Maciej Knas

Thinking about the peer review, I was looking for someone who might bring a fresh perspective in the field that I work with. Yen-Fang Lo in her Blog 3 described her approach to the final outcome of the Contemporary Portrait Photography project which appeared appealing to me. Additionally, I could relate to her as everything she described was a documentation of 14 days in quarantine and the lockdown perspective that I also have gone through when I came back to my country. I think that current pandemic reality forced us to think more creatively what Yen proved by her capability to adapt to the unexpected circumstances and showcased in her work through a sense of absence and intimacy.

Yen’s observation that “physical contacts have already been missed much more earlier, as the internet has been widely used in the digital world” is a statement that I agree with. Although we’ve been living in a digital world for quite a while now, today we can feel more than ever that it is not enough to substitute touch, interaction and real human emotions.  Consequently, I think that the reality that we found ourselves in makes us appreciate people that we could interact with before the lockdown. Yen, by referring to Jane Ogden’s article, emphasized the nature of our problem with self-acceptance and current changes occurring in the fashion industry with diffusing more diverse types of silhouettes.  Accordingly, she decided to use her own and her mother’s body as a canvas to reflect her idea of intimacy and diversity. From my personal experience, I know how intimidating is photographing one of your members of the family. It is playing with the notion of discomfort and investigating how far you can move in such an intimate relationship. Besides the theoretical side of her body of work, she also emphasizes the technical aspect of what proves her proactive and experimental approach to the final outcome. Starting from lighting, composition or layout and ending up on playing with the body itself to “strengthen that feeling of touchiness” resulted in really compelling images with the potential for continuation. In the end, we can see the ability of analytical thinking as she tries to see the pros and cons of the current reality with an emphasis on the opportunity to commune closer with a medium such as photography.

To sum up, I think that Yen did a really great job by responding to the Better Lives theme of diversity. She proved her active and experimental approach towards the project by connecting her own idea with Better Lives Theme and current pandemic reality. Additionally, subjects she chose feels versatile and boosted the feeling of intimacy. Playing with the daylight and body as a more abstract form, the outcome indicates her creativity and potential for being an accountable and responsible image-maker.

Through the past few years, we have witnessed fashion brands growing more interested in understanding of the consumer who’s now searching for more meaningful and valuable ideas resonating in the industry. According to the “Fast Company” trend report for 2020, companies will become even stronger representatives of consumer values. As consumers become more aware and demanding, we expect the fashion industry to grow more socially responsible through ethical choices, wider representation and the right amount of sensibility during the design process. That is why as my Better Lives Project, I chose “Messaging Fashion” as I understood that I want to explore different forms of communication through the prism of activism and social responsibility.

During this project, students were allocated to different fashion brands and were supposed to respond to the cause in a creative way. Creating a fashion campaign based on social responsibility and understanding how Public Relations work opened the gate to a deeper awareness of the fashion industry. By choosing the charity and media partner we could create a foundation for potential collaboration based on brand values. My team was allocated to the Wales Bonner – founded in 2014 menswear brand that through the past few years emerged on the British fashion scene. In her practice, she refers to culture, ethnicity, spirituality as well as redefining masculinity through traditional British tailoring cut. As follows, we chose the cause of Toxic Masculinity in collaboration with “The Future Men” – based in London, a specialist charity organisation supporting boys and men struggling with masculinity by promoting positive values and tackling stereotypes. We decided to create a new capsule collection for men that the charity will benefit from. Supported by SSENSE – the media partner and e-commerce, Wales Bonner with Campbell Addy would create a photo diary of how these men are practising self-expression and combating toxic masculinity. The whole campaign would reflect the ideas Wales Bonner stands for and how she makes the idea of social responsibility part of her fashion agenda.

Messaging Fashion project acquainted me with knowledge from a totally different field. Starting from preparing consumer mood boards, through key messages, and profound research I have learnt what Public Relations stand for and how they can create brands’ socially responsible image. On the other hand, the final outcome asserted to me that there are still more ways to contribute and fight for the values we want to see in the industry today. The pole for action is still wide. Better Lives made me realize how crucial it is to be represented by innovative creatives who will set the fashion agenda independently of big corporations for years to come. Fashion can and must be vocal about issues important worldwide as it capitalizes on our world’s diversity. Consequently, it can become a successful platform for speaking up about issues and problems that should enter our mainstream consciousness.  

References:

Seiter, C., 2020. These Five Culture Trends Will Dominate The Workplace In 2020. [online] Fast Company. Available at: <https://www.fastcompany.com/90454068/these-five-culture-trends-will-dominate-the-workplace-in-2020?fbclid=IwAR1j92hWN3FqpYTJ7IcMpoinY5yBAP6NxMxm_rEOugfiDJlBV20NFXAqKk8>

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. 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” Margaret Mead once said. Coming from a highly conservative country where minorities are inhibited by the government, people raise up their voices and try to influence reigning thinking by showing their objection and fight for equal rights. Although this particular example is associated with politics, Julia Crew’s lecture about “Power” made me reflect on who is in a power in the fashion system and how as creative individuals we can translate our resistance into art activism through our work, actions and choices. 

Respectively, Julia Crew distinguished six crucial interdependences between power, fashion, money, media, consumer, protest and most importantly – us, humans. Focusing on the relation between money and power, I was surprised by the disproportion between the salaries of CEO’s of the top global fashion brands and ordinary workers as well as the increase of consumption. It leads to work exploitation and violation of article 25.1 of United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which says that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care, necessary social services, and the right to security.”

Following these phenomena, we might think that only those who have the money are in power but conversely, I think that although we live in times of consumerism and fast fashion, we live in a democratic state and our voice and choices have a direct impact on those in authority.  “Resistance is, first of all, a matter of principle and a way to live, to make yourself one small republic of unconquered spirit. You hope for results, but you don’t depend on them” Rebecca Solnit wrote in her book “Hope in The Dark”. As we live in a conviction that our choice or opinion don’t matter, we need to remember that as individuals we constitute a bigger group. Consequently, we are the people that choose what values we share and support. Me, You, Us – can resist to enslaving people, harassment, fast-fashion, inequality and become responsible and accountable practitioners and consumers. But the question is – how? 

Starting from building awareness through undertaking the subject of the reality of the fashion system in social media to the physical acts of protest, we also have a choice – a choice that drives industries. Consequently, we can think more about ethics represented by brands and independent designers. In a world that is dominated by politicians, fashion corporations and media, we can take responsibility and turn our choice into meaningful and sustainable – a choice that will support change and progress towards a better future. One step, one person at a time.

References:

Crew. J (2020) ‘Power’ [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion, 10 February.

Solnit, R., 2016. Hope In The Dark. 3rd ed. Haymart Books.