus, and thirst for learning, the behind the scenes joy of rehearsal and a larger than life energy we all possess, that is freed by the power of music.

Photographer: Gabriel Sainhas [gs79@sussex.ac.uk]

 OBJECT OF DESIRE

There is an intimate relationship between the objet petit a and the Gaze (Lacan/Mulvey), the unattainable object of female desire. In a society where people’s relationship to and perception of objects is socially and culturally dependent, cultural property becomes a basic element of personal identity.

This project intends to form a perception of identity, using the female body and their relationship with personal objects they have chosen to help define them in their current social place. As women subjected by symbolic relations, this project opens discussion of how women both should and want to be perceived within the constructs of current society.

In focusing on the female influence, it has been insightful to observe the growth of these women as they have developed further understanding of their traits, behaviour and character over a period of time; therefore highlighting how women are idealised, objectified and acclaimed in relation to gender and the Gaze.

Photographer: Katie Birks [khabirks@gmail.com]

PERCEIVED BEAUTY

Beauty is a commodity. From plastic surgery to products and potions; the institutions are able to give the consumer the face and body they so desire for a fee. However, to what extent is this perfection even achievable? Perceived Beauty is a conceptual photographical investigation looking into the manipulation and distortion of the fashion and beauty industries. Delving in to the supernatural and mystical, Perceived Beauty explores the ways in which the institution conveys to the consumer what is beautiful through photographical and post-production technique. Ultimately, has this industry accepted a concept of beautiful beyond which consumers are willing to accept?

Photographer: Avinash Kalra [ak316@sussex.ac.uk]

REFRAMING

The main concept of this project is reframing. This series of photograph was taken towards the window inside the building. With the consideration of rules of third, the imagined frame within the photo is supposed to be rearranged by the real frame in this project. The idea was inspired by the cutting technology in archeology. The main feature of this project not only focuses on the overall view, but also pays attention to every single composition in the artificial frame. The realistic representation of the outside scene depends on the particular type of window. Although sometimes the scene outside was blurred through the window, it can be seen as the illusion of reality. Besides, the dark background leaves the space for imaginary and it also helps make the major scene outstanding. Finally, this project aims to attract the imaginative audience.

Photographer: Lilin Mai [lm236@sussex.ac.uk]