BLOG POST 4:PEER REFLECTION (HOLLY NORRIS )

Somewhat, what attracted me into reading this specific blog post, was the image that gave a professional appeal. First image depicted a vibe of the model being practically ‘scanned’ on the printer and the shadow silhouettes played a big role in creating that mysterious vibe. It was  “Them” a project shot by Danny Treacy which I thought was Holly’s work. However, going back to the main point, the individual has written about their project outcome and personal development which was a second reason as in my perspective, being able to reflect, self-criticize and be original is crucial especially working in creative fields such as fashion. I was interested to know, what made Holly inspired and what theme she developed her work along with and has her final outcome linked back to her research.

Moreover, contemporary portrait photography was something I wanted to do as well as fashion activism therefore this blog will also give me some knowledge of what they have studied, compare two and finally also learn something new.

Firstly, Holly stated that social responsibility and diversity are the main factor of what she wants to show within her work. She was highly influenced by Danny Treacy’s work where he found various items including clothes washed out on the shore near Thames and used it to assemble a garment for the final shoot. I agree with the factors she pointed about social responsibility as Treacy used washed out clothing and by that has helped reduce shore clutter and proved there is a room for sustainability in photography by reusing garments whether the classic buying & disposing. I particularly liked her use of “vulnerability of the forgotten” since the items that were found are from different eras and as old as the “Roman era” which I found fascinating as well. That closely made me think that she has used the knowledge given in order to use it within the better lives unit and help her develop her personal work.

Secondly, Holly has stated that she was able to learn new photography based skills during her lectures with Mark Kean and how she was also inspired by his editorial works where she stated her fascination with “how surroundings can change the theme of the image”. 

This has led me to a conclusion, that Mark Kean has inspired her personal work more as her “self-portrait” would look completely un pop-artist and somewhat surrealistic if there were no hands holding orange in presence. Her work has proven the use of the inspiration of the surroundings in this case hand editing the theme would have been completely different. Despite a lack of tools due to COVID-19, Holly has used bright tones such as yellow and blue that she found at home, supported her imitation of pop-art and in my perspective, linked to Danny Treacy’s photography, where colour palettes consisted of bright colours as well as dark ones. I like that the work was completely different to the inspirations, it had her unique colours with the influence which you can also see. Overall, Holly’s work was easy and interesting to read, she has talked about her inspirations and how she used them within better lives themes and taught some useful information about some photographers that the reader can look at.