Discussion about my final pieces.

My work focuses on highlighting and showing the struggles within individual’s lives during the recession. To get to this I had to research and explore many other aspects of the recession as well as influences from other artists trying to capture the recession, which you can see through out this blog. I researched different outcomes of the recession such as; Business closures, Derelict schools, recession surrounding the public as well as working with the homeless.  Through exploring each aspect in depth by capturing images and researching other artists doing the same, I felt it would help me understand all the heartache and worry that is surrounding the country from all the closures and struggles of living not just my own direct experience. From what I explored and discovered it proved there was a lot more than what the media shows of the people and aspects struggling.

 I decided to capture my images within a home setting, as my main objective for the Independent study was to summarise aspects of individual’s lives during a recession by capturing personal struggle. I decided before I started shooting that the concept and composition was the most important part of the image rather than the technique in which I would use to shoot the images, just in the way Brady found it important to create the image. I also felt like this was the best way of making sure that the technique I was using would fit the message without letting the technique be the main focus of the image. However, I was aware that the techniques I used to create my images were also important and should be considered to reflect the concept.  The objective of my work was to ‘the real’ and the only way I felt I could do this was by making sure that the meaning of the image was going to drive my work and the technique needed to be appropriate to convey the concept.

For my final images I wanted to show struggle. Struggle was what the media were saying but not showing. My images convey struggles in a home within every day activities, such as washing your hands, eating meals, looking in your cupboards at what’s left , going to the toilet. However I wanted to show these daily activities in a way that families and individuals have found it in the recession, and how they are trying to preserve appliances as well as money and the completion of such everyday activities have proven to be more difficult. To interpret this into my images and convey the concept I had to plan and think about the composition in which would best reflect this. However I felt comfortable and familiar with the task as they are activities that I do myself during this hard time.

By documenting these personal struggles in daily life during the recession through using documentary photography I feel that my target audience is the British public that are affected by all the changes especially lower and middle class families and individuals who cant find full time employment and are dealing with the benefit cuts. Although there are more people affected by the recession such as businesses, my documentary images are more based on targeted families and individuals struggling in their own home.