Artist Statement

PHOTOGRAPHY NOW

Artist Statement                                                                                         Maddy Tonks

 Contemporary photography is about making work that has real meaning and value. I chose to base my theme on racism because of its universal nature, in that it can apply to anyone anywhere. Racism is a hugely topical theme and very relevant to today. I chose to focus particularly on how certain Islamic ways of dressing attain undesirable and racist labels. I chose to do before and after pictures show how most of us differently when someone dresses in a hijab or a male headdress. My intention was to show that, even if only subconsciously, most of us judge people by what people wear and make assumptions based on no evidence.

I used the Narrabundah College designated studio to take my photographs. I used a black back-drop located in the studio to ensure the focus was on the face of my models and not what’s behind it. I chose to use the school digital camera as it is the only one used in the studio and the output for these photographs is meant to be digital so I figured it to be easier than film. I chose to use Photoshop CS5 and Bridge (Camera Raw) to edit my photographs. First off I edited each photograph as one, making sure I had the same amount of shadow and colour in each one. I then went into Photoshop to edit small marks on the photographs. I used Photoshop to also put the final product together.

I chose my models to be white Caucasians to show that no matter who is wearing Islamic dress, they attain insulting labels. I also chose to have both males and females to show that these labels are not gender restricted.

I would have taken more than three photographs but I realised that if I had more the focus of the photographs would not be correct. By having only three, the photographs were more attention grabbing than if I had more as the text would not stand out.

For my choice of digital output I decided to create a movie to display my photographs (created using iMovie). I chose this because I could show the two separate images that combined to join the final product as well as showing each final product as well. It worked out really well in the end, because it showed clearly the before and after photographs and gave the work a higher impact. I chose Escape by Mt Eden Dubstep to set the mood. This particular song has strong downbeats to which I set the photos. I had the introduction, then a quote to give an idea what the movie was about. I found the quotes to be a very powerful tool as they made clear what the movie and my work is about. Then the before photos would flash at every beat, then the after photos would start to flash randomly. I made the transition subtle so that people would hopefully realise themselves that the people have changed what they’re wearing. After the single photos stopped flashing the beat changed so I put in two quotes, which were then followed by the final photographs and the words ‘did it change your perception?’ Through this text I hope that people will start to think things like: ‘did I look at them differently?’, ‘did it change my perception?’, ‘why did I look at them differently?’. And I hope that through this I raise awareness of the false labels that the people who dress this way receive.  I’m very happy with the final movie and I can imagine it being shown on TV to raise awareness about racism.

Overall I am pleased with this project. I think it addresses a common contemporary issue and fully expresses my views on racism and would be an effective anti-racism campaign. I find this project to be successful because it has real value and meaning.