Steve Coogan as Steve Coogan

The persona that is Steve Coogan, that he has created and exudes as a celebrity figure, includes and demonstrates a sense of self-mockery.

In the recent BBC2 comedy The Trip Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon played 'loose versions' of themselves, improvising their dialogue, to a simple plot structure of a trip reviewing restaurants in North England. Coogan, or rather Coogan's character of Coogan, was in a continual state of petty competition with Brydon's (an excellent example can be seen below). They duelled mostly over voice impersonations, but also athletic ability, vocal range, even comedic prowess. Coogan remained harshly and childishly critical of Brydon's performances, always seeking to prove himself as the more talented, the more knowledgeable, and the funnier. In these attempts he ultimately fails. Brydon trumps unwillingly - content with his career, family, and achievements. Coogan struggles on - frustrated with his self-implied shortcomings: in one scene, he whines to his agent about wanting to star in 'good films'; in another he attempts to mimic Brydon's popular 'small man in a box' in front of the mirror; in others we see evidence of his problematic family and love life. All of which culminates in the final scenes of the series, where Brydon returns to his wife and child in a warm home, whilst Coogan finds himself alone in a stylish and cold London flat. 

Steve Coogan (left) and Rob Brydon in The Trip

In his performance, Steve Coogan is ridiculing his own desire to be revered. He is drawing attention to this complex that he has (or at least that his celebrity self has) and then self-critiquing it with mockery. Hence this version of Steve Coogan who toils for fame and high regard only to be revealed as a fool and a failure. However, it's not a definite depression, but more of a tragic comedy, Coogan and Brydon do enjoy each other's company, and the show is very funny.

The significance for me, lies in Coogan's conscious decision to face, challenge, and excoriate an issue of his own public (and to many degrees, private) personality, and his use of humour in exposing it. This is why the actor Steve Coogan's portrayal of the character of Steve Coogan, is relevant to my research.


'This is how Michael Caine speaks', The Trip BBC2

Structure Planning

Today I presented the research to date to the group and the Wise Ones. In preparation for this I drew up an initial plan of the structure of my presentation, based on what I have discovered so far and the specific direction I want the talk to take.

Title: Self-portrait, Self-mockery, and the Mirror

Intro: Seeking to explain Self-mockery in photography and video (and visual art/culture).

1.     The curiosity and intrigue of the mirror/reflection. Our interest in viewing our own image.

2.     The consciousness of presentation - the desire to be revered, to give best impression.

3.     Awareness of an image's ability to immortalise character.

4.     The will to make/possess/show images which display our desired qualities - an explanation of vanity?

5.     Then the response to mock ourselves, our narcissism, vanity, and self-centredness.

6.     However, self-mockery being humour, gives us a position of performing to be funny, to make others laugh, to be liked, all about us(me) again..

Relevant artists: 

·        Boris Mikhailov – Self-portraits

·        Bjorn Veno – Mann 

·        Steve Coogan – The Trip

Other Areas (these are things I plan to mention but not discuss, and also for questions afterwards):

–      Masquerade, dressing up, performing as another: Cindy Sherman, Yasumasa Morimura

–      Femininity, concerning the appropriated images of women: Sarah Lucas     

Bjorn Veno - from Mann

Boris Mikhailov - Look at me I look at water

Initial Plans for Final Project

Yesterday was the first presentation of our intial ideas for the final major project. The content of which will be shaping itself into a proposal in the near future. My project, at its earliest stage, began with the Nude Naked task from the 'picturing the body' module. You can follow the link for the rationale behind that work, but essentially my wish to present my own body in a stark and unflattering manner as a counter to my pride in it, illuminates a key theme which continues into this present project. And that is: an awareness of the problem and weakness of vanity, and yet also a susceptability to it; and following that is (or may be) a response to mock our vanity. That module culminated in the Body (own) piece. But as well as this mockery of pride in physical appearance, there also grew a more personal jest, at my desire to be revered, to be funny, liked, a regarded performer - as evidenced in Self Videos.

The current project then, concerns issues of: self-portraiture; self-mockery and narcissism - the relationship of the two; performance and presentation; the intrigue of the mirror.

At present I'm struggling to define it in words clearer than those, however I am clear on the following pieces that I wish to produce, and in analysing these it may be clearer what it is which underlies my practice.

1. A set of self-portraits using a two-way mirror, so I look at and interact with my reflection rather than a lens, but line up the eyesight to give immpression of a straight portrait, aiming for high clarity and minimum background detail (similar lighting and composition to Robbie Cooper's 'Immersion') reenact the extreme facial performances as done to the bathroom mirror - investigate: my altering of presentation; relationship between inner (thought) and outer (visible) selves; attempting humour; challenging attractive appearance.
2. A similar process using others - where I photograph them (whilst they look at their reflection) at an unknown moment, I will wait and look for some reveal in their character, and then they photograph themselves, with cable release or other - to see how they respond given the option to present their desired look, how it contrasts with the portrait taken by another.
3. As a continuation of Self videos - a regularly updated diary of webcam performances - showcasing a general indulgence of trivial aspects of my personality, experiences, thoughts etc, investigating further the desire to be celebrity/revered/known through attempted humour. 
4. A self-portrait of pixels (can't use paint) - using a mirror, and Adobe Photoshop, various colours, various brush sizes, several pieces - forming an overall progression, striving towards a realistic portrait (eventually looks like a photograph), inspired by the Johannes Gumpp painting of himself in the act of painting a self-portrait - investigating what image I will put upon myself, in what manner and with what adjustments will I reproduce my image?
5. I'm a ... (artist) - a series of videos in which I attempt to prove my creative multitalents (musician, actor, painter, etc.), but which ultimately highlight myself as a failure and fool, wanting appreciation,   inspired in part by Bjorn Veno's promotional videos for pxsnatch.   

Still from Immersion by Robbie Cooper

Johannes Gumpp

Bjorn veno's videos for PXSnatch can be found here.

The feedback from this presentation was encouraging. One significant aspect higlighted, was the notion of a division of self between a public and a private, and how these two perspectives then relate to each other, and furthermore how that relationship is reflected in the work. Also illumated was the conflict between: a yearning to be noticed (likely arising from the public side), and a wariness of being watched or inspected (private).

Imitation of Me

Continuing in the vein of self-mockery and introspection of one's own image, comes the following piece. The first image in the sequence is a still from a video documentary, in which I eagerly present the item of discussion with passion, so that it and I may be taken seriously. And then pulling the old 'freeze somebody mid-speech trick' gives the wonderful image - revealing (or creating) the fool. The subsequent self-portraits are an imitation and a jest of that attempt to appear sincere.

Imitation of Me  (click to enlarge)

I'm steadily developing a continuing use of the 'PhotoBooth' application on Mac, which is essentially using a webcam to take pictures and make videos of yourself. Wonderful!

There's a history to the fascination of this activity. One of its early pioneers was Gary Brolsma with the now incredibly infamous 'Numa Numa Dance'. This has become one of the most viewed viral videos in the history of the web, it sparked a craze with web cam performances, (one of the most notable follow-ups being 'Two Chinese Boys'). More on this phenomenon later.

Imitation of Me (detail)

The Mirror Stage

Steven Z. Levine is the author of Lacan Reframed, which aims to provide a guide for the art student, to the psychoanalytical theories of Jacques Lacan. In my case, this is Lacan's developmental concept 'The Mirror Stage'.

The following are relevant (quotations and paraphrases):

• A summary of the story of beautiful Narcissus – spots his reflection in the forest pool, the impossible love of is own reflected image, the unbridgeable split between desiring object and desired object, resolved by his death and metamorphosis into the flower - at least that's the mythological resolution. 
• "I is another." (Arthur Rimbaud) The beautiful image of self exists outside of oneself, but we recognise it – 'narcissistic identification'.
• Lacan's contribution to the formation of the Ego (of Freudian theory): "Based on the alien but alluring images glimpsed in the mirror in childhood, the Ego was crystallised in response to the admiring behaviour of the Mother" (Levine) 'The Mirror of Mother and Child' 
• Which leads to: 'A lifelong conflict, started at childhood, between the Ego and alter Ego – Self and other – due to recognising the alter Ego in the eyes of the mother.' And hence: 'A stand off between 'the me I see myself as being' and 'the me I want to be and can never be.'
• "In his insistence on the dangerous duel of self and other, .. Lacan was extending Freud's formulations on the self-loving and self-loathing narcissism of the Ego"  

There were many more complex psychological explanations and suggestions of Lacan, all of which centre around a conflict between the self and other, and which relate back to the mirror stage. However seeing that I don't need to progress into those with any depth, I can take away the inference that the Mirror Stage plays a crucial developmental part in the notion of self, even if that notion is constantly fragmented and ill-defined.

Professional Photograhic Practice

Today marked the beginning of the above module (hereby tagged as 'Photographic Practice'). The largest of the course, it is practical based, and because the project is self-defined, one in which we have the chance to shape and solidify our individual practice. This work will take us from January to June and will culminate in our final year show, in other words - what we have been leading up to for the past two and a half years, and our biggest challenge yet.

The project runs alongside the research module 'Working with Photography in Context', and the two feed from each other. Hence, for this practical work, I will continue with my interest in self-portraiture and the mirror, broadening it from the specified 'self-mockery' topic of the research work, but still focussing on the 'response to the self' - ideas of self-indulgence, of the use and understanding of performance, of the relationship between selves through a mirror and photographs.

The next stage will be to develop these ideas, through tutorials and research, into a clearly defined and professionally presented proposal. This proposal will make up a substantial weight of the overall mark, the reason being that a skill and appreciation of writing project proposals, can be a great asset in a future professional context, particularly in the case of applying for grants (a substantial source of income for many practitioners). Onwards.

'The Walk' Short Film

The people depicted here are my family. The story takes place from Summer to Winter. This is a short film I made using stills of their activity with each other, and with the outdoors. The most enlightening and exciting element of producing this was working in collaboration with the composer Brendan Beales. The photographs - their timing and running order - were edited to silence, I then provided Brendan with a total running time, as well as times for various cues and I gave direction for the mood, tempo, and tonality of the music. He did not know which images he was writing for until the piece was completed, this was to avoid 'mickey mousing' the music. Essentially, this production has highlighted for me the pleasure and ability I have, working in collaboration with others towards a larger creative goal. The film and television industry calls all the louder.

'Here's Looking at You'

'Here's Looking at You' is the title of the fourth chapter of Richard Brilliant's book Portraiture, and in that chapter he discusses self-portraiture across all mediums of art. So although not overtly relevant to my specific angle of research, it is still a very useful core text for this field.

There are numerous points of note throughout the chapter, below are those which stood out as greatly significant to me:

• Brilliant mentions the mirrors input to self-portraiture - 'The fallacy of the reflection, our own internal images of self are misleading compared to how other see us. Seeing your reflection unexpectedly and being surprised by the image is testimony to the varying imagined perspectives you hold of your appearance/presentation. 
• He also cites philosopher David Hume's musings on the notion of 'self': "For my part, when I enter most intimately into what I call 'myself', I always stumble on some particular perception or other, of heat or cold, light or shade, love or hatred, pain or pleasure. I never can catch 'myself' at any time without a perception, and never can observe anything but the perception ... If anyone , upon serious and unprejudiced reflection, thinks he has a different notion of  'himself', I must confess that I can reason no longer with him."
• Parmigianino's Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror. Where the viewer is privy to the moment of an artist meeting his own reflection. 'Parmigianino represents himself as a subject experiencing his own (re)presentation in a mirror.'
• "With greater or lesser degrees of success, self portraiture always makes a concentrated autobiographical statement - the manifesto of an artists introspection" (Brilliant)
• Norman Rockwell's Triple Self-Portrait. ".. it is so explicitly self-referential and demonstrates so well the distortions in the mirror reflection. .. one could hardly imagine a more explicit statement of the 'I' in the work, and of the artists engagement with the concept of 'I-ness'." (Brilliant)
• Brilliant also mentions something that I would term as 'the vulnerability of sharing introspection' which is a threat to all self-portraying artists: "The natural impulse to protect one's personal privacy from others conflicts with that artists equally natural desire to create an autobiographical image that, being a separate entity, lives outside of himself and may escape his control."

Parmigianino - Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror

Norman Rockwell - Triple Self-Portrait

Update: Although initially conducted for my research module, I could conclude that this reading will in fact have a more direct use to the major practical project which is to commence soon. The works of Rockwell, Parmigianino, Lovis Corinth, Artemisia Gentileschi and others mentioned in the chapter (and furthermore Brilliant's commentary on them) have sparked lots of ideas for self-portraiture work, particularly in relation to the mirror/reflection - see here.

A Life in the Day

This is my final submission for the #phonar module at Coventry University. It is in two parts: firstly the above video which is a story of a man called Uriah John Lee - my great-grandfather, and secondly a piece of writing about the same man, which is below. This text has been uploaded to hitRECord.org in the hope that it may become part of a collaborative production, and can be viewed here. The photographs of the archive can also be viewed in this gallery.

He stood in front of the camera and glanced down to make a last check of his uniform. It was all in order, just as it had been a minute before, when he was waiting his turn to be photographed.

Fixed up behind him was the scenic backdrop – a painted image depicting what appeared to be an officers’ camp from the Boer War, or some other colonial crusade – supposedly there to impress some notion of military prestige.

“Hold still.” muttered the photographer.

He straightened himself – unsure whether to stand at full attention or at ease, and settled between the two, then held his gaze on the lens. A gentle click told him the picture was taken, and the photographer emerged from under the hood.

“Thank you Sergeant.”

He nodded and walked away down the road to where the men of his platoon had been watching. They had been temporarily stationed here – in some smelly French village whose name none of them could pronounce – waiting for further instructions.

“Nice picture eh Sarg?” called out Butler, grinning at him as he approached.

“Hope so.” He replied, inclining his head to the private.

Looking around at the 53 men gathered there, he saw many of the others were also grinning. They had grown to like him he supposed, and he had grown to care for them in return. From early on in training, after his promotion to Sergeant-Major, he had taken a personal decision not to command those below him with the same severity and unjustified harshness that many of his contemporaries deemed proper. Instead he had sought the men’s respect and discipline, through friendship. And they had proven to be as reliable and ordered as any other platoon – although they had not yet been in a live combat situation.

“Are you all ready to move out then?”

He addressed them casually, as he reasoned it to be acceptable when not in the presence of officers.

“Ready and Willing Sir!” jumped up corporal Browning. The men cheered their agreement.

“For King and Country” many of them called out. There was excitement around the Company today. Orders had come from up top, and it looked likely that they were to move out soon.  

“Good.” he said quietly once the cheers had died down.

But beneath his assured exterior, he did not feel that it was good. He turned to stare at the eastern horizon, and listen to the faint but steady rumble of the guns. He did not share the same eagerness as his men. This adventure – once thought to be ‘over by Christmas’, and now two and a quarter years later, still raging on – did not hold the same opportunity for thrills as when he had volunteered. The mutterings of incompetence and misjudgement of High Command, the unpredicted high casualties, the rumours from the upper class of a government at a loss with its war effort, the growing misgivings of a nation.

His thoughts were broken by a stirring amongst the men, as several officers emerged from the quaint cottage that was serving as Company head quarters. He walked forward to meet the Captain who was approaching their platoon.

“Sergeant Lee?” inquired the Captain.

“Yes Sir” he replied, saluting. The Captain returned the salute and then offered his hand.

“I’m Captain Gray. Number five platoon has been assigned to me. I’ve heard you’re a solid bunch.”

“We aim to do well Sir.”

“Good. Be ready to march in ten minutes.”

“Sir.”

Gray said no more, and strode off. Sergeant Lee assembled the men. He could sense them buzzing with anticipation as they lined up. He walked amongst them, checking gear, reassuring some, quietening others, and then fell in beside them, aware of, but not entertaining, his own trepidation. On the Captain’s call they began their steady march to the front.           

by George Rippon    

Plan for Phonar Task 6

The feedback and reflection from the previous task and the plan for the final one is as follows:
Firstly, the archive is a strong resource, and an excellent starting point from which to tell a story, and so I have decided to take it forward and improve it, for my final task. The events that my great-grandfather was involved in and the connections he made with people, provide intriguing material. The images do not justify this story however, and need to be recaptured, in a way which better suggests their sentimental worth. In order to do this I will photograph them in a 'copy-stand' manner – give them the lighting attention (balanced from both sides to give sharp detail, and back-lit to have it stand out) they deserve. I will also consider photographing them with a large format camera (or digitally and then produce a border to mimic one) to reinforce the idea of the archiving of precious objects. This can be seen to great effect with Steve Pyke's 'Garden Tools' and 'Post Partum & Post Mortem'

'Border Fork' by Steve Pyke from Garden Tools

The audio of the project, is definitely a worthy addition, and adds a greater sense of meaning and emotional draw to the story. Although it would benefit from a re-edit to reduce my presence, as it is my mother's voice which is of real worth, and not my mumbling agreements. However I would still like to maintain it as a conversation rather than a monologue, because although the interest lies predominantly in my mother's recollections, it is also my learning of them which is significant. This decision is reassured by thinking of interviews from television or radio documentaries, where the occasional acknowledged presence of the interviewer helps to validate the interview by reassuring the viewer/listener of it's authenticity. I'm fascinated by the letter from King George, particularly as it seems to be very causal. It was suggested I could play with this, in some way leading the audience to believe that it is me writing the letter. I will consider this along with the other proposals outlined above for developing this artefact.

I feel inclined to take the story further, as I'm struck by how little of my great-grandfather's character I know, despite having this very rich archive. I want this character to grow into something more personable. I can piece together fragments of it from my mother's recollections and from the manner of the letters written to him, but I want to imagine it further. I've decided to write a short semi-fictional piece about him, which I will then share online with the creative collaboration production company hitRECord, and invite people to illustrate, use, adapt, mash-up, and add to it. I'm hoping that the interest of others, along with my own, will allow Uriah John Lee's story to go further.

David Gray at Coventry University

I'd like to point out that many of the words here are in reality David's, which I have tried to write up as best as possible and still do them justice.

David Gray’s talk on self publishing was given in two parts – relating to the two differing perspectives he had to adopt: as the photographer, and as the publisher.

As photographers, he encouraged us not to worry about attempting to ‘meet a market’. With the opening and freeing of the medium, and crucially the accessibility of the technology, self-publishing is now a valid and worthwhile venture, and one that can give conventional books a run for their money – if done well enough. It is important that artistic practitioners recognise this potential, and consider it when undertaking their next project. You don’t have to rely on a magazine/publishing house/high street gallery anymore, nor you should you feel the need to put all your hopes with them.

David talked through his projects, and the self-reflection and criticism that was necessary to allow the work to progress; aiming to each time improve the delivery to the viewer, whilst still maintaining and celebrating the ideas which he felt were key to his style. A good example of this can be seen from the progression from the Cunawabi book to The Dream that Days Break series; where the use of writing in consideration with the narrative, went from caption-less images, accompanied by a sheet of fragmented poetry – thereby giving a very un-prescribed (and open to viewer interpretation) story; to a more formally delivered piece of writing at the front of the book which gave a greater sense of meaning to the images that followed. This idea of photography and writing as equal – as aspects of a publication which do not rely on, but support each other, as well as standing alone – was something that David strived towards after finding that people weren’t quite ‘getting’ the narrative of Cunawabi to the extent he had hoped.

From the series Drift. ©David Gray

When it comes to publishing, a very different and much more disciplined mindset, than that of the free-working photographer, is needed; particularly as money is now of prime concern. David identified four predominant areas to be considered for production: design, the product package, paper, and printing. And he had many tips on how to tackle them; the sum of which was firstly to keep organised, and secondly to build a strong relationship with those that can provide these services. Here the idea of trade for trade was highlighted – all companies need pictures, pictures we can provide in return for discount, paper and printing manufacturers eager to test out their paper and keep sample copies. An additional third point would be to consider learning things yourself, becoming self-sufficient, it’s not possible in all circumstances but David taught himself how to frame his prints.

The next difficulty for an independent publisher is that of distribution. The way to tackle it is to aim for a smaller, more direct audience; and this involves targeting a small number of key distributers (bookshops, book-fares, galleries) and again maintaining a strong relationship with them. One of the greatest advantages a self-publisher has – and should make use of – is their quality of customer service. Personalised messages, handwritten responses and the like go a long away in keeping purchasers not only satisfied, but then interested for the long term. David also stressed the power of the third party, the benefit received when others are responding to and reviewing your work, because of the community of interest that builds up around that.

Overall, David provided a talk which emphasised the necessity for hard work and disciplined effort with projects, but at the same time the importance of enjoying the projects and pursuing the ideas that you are passionate about. In short, and as David summed up – be strict with yourself, and have fun.

Following the talk and the questions, the class had more of an informal conversation with David. A few other things that he mentioned as important to a photographic practitioner, was the significance of finding something untouched and with a personal connection to explore. Also the advice to keep up with self-driven projects after graduation – even if they’re not selling they will be profiting – try to think of it as commissioning yourself. The brilliance of working this way, is the freedom from commercial pressures. As Ansel Adams puts it: “There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs”. David points out that the same applies with books and so, provided there is enough motivation, confidence needn’t be lacking when self-publishing. David has been greatly assisted in his publishing endeavours by his acquired knowledge and confidence of graphic design (which has also provided him with an income to support his creative work). But this should not detour others who don’t have the skills, simply look to David’s approach to new challenges: one of not accepting defeat easily, and a willingness to learn even when against the odds. All in all David was a very encouraging practitioner to talk with, especially from a student’s point of view. His ability to relate to a student’s position with positive advice was incredibly beneficial to a group soon facing the uncertainties of graduation.

David's photographic work can be found at 76degreesandclear.

A reduced version of this piece can be found at CU Photography.

Feedback and Development from Proposal

The feedback that came back from the proposal seemed positive. It was stated that the direction I was pursuing with these ideas seemed strong and well reasoned, but I acknowledged that the research will likely need to be narrowed down further as I progress with it. Overall the proposal is good, and Ed was happy for me to continue without any major alterations.

A particular point that Ed responded to and that enthused me also, was the notion of an oscillation between narcissism and self-mockery, a relationship which can be found within the humourous self-portrait. The two behaviours, although opposite, are both inward-looking and seem to have a supportive relationship whereby one allows and justifies the other. I can recognise this characteristic within my own work, and I'm hoping to track it down in other practitioners also.

Ed suggested that the Bibliography be widened - which I am hoping to accomplish as I 'circle inwards' around my topic, and locate further resources. Also he thought that the concept of humour should now play a significant part in the research, and in the presentation as well seeing as my own practice relates to it. Then the notion of self-mockery is something which I can really play with, and it could potenially assist to liven up the talk.

The following resources were suggested by Ed:

• Staging the Self - a book on self-portrait photography (1840's - 1980's)
• Mirror mirror - a book by Liz Rideal which accompanied an exhibition of self-portraits by women at the NPG.
• Emmanuelle Levinas's philosophy on the 'face to face encounter' and 'face to image encounter'. Possibly titled Beholding the Other.

Uriah John Lee - Transformative Storytelling

The 5th task for #phonar was to weave a photographic narrative using only found images (possibly an archive), and as a development: provide a soundscape to those photos which informed the narrative further.



Hearing of my recent interest in the First World War, my mother mentioned my great-grandfather, who served in the war. She then produced an old suitcase which contained photographs of him, and letters he received - an archive of his life. The documents fascinated me, partly because of his unique and special history: as well as a veteran of the First World War, he was also a highly regarded picture restorer at the Tate Gallery, receiving medals in both cases, including personal appreciation from members of the royal family; and also because of the sudden if distant connection I felt to him. I decided to make an audio recording of the conversation between me and my mother as we went through the archive, knowing that it was likely she would provide some interesting stories and anecdotes. I hoped that extracts of the conversation could be used as a backing to the pictures, to tell this family history story.

Simon Roberts

Simon Roberts stated that a central theme to his talk would be that of 'authorial identity', by which he means a photographer should rightly consider themselves as an author of their own projects, and not as an illustrator for someone else's. He explained this with the example of his own career – where after starting out working for a news agency, he soon found himself losing not only copyright, but also any sense of ownership of his pictures, as they were widely distributed amongst newspapers, without the due creditation. Consequently, Simon found himself taking on less news and magazine work in favour of his own larger projects, projects which he felt he had more control over, could take more time over, and which ultimately felt more purposeful to him: enter Motherland - a project which came about through his personal connection to Russia and his desire to counter the cliché tourist images.

Skegness Beach, Lincolnshire, 12th August 2007 from 'We English'

When Simon was introducing We English, he discussed how he approached the project, knowing that he was following a rich tradition of photographic work with the same principal idea.

"I was very aware that I was stepping out within this lineage of photographers that had gone to look at the British landscape. I was very conscious that what I was doing was nothing new, and so it was important when I made this journey, that I wasn't going to be derivative of what had gone before, that I was actually adding to the dialogue – to the photographic narrative if you like – of photographers looking at their landscape."

This was very encouraging to hear for a student photographer. One of our greatest assets is our originality – supported by a close group of like-minded practitioners, and yet to be fettered by the necessity of making a living – but faith in this can be all too easily lost when looking to the intimidating mass of work that precedes us.

James Willis, Liberal Democrat. Dartford, 4 May 2010 (Dartford constituency). from 'The Election Project'

An ingenious contribution to Simon’s success is the use of viewer participation – he was building the audience for We English whilst still making the project. People were invited to contribute suggestions for locations and events to be photographed, on a blog which was part of the project website. This community built up, and was maintained by Simon as the project progressed. On completion he then had a large and diverse group all prepared and interested in viewing, purchasing, and spreading his work. This method was then continued with his most recent work – The Election Project – where people were invited to take and submit images which reflected their own experience of the election.

Simon's practice is a solid and proven example of the benefits of utilising consumer involvement to establish himself as a rightful and recognisable author. He is one of the foremost explorers into photographic trans-media storytelling, and he's done it all wearing a red-checked shirt.

Chapters by Others

Following up my interest in the First World War, I collected and recorded the works produced by others – pieces which I empathised with, in my own attempts to depict certain aspects of this historical event. These are not pieces that I have any specific use for, they are certainly no finished product of mine, but I felt that I should add them to this larger story (as curated on this blog) recognising that they have a part – a chapter – in what I wish to tell.



The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy



Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen



An extract from Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

Another Person's Story

This is another person's story, or a fraction of it, read from a plaque, in the War Memorial Park, in Coventry, England.



This is a revised production. The first piece had more images to the slideshow, and the received feedback suggested that there was too much to look at, and it was distracting attention from the audio story. Also there was an issue with the content of some of the images, which were perhaps a little too eager in creating the predictable emotions associated with remembrance. I didn't wish to convey or encourage such an expected almost shallow response, so I edited them down to the less 'obvious' images. It is the audio story which I wanted to use to convey the significance of the sacrifice and honour found in the acts of individuals in the First World War, and then the images to explore how these stories are recollected and experienced - and how those individuals are remembered.   

David Campbell on what matters in storytelling.

Robert Capa said: “If your pictures aren’t good enough you aren’t close enough.” Todd Papageorge said: “If your pictures aren’t good enough you aren’t reading enough.” Professor David Campbell delivered a talk on ‘Narrative, Power and Responsibility’, within photography and storytelling.

Beginning with exploring the notion of narrative, David mentioned the significance of the relationship between the event and its story. As Allen Feldman states “The event is not what happens. The event is that which can be narrated.” An event – and crucially any implication it may have – is determined by the means of which it has been narrated/recollected/viewed etc. A story is always constructed not found. And the idea of an overall or ‘full’ narrative is a fallacy – this is simply their nature, and one that must be acknowledged by photographic and storyteller practitioners. David therefore urges that the onus be on a consideration of context, of how an individual story will fit into the wider issue, and the importance of research, before producing or telling such a story.

“To me, the work that is most powerful, the work that sustains itself over time, is the work that understands its own context; not only its own context of production, distribution and publication, but the context of the issues that it’s trying to portray visually.”

David went on to highlight the popularity of narrative: the idea that it offers a sense of purpose and meaning, something that is more comprehensive and less ‘messy’ than the experiences of everyday life. Context takes the form of a setting for a statement, idea or event – and can be considered as the wider issue which already holds people’s attention. This coupled with the natural attraction to narrative, explains the interest, demand for, and therefore success of, stories which can be accessed and understood.  

David raised a crucial point about the relationship between individuals and the context: the issue is not an entity to witness, but you can witness the issue in individuals who embody it – and this he states, is one of the most fundamental things to consider when putting a narrative together.

To finish, David brought forward the questions of power and responsibility that an image/story-maker holds, and to what purpose they might direct themselves when they have the potential to effect change. David soon illuminated the fact that it is rare for an image to seriously effect change to the extent that the image-maker may have desired. To counter this, he suggested a greater effort be put to the thought and research of a story, with particular attention to context and narrative.

“…that outcome will be maximised, the prospects for change will be greater, if those ideas of narrative and context are better understood. Because the more that you can relate work to particular contexts – both what’s involved in the issue, and also the channels through which it gets distributed – then potentially the greater impact it can have.”


A full recording of the talk, and the questions that followed, can be found at #phonar.

The Sound of Silence

This is an audio recording I made on the 11th of November 2010, in Coventry city centre. This day was armistice day, marking the anniversary of the end of the First World War.



I was interested in listening to the sound of silence, which of course with a large crowd in a shopping centre is far from silent. I also wanted to draw attention to the atmospheric significance of this event, of the reason that we hold this silence, and why it is important that we do it together. The period of silence is book-ended by the Last Post.

My Father and I - A Spoken Narrative

This is the short story I recorded for the 'Spoken Narrative' #phonar task.



It is factual, something I jotted down at the time, and which I occasionally do with other similar events as they occur. Events which I desire to remember and sometimes to share.

Self-portraiture on the BBC

Art critic Laura Cumming presented 'Ego: The Strange and Wonderful World of Self-Portraits' broadcast on BBC4 last Thursday. She didn't examine photography, but the points of discussion, the arguments, criticisms, and other theories were I think, still applicable to lens-based work. Unfortunately the full programme is no longer available, but the following clip is a good example of where photographic self-portraits could be considered in addition to her point.



Later on in the programme, there was a very interesting scene where Laura Cummings and Patrick Hughes, whilst standing in front of one, contemplated the mirror, or rather the reflection. I remember Hughes' point being the curiosity between the two perceptions of the mirror: on one hand it can be so convincing, so easily taken for granted that it is absolutely real, on the other, its counter-reality - the shininess, the scaled down size, the inverted image, and the struggle and hence the fascination when faced with a mirror.