Reflection and Response to Themes; DIVERSITY
Throughout the Better Lives unit, I have been exploring the themes of Diversity, Social Responsibility and Sustainability through the eyes of Photography; Portrait Photography specifically, and the significance of practicing them.
By participating in lectures given by our unit leaders and weekly activities to complete at home, we focused and highlighted the digital image generation and the representation of and with in portraiture. We were set a task, “Home Portraits”, which required us to use our home and domestic space as a site for portraiture. I explored family. The definition of family changes over time and through centuries due to many contributing factors; changes in communication, migration, wealth distribution, family law and marriage- and so on. I explored the variety of interpretations of the word family through photography, and how the 3 themes may have been considered. Diversity was definitely the highlighted theme that was recognised throughout; however many variations of the sort. Demographic diversity; age, gender, race, sexual orientation. Experimental diversity; hobbies, abilities, affinities. Lastly, cognitive diversity; how we approach and respond to problems. In my own work, I came to recognise that among thinking about the many sectors of Diversity, I was also responding to the other themes that we have highlighted through this Better Lives unit. Through experimental diversity, we can play with Sustainability and interpret that through the use of activity and affinity; we can consciously make choices in how we respond to sustainability in our every day actions and tasks. Through cognitive diversity, we can also delve in to Social Responsibility, and what we take on our selves in order to respond to issues among us, whether big or small; and how we understand and prioritise our own responsibilities.
Exploring these themes through the art of Portrait photography has aided me as a practising stylist. It has helped me to understand the importance of the subjects’ identity and how I may take on the responsibility of the global perspective of authenticity by the way I style a model in a shoot; however big or small the publication may be. Fashion has no age, gender, colour or specific demographic; fashion has the identity of whatever you make it. Although these themes were always something I had been aware of, delving deeper in to them from different perspectives, has changed the way I will create my own work moving forward.
As a stylist I will always work so closely with the photographer, therefore it is important, collectively, to take the weight of social issues that need attention and address that in our work where it is appropriate and necessary. Scrutinising and unpacking the theme of Diversity, has broadened my awareness to other themes with out realising, because really they call come under a wider umbrella. As creatives, we must also get under that umbrella and work collectively and consciously to not only BE, but to inform our audience of the importance of Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Diversity.