Zuzanna Kepczynska

For the second part of Better Lives unit I was assigned to a group doing Contemporary Portrait Photography. Not only has it been a mixture of great experiences but also the period of various changes in the worldwide situation. The emergence of the COVID-19 has affected not only the health situation but also the economic and social circumstances in many countries.

I have realised that the fact of attending photography classes has changed my point of view on the possibilities I can express my emotions and thoughts. Which during this outrageous time happens to be immensely helpful. Those few lectures and workshops we had on contemporary portrait photography thought me both the basics and the secrets of the use of camera that I had never thought of before. The reason why I have decided to apply for this project was tightly connected to my main course, which is Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Performance. My original goal was to learn how to use the camera and how to take a high quality photos of my makeup designs. In the meantime, I have received much more than I expected.

The great advantage of this part of Better Lives project was the presence of diversity within our groups and the tasks we had to undertake. As a group we had to cooperate, which led not only to the emergence of new contacts but also to discussions on future cooperation and careers. The opportunity of meeting this range of different people with diverse interests and perspectives had a big impact on my creative thinking.

At the very beginning of the project there were outdoor activities, we went to Shepherd’s Bush Market, which is located just next to our campus at Lime Grove. It was a memorable experience as for the first time I was directed to use photography to document elements which did not fit into my aesthetic criteria. During this workshop I began to notice the depth in such objects, thus becoming more noticeable to me. I believe that, it might lead to making my work more sustainable.

As a result of those experiences, I have decided to undertake my personal project. It was mainly inspired by one of the first lectures of Contemporary Portrait Photography by Daniel Treacy, where we were presented his photos taken for ‘Rituals (Forest)’.

After two months of being locked up in home quarantine, I took my camera and decided to walk around my house. The things I found, scraps of materials, abandoned tires, bottles impressed me more than they should have. What I felt could be described as catharsis, or purification, it might seem ridiculous to use such great words for outlining something meaningful or invisible for majority of people. Which is why I decided to name this project ‘Mimesis’ (gr. mimeisthai– to imitate), as those pieces imitate reality as well as they are a proof of actions that happened.

Having finished this project, I feel grateful for having the opportunity of attending lectures of Contemporary Portrait Photography. As it opened my eyes on different ways of expressing my insecurities, emotions, experiences… Having realised that photography might be considered a valuable mean of communication in the 21^st century, I have decided to continue my training in this direction.

References

Treacy, D. (2020) Contemporary Portrait Photography, [lecture], London College of Fasion, Lime Grove

 As far as this review is concerned, I have decided to comment the blog post that caught my attention the most: Blog post 2- Creative Practice Reflection by Chisun An. It moved me with its sincere but at the same time open-minded approach to the issues at stake. The fact that author begins her essay stating that she has never considered the themes of sustainability, diversity and social responsibility before, seems to me extremely brave. Additionally, I respect the statement that the author decided to keep some of the previous opinions they had before the Better Lives unit.

When it comes to considering particular reflections that are posted in the refered blog, I do agree with the writer’s approach towards the theme of sustainability. The author claims that “until fashion stays there as an extravagance, sustainability problem will not be gone, if the problem gets solved, still there will be lots of new side effects occur by that”. It is different than what I wrote in my blog post 2, where I have reflected on how the theme of sustainability have changed my perspective on it and might have influenced my own future. Meanwhile Chisun An’s reflections shed a light on a wider spectrum, which is what I did not consider in my blog. It made me think that, the relation between fashion industry and pro-ecological movement is not just black and white, there are further aspects to this. Such as, the law of supply and demand, that my peer describes.

Chisun An also reflects on the theme of diversity, which I believe to be more reliable than my own reflections, it is simply because I have never faced any racist comments towards myself, that makes me less experienced. It might have been difficult for this writer to move in to country, which is inhabited mostly by white people. I fully agree with the opinions stated in the blog, that we all should try our best fighting with discrimination on every part. Again there is an interesting thought written in the blog, about Asians and disabled people in fashion industry, that are said to be “standing in the shadow and need the light to light them”. The author’s perspective on this issue is really inspiring and leaves the reader with some hope for better future.

On the other hand, I did not find any further reflections on social responsibility in this blog. Which makes me think that, this person might see the correlation between those three themes that makes them inseparable. To be clear, I also am convinced that there is a bond between sustainability, diversity and social responsibility. I believe we both agree that, social responsibility is the clue for proper understanding both other themes.

For this blog post we are supposed to reflect on the way how Better Lives themes will change our future work, meanwhile the worldwide situation makes me reflect on what might future bring and how will the world change.

It is interesting to consider the subject of diversity in time of a crisis that affects everyone regardless of their gender, sexuality, nationality, race…. I truly believe that this might be a critical point for many people and it might connect us more than ever. After those two months of quarantine I have realised that the amount of stress that we are all under at the moment might change our perspectives, desires and even hobbies. Some of us might end up changing the way they perceive their workplace, some might even need to find a different job. When it comes to my personal point of view, I never believed in judging people regarding only the ‘labels’ they represent. It might seem a cliché, but for me someone’s race, country of origin, age, gender or any other data that is written in their passport or personal ID, it does not define who they are. Before I came to the University of the Arts in London, I was surrounded by people with similar labels to mines: Polish, white, woman or man, heterosexual,… There was only one thing that made me different- I had an adopted brother, who’s biological parents were Gypsy Romanians. The moment he came to our family changed my perspectives more than anything else I have experienced. His otherness opened my eyes and it was only when I met this little child that I noticed how closed the world I grew up in. I have decided then that I will never judge anyone who looks or seems different than what I am used to.

Taking the theme of social responsibility into consideration, I am fully convinced that this period of confrontation with the corona virus will prove how people in the face of danger cooperate with each other, take responsibility for each other. Having said that, it is important to underline that I have noticed a certain pattern in the behaviour of people I know. Namely, it is only at the moment of danger that they begin to take care of each other and appreciate their company. I consider this phenomenon as fruitful and hope it will continue after the epidemic.

The Better lives unit drew my attention to something I did not consider before- sustainability. During the briefing lecture by Nick Almond, Sheldon Chow & Nina Stevenson, ‘Sustainability Intro’, sustainable development was defined as:

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

~ Brundtland Report, 1987

What I remembered from that is a sense of responsibility for the environment that I live in. In addition, it made me realise to what extend do humans use the natural resources and at the same time we produce materials that are not biodegradable. Which is devastating for the environment, I realise now that as an adult I should be an example of how to live in a more sustainable way and as a make-up artist it might be beneficial to promote this kind of ecological behaviours.

References

Almond, N., Chow, S., Stevenson, N. (2020) ‘Briefing: Sustainability Intro’, London College of Fashion

Having attended live stream lecture on Nature as a part of Better Lives unit, I have decided to explore the subject of the correspondence between fashion industry and nature. In order to do so, it is essential to define what is fashion and the meaning of word nature.

According to the classical book, “Adorned in Dreams” by Elizabeth Wilson, fashion is defined as:

‘Dress, in which the key feature is the rapid and continual changing of styles. Which suggests that fashion might be defined by a process of planned and continuous obsolescence’

During the ‘Cultural and Historical Studies’ lecture on ‘Obselescance and Sustainability’, the speaker interpreted the definition given as “the cycle of regular and systematic change in the styles that are considered to be desirable and appropriate.” This made me realise that the thing that connects nature and fashion is the change, which is caused by human actions.

Meanwhile, let us consider the meaning of the world ‘nature’. During the lecture on Nature by Kate Fletcher, the definition caught my attention the most is the one from Collins English Dictionary.

‘The phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to human creations’

Those two terms, fashion and nature are tightly linked by human influence on each of them, which makes them comparable. In the case of the former, the change that human actions have created and still are resulted in a desirable progress and ‘upgrade’. Considering the results of human creations on natural environment, those are rather controversial, what I mean by that is the fact that over the ages of human existence on Earth, people have created both positive and negative environmental changes. The negative impact on environment might be creating a pollution of the air, water and earth, which causes even more damage in natural habitat.  On the other hand humans have established various ecosystem protection systems. Here comes the bond between fashion world and nature protection services. Fashion has huge impact on world culture, which is a reason for creating ‘eco-friendly’ collections and presenting them during Fashion Week runaways.

Another aspect of the relation between fashion and natural environment is the use and quality of materials that are utilized in fashion industry. There is a common phenomenon among people that with the great price comes great quality, which means that for designers it is desirable to be able to produce a piece made of good quality materials. For that reason they are searching for textiles of natural origin. This process might be devastating for the environment, considering the limited resources on the Earth, and if all those resources were used, it would be an interaction of chain reactions existing.

Taking all into consideration, there is a great bond between the world of Fashion and the natural environment, as it is connected by the impact of change on both. Human actions might be destructive for the life on Earth and at the same time through fashion culture people are able to integrate ecological protection changes into the demolished environment.

References

Fletcher, K. (2020) ‘ Nature’ [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion, 12 February.

Wilson, E. (1985) ‘Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity’, New York.

Kirkham, N. (2020) ‘Obselescance and Sustainability’ [Lecture]. Fashion Cultural and Historical Studies, London College of Fashion.