ABOUT

The brief for this project was to create a body of photographic work, which explores concepts related to the body. The work could be approached in a diversity go ways, whether it be documentary realism, portraiture, fashion abstraction or design or by transferring the body into a social space, landscape or fantasy. The resolution had to aim to be challenging and creative and should be in a professional manner.

I decided to approach this by looking into how our identity is shaped, the influences we have and how these construct our notion of self. I initially started researching beauty ideals and the marketing of products. From this, I took the visual style of these images and recreated my own by perpetuating aspects of fairytales into the final resolution. I wanted the audience to become aware of these ideas that have altered our expectations of ourselves.

Happily Whatever You're After is a body of work exploring how the concepts and values in fairytales still influence aspects of current society. My images respond to this by suggesting advertising uses the marketing of products to incorporate these ideas, and it can be seen in the wider visual culture. More specifically, how archaic allegorical themes have continued into contemporary ideas of desire which determine how our identity and notions of self are constructed. Fairytales are often set in places of uncertainty, in a medieval past where ideas of chivalry and belief in magic were common. Tropes of love, power and beauty were often used to reinforce concepts of morality. The symbols used in these tales can be seen in everyday life from common speech to films and advertising, and are filled with these associated values. The use of certain objects and ideas perpetuate the accompanying values and these have become normalised, reinforcing older themes of morality and providing an unconscious influence on the development and beliefs of individuals.

The final resolution consisted of five images that I had constructed and photographed, and an illustration from a tale that reinforced my ideas. Three of the images focused on photographing a model, in which I used myself as the subject to show the beauty ideals I have subconsciously conformed to, and two images of still life photography.