Abstract:
I am interested in the role of the photographer in subjectively interpreting their world. I ask myself to explore the porous nature of photography and alert myself to ‘seeing’. In this, I open up a dialogue about the relationships we have with what we photograph. In my photography, this subjectivity relates to my interpretation of landscape and people, and is expressed in photography of places and faces. This essay explores what we see and experience, and in it I have considered what it is to look simply, at what is near to us; and how engagement with the subject is a dynamic process whereby our experiences both conscious and subconscious come into play. I have asked myself, what a practice of engagement might look like. I have drawn on a variety of texts and artists whose thoughts and work have stimulated my thinking around ideas of subjectivity and have encouraged a reflection on my process. Key to this essay, are the thoughts of Marnie McInnes on ‘lyrical photography’, John Berger on looking and Max Kozloff’s theoretical work surrounding portraiture and self-representation. I also consider artists such as Larry Sultan, Rineke Dijkstra and Paul Graham. These are contextualised within a discussion of the subject and photographer relationship. I am particularly interested in the ethics of engagement - especially where the subjects are people. I endeavour to look beyond the surface of that relationship. I wish to demystify what can be awkward in an exchange between the photographer and subject, by acknowledging its complexity.