Blog Post 2
The three concepts of better lives are critical not only to my learning as a student but essential in the way I will be integrating that in my practice in the future. A dynamic industry like fashion always requires us to think ahead. In times like ours, the social and environmental impact our work has would be shaped by the lectures and classes I attended during the better lives unit.
My project brief is Contemporary Portrait Photography, which discusses the practical and theoretical elements of portrait photography. During our Contemporary Portrait Photography classes, we were allowed to go out and shoot portraits in Shepard’s Bush market. With basic equipment and short planning time, I learned to develop my themes and concepts spontaneously. This also helped me practice shooting in an uncontrolled environment rather than just learning how to do “organised” studio shoots. By learning how to work in groups and with speed I developed my basic photography skills of framing and idea generation. This combined with the classes we had on aperture, iso and shutter speed helped me understand the technical aspects of basic photography.
During the lectures, I realised that in this digital age, every image we create has an effect and thus should carry a message that aligns with our beliefs and ethics. Listening to Teleica Kirkland’s lecture on representation I understood that diversity and representation are not just using a mixture of different people but is used to help us understand different cultural aspects of the world around us. This, in turn, would broaden our point of view and mindset and put an end to continued ignorance we have towards other ethnic cultures. In my practice, I intend to shine a light on people of colour and minorities to showcase their culture.
To avoid tokenism it is important to understand their experiences and avoid forcing their look to be “Eurocentric”. When one doesn’t understand the diversity in its true sense it leads to white-washing or culture appropriation. For instance, when Vogue India face backlash for having Kendall Jenner be the cover face of their 25th-anniversary issue (Dhillon, 2019). Instead of having an Indian or brown woman, they chose to go with a white model who doesn’t have any roots to the Indian culture. This type of white-washing by global magazines leads to the development of misinformed and ignorant mindset amongst their readers.
Social responsibility is also an important element of our practice. Knowing where the garments and accessories came from that is being used by us. we shouldn’t be supporting fast fashion companies which have a negative impact on the environment, or even luxury companies like Dolce and Gabbana which has often been in the firing line for being racist and insensitive of other cultures (Dolce and Gabbana, 2018). The cultural heritage a garment holds should be properly addressed. The fashion industry has been negligent of this and has fallen into cultural appropriation more times it should have. As the image circulates the meaning it holds would too. It is high time we start using our power and platform to limelight minorities and bring about the change we are seeking in the fashion industry.
Reference list
Dhillon, A. (2019). Vogue India defends decision to put Kendall Jenner on cover after backlash. [online] The National. Available at: https://www.thenational.ae/world/vogue-india-defends-decision-to-put-kendall-jenner-on-cover-after-backlash-1.44821 [Accessed 22 Apr. 2020].
Dolce and Gabbana (2018). # Dolce&Gabbana：起筷吃飯 系列廣告. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfzy-_jDyeo&feature=emb_title [Accessed 22 Apr. 2020].