Through
course exercises and additional reading, I developed an understanding in
constructed images, archives and found images, questioning the validity and
reliability of images and digital image and identity. Exercises and assignments
provided the ideal situations to develop skills such as traditional cutting and
pasting, creating montages in photoshop, producing something different from
archived photographs, plenty of research into history and development of the
digital age, exploring existing photographers’ execution of the subject and
developing my critical writing to introduce context behind my photographs.
I
struggled initially with cutting and pasting, deconstructing images which I had
spent time making. I experimented with different techniques and followed this
up with an OCA Student study visit (April 2018) to the Whitworth in Manchester
to see Stezaker’s exhibition. Having completed my critical essay before the
visit, I joined in with the discussion and added another point of view.
Assignment 1 took me out of my comfort zone although highlighted that my
research skills are strong. (Image 1,2) I was able to assess which of my assignment
pieces worked and which didn’t. It helped having a virtual tutorial so that I
could discuss and learn from my images and discuss my plans for the next
assignment.
I
particularly enjoyed researching an exercise on the family album because I
found artists who used embroidery to change images. This resonated with me as I
enjoy embroidery and could alter photographs without cutting. I banked this
idea and used it towards a performative piece of work in Assignment 4(Assignment 4, Images 20,21,22,23). During Assignment 2, I collected several online images
of the local coalmine to make a book. However, it all looked a bit disjointed.
I revisited this following tutor feedback and used a combination of fewer
images and people’s memories to build up a picture. We had discussed this being
possibly 3 assignments worth of work initially and that it happens when
beginning to find a personal voice. I attended a camera club talk from Chris
Upton who photographed Thoresby Colliery and visited a local mining heritage
centre for further research. I experimented with Blurb’s book publishing in a
soft cover to be in keeping with pamphlets in the libraries’ local history
section. I compared the printed hard and soft copy and decided the soft copy
worked. During my online tutorial, Wendy suggested visiting Matt Collishaw’s VR
exhibition which complemented the course and came to the National Science and
Media Museum (April 2018). I really enjoyed this and the accompanying
exhibition with stereoscopic photographs built on work from Photography 2:
Landscape.
For
Assignment 3 (critical essay), I followed my interest in selfies, tourism and
social media, keen to understand Snapchat and sending ephemeral images as
modern communication as opposed to family album keepsakes. I found it easier to
research and write critically as this is my second level 2 course and the UCA
online library made access to journals and e-books easier, especially as it
holds e-books on nursing. No corrections were advised so we had a useful
discussion around my ideas for assignment 4.
I
found inspiration for Assignment 4 and 5 in my role as a theatre nurse. Background
research included looking at the representation of nurses in digital image and
culture, including stereotypes and the shifting role of women in the health
service. My starting point for self portraits was Thomas Ruff, with a visit to
Whitechapel Gallery (December 2017) to view his large-scale portraits and
develop a typology of theatre nurses (Assignment 4, Images 1-11) which I
developed by altering the images; printing, cutting and pasting (Assignment 4, Images 12-14) A
reference to Angelmaier at Grain prompted Assignment 4, Image 15. I learned a valuable lesson in turning off the colour
management system and allowing photoshop to control the printing. I began to
look at my identity building up an image from photographs of me as a theatre
nurse and reflecting back someone else in a mirror and one became my blog title
photo as it summed up the course (Assignment 4, Images 16-20) I experimented
widely with context, performance such as putting myself in the patient’s
position by photographing my body, printing and suturing it then digitising it
(Assignment 4, Images 20-23)
In
Assignment 5, I developed a narrative based on the Code of Conduct which nurses
must follow. This involved illustrating various points of the code using a mix
of archived photographs and my own where nothing fitted / copyright issues. I
experimented with printing on different paper, fabric and teabags and produced
a collection of images printed on teabags because tea links nurses and patients
together. Ironically theatre nurses insist on patients being without tea for 2
hours until after their operation. There is room for development here; a few
images did not work with the text; a mix of landscape and portrait wasn’t
brilliant for the slideshow and the finished product is not as neat as I would
have liked due to the difficulties working with such a delicate material.
One of the
support mechanisms I employed was linking up with a fellow student with whom I
met for coffee to discuss our different assignments and attended exhibitions.
Together we organised and led the OCA Student visit to the Turner Exhibition
and HIP Festival (2017). I joined the OCA North after meeting fellow students
at study visits and hope to participate in future visits and show and tell
sessions. I attended the Grain Landscape Symposium run in conjunction with the
University of Gloucester as I really enjoy Landscape and need to start thinking
about level 3. In preparation, I attended Mike Pickwell’s OCA exhibition and
OCA MA Fine Art Exhibition in Barnsley. I submitted 2 photos to Patchings Art
Centre (November 2017) which both sold. I hope FORMAT Derby (2019) will hold
sessions on working with archives as I am interested in experiencing photographic
archives.
It has been a pleasure working with Nicola. The final preparations for submission of DiC were discussed by telephone and the following decided upon. Her LL and research are well laid out online and the main points were in further clarifying and strengthening her submission with the inclusion of some reflective writing on her submission. Congrats, Nicola!
Feedback on assignment
‘To do in preparation for assessment:
Assignment 1: Piece of reflection analyzing strengths and weaknesses. Select a couple of images from parts 1 and 2 to print.
Assignment 2: Have re-visited the original work, studied Nicky Bird’s project and re-photographed in the original locations before blending together. Looked at pamphlets in libraries on local coalmines and decided on a conversational pamphlet. Needs printing. Link in work of local photographer Chris Upton on paper (on blog already). Also needs reflection on the journey.
Assignment 3: No changes necessary.
Assignment 4: Document experimenting and taking risks. Reflection on own story. Prints – pull out a selection that describes the journey to assignment 5. Pull out captions onto A4 sheet of reflection.
Assignment 5: Slideshow, Abstract of approx. 300 words linking assignments 4 and 5 together, blog post on Richard Prince and Carmen Winant. Statistics?’
60 years (80 years now) “Western memory museum is now mostly a visual one” people remember events by photographs such as Abu Ghraib prisoners being tortured.
2 types of photos emerge from atrocities:
1 Trophy photo- I/we were there and I/we did this e.g. lynching- collectively photographers thought it was OK to act in this way
2 Photos captured from atrocities – e.g. Abu Ghraib recording their part in the atrocity from fun to observations which are shared globally.
People are used to acting / posing for the camera.
Digital footprint - the picture is there permanently. What should be shown or edited out?
2013 selfie was the “international word of the year”.
Vernacular photography and social media phenomenon.
Oxford dictionary “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.”
elfie encompasses digital self-portraits.
“A new way of not only representing ourself to others but of communicating with one another through images.” (Rawlings, 2013 as cited by Tifentale, 2014)
Only 4% of all photos posted on Instagram during one week for the selfie city project were actual selfies.
Early selfies – Robert Cornelius – daguerreotype (1839) Hippolyte Bayard self-portrait as drowned man (1840)
Early photographs of Americans on tour in Egyptian ruins can be described as building the “American self” (Lingwood , 1986 as cited by Tifentale, 2014). Through self-portrait, the self is constructed. Performance. “The most intimate place for narcissistic contemplation, the room with the mirror – a bathroom for example – becomes in this context the most common of places, where every distinction of the self is in the end abolished.” Chevrier (n.d)
Every self-portrait is the portrait of another which is a social construction.
Selfie consists of image and meta-data. It has likes and shares. Instagram – instantaneous – community – communal and public activity #’s
Photography – time and effort – not selfie if not shared on social media,
Selfies fit a small number of the population – young adults (median age 23.7 years in 2013
Selfies not an art form – Marche. Images are not rare. Selfies have been exhibited in galleries e.g. National #Selfie Portrait Gallery in National Portrait Gallery in London, curated by Kyle Chayka and Marina Galperina.
Assignment 4 (Digital Identities 1) and 5 (Digital
Identities 2) link
Throughout
Assignment 4 I explored my identity as a theatre nurse, inspired by
photographers such as Thomas Ruff, Claudia Angelmaier, Tom Hussey and Brian
Griffin. Influenced by Anne Collier’s “Cut” (2010) and “Eye#3” (2014), Jo
Spence’s “The picture of health” (1982-1986) series and Juana Gomez’s
embroidered bodies depicting anatomy such as organs and blood vessels on the
outside of the body, I experimented by swapping roles with the patient and
making potential scars with sutures on my own body. To understand my identity
within the operating theatre, I made a small series of images looking into a
mirror whereby the viewer looked over my shoulder into the face of someone who
I am influenced by, have influenced or my own reflection. Looking at image and
representation of nurses enabled me to understand how nurses are portrayed in
the media and how 21st century nurses are encouraged to represent
the profession in social media. Understanding the history of the nursing
profession opened my eyes to the shifting role of women in the health service.
These
ideas needed a narrative to link them together for Assignment 5. I used the
Nursing and Midwifery Council’s Code of Conduct to illustrate some of the code
from the perspective of my role as a theatre nurse using archived material, my
personalised bitmoji (dressed in theatre greens) and my own work with theatre
staff assuming the role of the patient when necessary. Nurses and patients are
renowned for drinking tea, so to link the concept of patients and nurses
together, I experimented with printing the images on teabags. This becomes a
little ironic in the role of the theatre nurse as we withhold tea from patients
for at least 2 hours prior to surgery.
Slideshow
I experimented using different slideshow programmes and eventually went back to Windows Media Player. Playing around with the effects, I was able to have the title screen coming across to make the whole image opaque which was similar to my teabag envelopes. This gave the viewer two viewpoints, being there and peeing through a window. I deliberated over a sound track and decided on silence. I considered the sound of surgical tools (which some patients complain about) or conversation recorded in theatre. I think this would need several attempts to get the right piece of conversation which didn’t alarm viewers and respected patient confidentiality. This is on my blog and will be uploaded to the G Drive for assessment.
The 2 above pieces were added as a result of my tutor feedback. The third is a piece of detailed reflection for assignments 4 and 5 positioned before the tutor feedback.
Background
Conflict between leading nurse figures in the 1800’s complicated the establishment of nursing schools, standardising education and development of nursing as a profession. The 1919 Nurses Act generated implementation of a register under the General Nursing Council providing the public with confidence that nurses were trained to a professional standard. Nurses sent to the frontline in WW1 undertook extra training in anaesthetics and performed minor emergency surgery. Following the war, roles reverted. As part of the reduction of junior doctors’ hours in the NHS, nurses’ duties developed to include traditional doctors’ roles. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) revised the code of conduct to reflect modern society and protect the public from harm.
Contextualisation
Operating Theatre nurses are hidden away behind closed doors in a world of sterility and intrigue, anonymous to patients under general anaesthetic and most patients don’t remember their episode in recovery. Everyone wears similar scrubs, recognised by an obscured ID badge and unless one is a student or in charge, wear the same coloured hat, supporting the confusion surrounding visibility and identity. Peering through the fingerprints on another theatre’s door, the nurse becomes an outsider to the exclusive world of surgery. Coffee room stories told by long serving staff contribute to the feeling of timelessness.
The introduction of the NMC revalidation programme (NMC, 2015) required written reflection and evidence cross referencing four sections of the code; prioritise people, preserve safety, practice effectively, promote professionalism and trust. As a sign-off mentor working with students in their final placement I inform the university whether they are fit to qualify. Students transition between the student and qualified code during a period of preceptorship, so this visual illustration of the code becomes a discussion between mentor/preceptor and mentee/preceptee. “Preceptorship can be considered as a transition phase for newly registered practitioners when continuing their professional development, building their confidence and further developing competence to practice, and not as a way to meet any shortfall in pre-registration education” (HEE 2018). The images have a non-linear timeline, using archived monochrome photographs through to colourful modern-day social media images to represent the history of theatre nursing.
By adding text and bitmojis to images, reducing in size, printing on teabags and obscuring with an envelope on which the relevant code is typed, the unseen world of the theatre nurse becomes a suggestion of what might happen “behind closed doors”. The theme of tea links together patients and staff, tea is synonymous with nursing, but theatres impose strict withholding of fluids on patients for prior to theatre.
Development of idea
Originally using dried teabags, I printed to mimic a sepia effect. I researched teabag sizes online, ordered and the resulting image was shiny and slippery. I experimented with emptying teabags in my cupboard, trying different makes, sizes and print (using different paper settings in photoshop). Ironing empty Yorkshire teabags gave the best results. I printed contact sheets, taped teabags over the images, reprinted using photoshop on a matte paper setting and reprinted some due to movement in the printer, too much tea left in the bag or damage from tape removal.
Initially, linking the code to the image via a teabag tag worked until the number of words increased, resulting in a large tag which I abandoned in favour of a teabag envelope.
After trialling printing on opaque greaseproof and tracing papers, I developed a template to fit the teabag which included the relevant code on the front. Printing without smudging required taping the tracing paper onto an A4 sheet of paper, keeping totally flat in the printer, using draft from word document instead of photoshop to print, drying and trimming to size. The colour and thickness of tracing paper looked more professional than greaseproof. Double-sided-sticky-tape was tidier than glue for sealing the edge. I trialled homemade opaque paper which was unsuccessful.
I sewed three different organza drawstring bags (like teapigs) to hold photos, but the organza was not adequate to be handled by several people.I printed directly onto organza backed with freezer paper which was too fine; the print missed most of the fabric and ended up on the paper.
The wooden box contains four compartments for the different part of the code, each containing a title page with overarching points; the envelopes being subdivisions of the code. I removed the NMC logo after altering the copyrighted design. There is scope to build on this and cover more points; however, this number is a good representation. The last sheet contains image credits which was readable when printed on matte paper.
Self-evaluation
I researched development of the code of conduct and narrowed it down to the modern code rendering the subject more manageable. Included a couple of ideas from assignment 4 and only used material within the creative commons licence, so some images were mocked up with a group of volunteers. Staff were uncomfortable in front of the camera which limited choice to my bridge rather than DSLR. Unfortunately, anything modern showing patients is copyrighted. Trialled different ideas, size of print, type of paper and I now understand what my printer can do.
Need to work on a couple of the images where the print is unreadable on the teabag, but it worked on the contact sheet
In all, a time-consuming exercise but fun and something the staff were interested in; especially the dress code and the old Nottingham operating theatres which felt like we should know some of the staff from 1978.
Figure 5 Hampshire, N (2018) Anaesthetised patient [photograph] In possession of the author. Nottingham.
Figure 6 Stone, Richard (1943) [photograph; Student Nurse Joyce Collier hands the surgeon a pair of forceps during an operation to remove a patient’s appendix in the Operating Theatre at St. Helier Hospital Both wear rubber gloves and masks, which consist of four layers of linen] At:https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205199881 Last accessed 6/8/2018
Figure 7 Kay, Joanne (2018) [photograph] In possession of the author. Wales.
Figure 10 Hampshire, N (2018) Operating theatre sign in1 [photograph] In possession of the author. Nottingham.
Figure 11 Hampshire, N (2018) Consent [photograph] In possession of the author. Nottingham.
Figure 12 Hampshire, N (2018) Operating theatre sign in2 [photograph] In possession of the author. Nottingham.
Part 2 Practise effectively
Figure 13 Hampshire, N (2018) Scrubbing up [photograph] In possession of the author. Nottingham.
Figure 14 [photograph; The Operating Theatre. From left to right: Nurse Henry Young, T. Hampton, E.J. Toye, the matron and Sister Cosgrove. Photograph Faulkner photograph album, photographs of the Metropolitan Hospital, Kingsland Road, its staff and patients. Wellcome Library, London] At: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Metropolitan_Hospital,_Kingsland_Road_Wellcome_L0021211.jpgLast accessed: 6/8/18
I have an
interest in representation of nurses and the shifting role of nurses over time,
which positioned the start point of my research. In 2016, our
multi-disciplinary team was filmed by medical photography for a patient who
requested a gentle caesarean section as an educational tool which subsequently
went viral on social media. I was eager
to explore the representation of nurses on social media and whether the same
stereotypes thrive in the virtual world. A course exercise and exhibition visit
to view Julie Cockcroft’s work inspired me to alter photographs using
embroidery.
What have you learned?
I visited
Thomas Ruff’s exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery and hoped to feel more
inspired by the huge portraits, which led me to experiment with my initial
images. (Assignment 4, Images 12,13,14) I found it difficult to act in front of
the camera and was uncomfortable looking at them because it wasn’t what I
thought I looked like. (Assignment 4, Images 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11) The idea
behind my series was based loosely on De Bono’s thinking hats using different
hats worn in operating theatres; each hat representing a different role and
consequently a different personality. This created a role-related typology but
didn’t work so well wearing a mask, although non-verbal communication takes
place through eye contact.
When
photographing parts of my body, my set-up was self-portrait. I could not always
reach the remote-control camera lead, so I tried directing someone to take my
shots. I changed camera and re-photographed the areas myself; I spent the
longest time trying to photograph my eye from the surgeon’s perspective.
Dressing up became the performance; I had not considered this aspect of
self-portraiture.
By printing
body images on glossy photographic paper, the colours represented the skin
under operating lights. Matt paper removed the shine making the skin lifeless.
By working with the printed image, I saw my body in more detail.
The
relationship between the initial printed photograph and holding the image to
re-photograph it created a relationship between my body and me and demonstrated
an empathy between nurse and patient. My brain believed I had sutures in my
skin.
Sutures in
the analogue print link the pixels from the digital image together. By working
in two mediums the captured image recording part of myself changed into a
representation of how my role affects my body through understanding of scar
formation. In effect, this work became a projection of myself rather than a
reflection of reality. By holding the printed image and re-photographing, the
image moved from being a medical record into something more personal and
cognitive.
A possible
method of presentation for assignment 5 was journal covers. My research showed
modern theatre nurse journal covers were banal and uninspiring, perhaps because
people read online?
To bring my narrative into the 21st
century to engage younger nurses, I experimented with a bitmoji dressed in
theatre greens resembling me, linked with Gmail and sent myself different
captions and poses.
Printing on different materials
such as dried and emptied teabags, different papers and fabrics was a steep
learning curve and very frustrating at times when the slightest piece of fabric
or paper which was not stuck down smudged. Throughout the project I printed
everything on my printer. The most important lesson was turning off windows
colour management in photoshop and printing colour specific work in photoshop.
Most modern images showing patients
is copyrighted. I improvised by asking theatre staff to act but were
uncomfortable in front of the camera which limited choice to my bridge rather
than DSLR.
What mistakes did you make?
The gallery
shop had a couple of images for sale (I wish I noted the name of the artist)
which were layered portraits and pieces were peeled away. I experimented and
couldn’t get it to work.
Claudia
Angelmaier’s work was referenced at Grain’s Landscape Symposium. I tried to
present my work in her style but my photoshop skills need development.
(Assignment 4, Image 15)
I started Assignment 5 trialing a
series with plant leaves from anaesthetic drugs juxtaposed on archived photos
and discovered the series was too small.
What were the low points?
Time was the
biggest factor required to develop ideas. Finding relevant images to fit the
Code of Conduct and when revisiting the image and caption felt some links were
tenuous.Having completed Assignment
4, I played around with ideas trying to find a narrative.
High points?
I developed
a context for the sutured body images which showed me the importance of
visiting exhibitions and looking at other works. I was pleased my
self-portraits looked different in print than on screen. Theatre staff were
encouraging and supportive of my idea and we shared tea and cake after they
acted with me. (Assignment 5, Images 3,5,6,11,12,13,14)
Who influenced you?
Tom Hussey’s
advertising campaign for a dementia drug looking at the self and younger self
reflected in a mirror helped inform my series on self-portrait and identity
(Assignment 4, Images 16,17,18,19)
In Anne
Collier’s “Cut” and “Eye”, “Cut” is an image of an eye in a paper guillotine
which is in the process of being cut in half and in “eye” a hand holds an image
of an eye. Combined with Jo Spence’s “The picture of health” series and Juana
Gomez’s work on anatomy and the body, I started to explore mark making and
potential scar formation on printed photographs of my skin with suture material
which I then digitised. (Assignment 4, Images 20,21,22,23)
How might what you have produced impact on
your future projects?
There are
several ways I could develop this work; using different aspects from my
research to juxtapose reality and myth with language, represent nurses, explore
performance and multiple identities.
Have you found a personal voice that you
would like to develop?
I am so far
undecided whether to continue with nursing as a project or revisit landscape
for my body of work as I enjoyed both.
How did your technical decisions impact or
impair the final outcome?
My work is
not as neat as I had imagined based on the printing, cutting and sticking and
difficulties with working with the medium of teabags but it is more creative
than I envisaged at the start of the course.
Were you true to your artistic intentions?
I deviated
from what we discussed during Assignment 4 tutorial as the work developed into
a narrative. I planned to use more Assignment 4 work in Assignment 5 but it did
not fit, reusing only 2 images. (Assignment 5, Images 16,18)
What did you learn from the editing process?
Suturing the
photographs was more difficult than I imagined because different materials have
different properties. I edited out the eye and neck based on scale and type of
suture needed. The print is
unreadable on some teabags but worked on the contact sheet. I left it due to
the small size and it did not make the final selection of prints. I thinned out the teabag selection of large
prints to a representation of the tea caddy. I experimented using different
slideshows to replicate the opaque sheet similar to my teabags.
What are the main lessons you will take away
as a result of this course?
I became more creative and open to ideas which I will carry with me
through Photography 3.
Assignment 5 Tutor feedback
Overall Comments
An engaging and thoroughly researched submission. I’ve made some comments in this report on how to further strengthen the introduction of this project.
Feedback on assignment
"researched and experimented widely in response to this assignment. You have found a creative and original way to represent and re-contextualise a series of images (historical and contemporary, found and original) exploring the role of the nurse in contemporary culture. You have experimented widely with different presentation and production techniques – finally choosing to print these onto a series of teabag style sheets which you intend to display in a tea caddy/box"
"your ideas in DiC – and in this assignment in particular – have been very interesting, exploring as they do aspects of your own working life as a senior theatre nurse. The image that you use on the header of your blog – a self-portrait shot over your shoulder looking at your reflection of your younger self in a round hand mirror seems to sum up your project as a whole, looking as it does at the shifting role of the nurse – and by association, the shifting role of women in the health service over recent decades."
To do:
"write a short (300 word-ish`0 introduction to your project, outlining your motivations for your project and also what you wanted to say with your chosen form of presentation" which comes before the background to "help position the assignment for the viewer"
Animation of contact images on blog because "these images and their relationship to each other is a very important part of the project and shouldn’t be lost in thumbnails only."
RESEARCH NOTE: Look at artists Richard Prince’s Nurses series and write a blog post linking his own interest in the iconography of the nurse with your own work in this area.
‘Richard Prince's interest in clichés and stereotypes inspired his Nurse series, which he began in 2003. In appropriating the covers of 1950s pulp fiction novels, he explores the eroticized subject of the sexy nurse. He worked directly from the original sources, scanning the cover of the book, printing it on a large canvas, and then embellishing it with paint. The multi-stage process results in images that are both mass-produced and hand-rendered, manipulated through digital and analogue tools.
In each image, Prince preserves the figure of the nurse, her face obscured by a surgeon's mask, and the title of the book, although he often manipulates the details, swaps titles, and changes the features of the women through his drippy application of paint.
Like his earlier Cowboy series, Prince leads his viewers to reconsider the images that permeate American visual culture. Isolated as art objects, the images require closer examination; it becomes immediately evident that these nurses are not really nurses, but constructed icons of stereotypical fantasies.’ https://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/june-19-2008--richard-prince
Student feedback Assignment 5
I received really positive feedback about assignment 5. I had pushed myself creatively over this assignment and it had taken me longer to come up with the idea than I originally anticipated. My experimentation with exploring the role of the nurse showed. Change of blog title photograph worked.
Assignment 5 could be improved by writing an abstract of about 300 words before the background to Assignment 5, explaining my background, my motivations and re-positioning the work for the viewer. We discussed this because I was unsure whether to link assignment 4 and 5 together, so I will write a piece that covers this and links them together. I explained that for assessment purposes, I was going to submit the teacaddy / box and some larger prints so that the assessors would find it easier to view the work. Assignment 5 would also benefit from a slideshow whereby the photos could be seen moving and dissolving into each other representing the passage of time and move further forward in my work rather than tucked away in the background as a contact sheets. I thought I could also submit the slideshow to the gdrive at assessment if it didn’t work well on my blog. I need to experiment a little here.
We discussed the research that my tutor thought would be useful for me to look at. I recall seeing Carmen Winant’s work at the beginning of Assignment 4 and thinking how similar but unusual it was as I work in an operating theatre where people give birth and although they take photographs of themselves with baby, there is an element of privacy around it. It would be good to reference this as a contemporary artist who is exhibiting at MoMA (2018). Wendy also mentioned Richard Prince, who I studied as part of the stereotype of Nurses in Assignment 4. So I can put a piece together on my blog.
We discussed it would be interesting to look at power relations and hierarchy in nursing professions, and maybe talk about male nurses. I had found historical evidence of recruitment drives to include men, which I didn’t include. Also to look at statistics, behavioural patterns and types of image appearing (always the same type). We spoke of the role of the medical photographer, photos taken of life and death (memento mori) but not the private space inbetween and representation of illness – Susan Sontag, Jo Spence.
Looking forward to the next stage in the degree pathway, we talked about how I could advance this and use it as a background to my BoW, and even further to SYP and start thinking about exhibiting space within the clinical environment and the audience I want to reach. E.g. Barts Hospital have an exhibition space. Another idea is to look at the RCN archives and see what there is, and maybe use some of the archived photographs? Another consideration is the Wellcome Institute on Euston Road; I have used some of their online archived photographs in this assignment. Wendy suggested some playful self-portraiture using lights and different lenses in a theatre environment to see what I can achieve / evolve.’ NH
