Blog Post 2: Themes Reflection Task
As we know fashion has a huge power to reflect global issues. A few weeks ago, Better Lives Project started to build my awareness on subjects such as diversity, sustainability and social responsibility in fashion. Although, in the beginning, they seemed obvious to me, with time these 3 notions became an important part of my thinking as I realised they are core in creating future fashion landscape based on awareness and ethics. Consequently, they made me reflect not only on the way I live but how I can communicate these values in my practice as an image-maker.
Social responsibility as well as promoting diversity was always important to me. A few years ago, I decided to publish two zines focused on human sensibilities and how they can become symbols of inner strength. In the first part, ten women from the creative environment were invited to share their stories and doubts regarding life and creative work. They were asked how they imagine their future, what are their fears and insecurities, how they feel as women in the modern-day world. In the continuation of this project, the focus was put on an exploration of the feelings of men. They were asked about how they define masculinity and if there is a space to speak openly about feelings in a society that still inhibits men in terms of expressing their sensibilities. Consequently, it meant to show emotional diversity and prove that sensibility, although sometimes makes life harder is a huge strength that might bring the change. After, I started to continue including messages in my photography by focusing on the current process of redefining masculinity and emphasizing the vulnerability of men. Better Lives assured me that this is the right path and made me reflect even more on bringing diversity to my photography which resulted in choosing an older representation of our generation in my photography project. It encouraged me to expand my horizons in terms of diversity representation and building social awareness.
Although social responsibility and diversity were always part of my practice, I have never thought much about how as a photographer I can be more sustainable and do not create at the cost of our planet. In the beginning, it was hard for me to come up with any ideas except for the use of clothing from the brands representing sustainability values. However, after reflection, I realised that I can represent ethical photography with my choices. Recycled paper, companies using eco-friendly materials and products that minimize environmental damage are the ways to become a more responsible image-maker.
To sum up, I believe that the future relies on conscious individuals and that artist carry social responsibility and should translate it into their work. In a world that needs empathy more than ever, what COVID-19 has aptly shown, I think the human aspect of my photography work will be extremely relevant. Better Lives Project assured me that I want to be part of this empathic evolution and comprehend the contemporary fashion landscape and its future perspectives with deep awareness.