Themes reflection task: Blog Post 2
To extend on the topics that have been explored in my first blog post, the Better Lives themes of ‘Sustainability, Diversity and Social responsibility’ has really made an impact on my thought process regarding topics discussed in this unit. In this age of globalisation where society is no longer built on a single culture or set of ideals, the fashion industry acts as a visual representation of this phenomenon. I have chosen to reflect on the theme of diversity in particular because of its influence over my perception of my chosen practice in this unit which is contemporary portrait photography.
In Shahida Bari’s lecture on Diversity, it was mentioned that Diversity has been seen as a ‘buzz word’ in the fashion industry with little action to create real change. The inclusivity behind the scenes is far from what is shown in advertisements and campaigns, which often showcase a picture-perfect imagery of racially diverse models. This is due to the progressively more aware generation of millennials that has become the predominant target audience to specifically fashion related retail in the past decade. The industry cannot be truly diverse if it continues to abuse the meaning of diversity and use it as a marketing ploy to sell products. Having one White, one Black, one Asian and one Brown model huddled together has become a template for companies to utilize. We as consumers have the right to critically analyze a company’s ‘diversity strategy’ and decide for ourselves if it is genuine or just another ethnicity quota to fill so they are keeping up with the times. In contrast, we as communicators, have the social responsibility to reflect on the messages sent to our audiences. Diversity doesn’t only mean ethnicity and race, it is also age, sexuality, faith, gender identity, body positivity and disability. It is a topic of conversation not only for the fashion industry, but in introspect for the entirety of our society. Diversity is having an equal opportunity regardless of all the above things that form our identity.
My motives behind the camera has always been simple – a documentation of the everyday. Unlike many of my peers who are experienced shooting creatively, I have rarely documented anything outside of the mundane. Through studying contemporary portrait photography and the Better Lives themes closely, combined with a time of global crisis, it has had an impact on the direction in which I will take creatively in the future. It is clear to me that constructing positivity and meaning through imagery is equally as important as the act of documentation in photography today. This positivity shows through work that provokes necessary conversations on critical matters affecting our social climate such as diversity.