Mhari Tyler

Within Contemporary portrait photography we were given the task of creating portrait photos whilst within isolation, for me this meant attempting to photograph my boyfriend over facetime. I chose to use multiple cameras to really enhance the feeling of being trapped behind a screen and even though on technology such as facetime, zoom or skype you may feel close to someone through seeing their face and hearing their voice but in reality you are far away from that person and not with them at all. Through the better lives themes of sustainability and social responsibility I chose to focus on the idea of photographing sustainably. Photoshoots are sometimes a waste of resources we should find new ways to be innovative with creatives practices. Carrying this thought into the current situation of a global pandemic means people have the time to stop their daily routines and think about ways they can better themselves and the way they approach creativity.

We had crit feedback sessions through Black Board collaborate, this gave us a chance to really look at the way other people have chosen to photograph each within their own individual and unique situation within this pandemic. Not one person will be in a same situation as another person and the uncertainty of these times can be unsettling. However the photos that I saw from my group were such a broad variety of perspectives on the world as it is for everyone in the present day, in some ways I found it so hard to relate as I had no background information on anyone else’s situation but in another way I felt very connected with everyone’s work as we were all working to the same briefing with similar setbacks and issues to overcome. The diversity of creativity form everyone’s work was really interesting as everyone’s perception and outcome from the task was very different from the next. I really enjoyed the whole process od this Better Lives section and it led me to realise I was not passionate about my course and wanted to change course, I want to develop my photography skills and learn how to change the future of fashion photography.

The aspects from this task that I will implement into my future creative works will be to always think around the problems we are faced with and to alter the perception of them within my mind i.e. not seeing them as problems but simply as a new way of thinking. If everyone could apply the same thinking we could make real change within the creative society.

The better lives lectures and themes have influenced the way I work in drastic ways already. Since the last blog post the COVID-19 crisis has worsened and the government have implanted a lockdown on the country. This means I am not allowed out to do anything but grocery shop. This means I am not going charity shopping as I used to do to find all of my clothes to buy. Consequently I have moved online in search of new pieces or styles I can use for everyday wearing purposes or even for a shoot for my Contemporary Portrait Photography sector. I have fully avoided websites such as Pretty Little Thing and In The Style as they are well known for fast production times and not enough support for their overseas employees. I have been using eBay only for used items or essentials. Since Highstreet shops and all in person stores have been forced to close there will be lots of wasted garments due to things being “out of season” or not wanted anymore but this concept of seasons has got to change if we want fashion to be more sustainable. We must be creating new ways to recycle or redesign clothes to create actual new creations. There should be less garments available to buy so that when something sells out it is sold out instead of thousands and thousands being created only for it to be out of style and sent to an incinerator. Thinking about the future is difficult for me as of now, due to the virus no one knows what the economy will be like when lockdown is lifted and we can all “return to normal life” however the world will not be normal there will be new strategies in place to stop the spread of the virus and the economy will be entirely different even down to how much things will cost. The better lives unit will force me to keep global issues present in my mind when I am making both conscious and subconscious decisions whether that be within the fashion choices I make or dietary or even decisions with my friends. It has highlighted that we cannot go on the way we are and through my work I will try to represent the changes needed to create a new fashion industry where true creation for sustainable practicality whilst staying true to yourself and your style will be the most important requirement. It is imperative it is a requirement because if we do not actively force the change it will take too long for anything to make a difference to our dying planet. I plan to always keep these thoughts at the forefront of whatever I do and whatever I achieve will be down to this thinking and this mentality.

Since this unit has started, I have been forced to view fashion through varying different platforms and contexts. The most memorable lecture was Power by Julia Crew. Her presentation made me think not only of the power we hold as consumer, but the power consumers hold over the fashion industry. Change is undeniably needed within fashion but as shown through Crews presentation there are many powerful infrastructures within the industry that must all make a shift in focus together in order to create cohesive change, whether this be through consumer protests, boycotts or huge fashion conglomerates actually becoming sustainable. Extinction Rebellion [1] has said “there is no fashion on a dead planet” which I think puts into perspective the sincerity of the world crisis that is sustainability. Many consumers have boycotted brands that are not taking action to join this cause and, in some cases, (Ivanka Trumps’ clothing line for example) this has caused brands to cease production and further down the line close down completely. In other cases, the boycotting can lead to drastic change within the company’s core. I think power is also subjective to the perceiver, you may have the illusion of power but using it in ways that are simple and egotistical. Every single person has the power within them to create change but in order for the change to occur people must come together and use a combined force to overcome the seemingly “powerful” at the top of the branch.

As fashion students, clothing is an essential part of our day to day lives, our personalities as well as our craft. If any one could kickstart the change that is needed to turn the worlds attitude to sustainable fashion, it would be this generation of fashion students. With current issues such as the Coronavirus, air pollution in production provinces of China [2] have decreased, if we can use this global epidemic to our advantage and fully reinvent societal norms whether that be through sustainable fashion, hygiene or safe working environments. The better lives lectures have fully influenced my view on the fashion industry as I previously was under the impression the conglomerates were the only ones at fault in the system but it is apparent to me now that even down to the everyday consumer we are all at fault unless we make conscious decisions to combat the issues raised. It is also clear to me that altering the way we use the fashion industry is not going to be easy and there are a lot of company’s still abusing workers and the environment and we need to all make changes to our interaction with fashion, whether that be through boycotting, shopping second hand or even learning to source materials responsibly, in order to save this planet.

[1} Press, Clare (1 Oct 2019) Wardrobe Crisis; Extinction rebellion [Podcast 97]. Tuesday, October 1, 2019 10:51 PM. Available at:  https://www.clarepress.com/podcast/2019/9/29/podcast-97-extinction-rebellion-is-it-time-we-tore-the-whole-thing-down(Accessed: 28 March 2020).

[2] Watts Jonathan (23 Mar 2020) Coronavirus pandemic leading to huge drop in air pollution. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/23/coronavirus-pandemic-leading-to-huge-drop-in-air-pollution (Accessed: 28 Mar 2020).