Guest-Speaker Marcio Mascarenhas

We were lucky to have Brazilian photographer Marcio Mascarenhas visit Solent today, who gave a presentation on his portraiture work. 
In his project "I is an Other", Mascarenhas attempts to depict the different pieces of someone's personality, the many aspects of their character - we are never just one person; we are changeable. 


As he stated "You don't exist if no one is there to see you", I realised how the dependence upon another to reveal your own self is important in our society. 

Mascarenhas goes down a similar route with another of his projects, entitled "The Bodies I Live In". This too outlines his ideas on identity, but now places an emphasis on gender and race in each frame.

 

For instance, in this image, the female subject is shot firstly in a way that highlights her feminine figure, with directional lighting picking out the curved shapes of her body. However, her lower body has been interjected by a far more masculine frame.
Although the parts of this piece do not necessarily match up, our subject remains consistent, as does her sense of vulnerability, with her hands folded across her body in each part of the photograph. This could reflect the fragility of the human personality, as well as the way in which we are all so susceptible to change. 

The way these large-scale photographs are presented - each of them cut up and placed against further images of the same subject but from a different perspective - refers, again, to the many personas we adopt throughout our lives. 

Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery

The Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize showcased a shortlist of sixty photographs taken by a wide range of talented, albeit lesser-known photographers, many of which have stuck in my mind. This image of Dolly Parton, taken by Zed Nelson in 2011, is one of those.

Being one of the few photographs within the show portraying a famous subject, I believe makes this image even more poignant. So used to seeing her within the context of the glamourous lifestyle of a singer, we now witness a quiet, almost fragile woman, complete with contemplative expression. Parton's unawareness of the photo being shot, allows us to see a different side of her character. 


Another image I found particularly compelling is "Erika E. Born In 1910" (below) by Karsten Thormaehlen. Taken from a series called "Happy At One Hundred", this image has an air of dignified positivity radiating from it; a quality little-found throughout the rest of the exhibition. I love the detail of each line upon the subject's face, along with the slight smile upon her lips, each giving viewers a sense of her character.

Similarly, "Anna and Roberto At Home" by Claudia Burlotti, I believe should have been one of the winning portraits from the whole exhibition. This heart-warming image, capturing a loving moment between the photographer's grandparents, depicts genuine emotion caught spontaneously on camera. 

Unlike the winner of the Taylor Wessing prize, I feel Burlotti's photograph depicts the raw emotion that a reliable portrait should encompass. Here, you are able to learn something about the relationship between the subjects, whereas in Jooney Woodward's "Harriet & Gentleman Jack" (The winning portrait, shown below), this attribute is somewhat lost. 

For more information on the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, as well as other exhibitions, take a look at the National Portrait Gallery site - http://www.npg.org.uk/

Giorgio Ciam, Mummery & Schnelle Gallery

During a trip to London, I visited the lesser-known Mummery and Schnelle Gallery. Here, I discovered the work of experimental photographer Giorgio Ciam, who produced blurred images through the movement of his subjects and a long exposure. This is in order to obscure the identity of those in his photographs who, I learned, are often the artist himself with a friend. 

This work is reminiscent of that of Francesca Woodman, whose well-known images were produced through similar processes to Ciam's. 
Using long exposures, Woodman's work (shown below) depicts the troubled artist in a series of disturbing nude self-portraits created in the lead up to her eventual suicide in 1981. In the majority of her images, it is evident that the artist is trying to hide away from the lens, to blend into her derelict surroundings, thus resulting in a type of "anti-portrait" in which the subject cannot always be seen. She achieves this, again, by using movement and blurring, as well as objects within her setting - such as peeling wallpaper, furniture and large photographs - to hide behind.

Although eerie and subsequently tragic, I find this work rather beautiful, with the surreal effect of long exposure giving them an ethereal quality.  

      

Sophie Rickett's "To The River" at The Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol

As I entered the dark hall in which Rickett’s work was showcased, I felt completely enveloped by it. The atmospheric whispers of the viewers of the Severn Bore - a wave that rarely runs down the length of the River Severn - filled the room, coming from a total of twelve speakers dotted throughout. This was accompanied by several large screens (one shown below), upon which were shown clips of the spectators waiting on the river bank at night. Despite being the main reason for the subject's presence, there is very little emphasis on the landscape, with the bore never actually being filmed. Instead, the focus is placed upon the anticipation of the crowd in relation to this natural phenomenon.   

This was quite a surreal experience; standing in a large dark room, surrounded by others, wondering if it was the voices of the subjects I could hear or those of my fellow students. In this sense, the show is completely immersive, making you feel like you are among the group of excited bystanders.   

Spectators in the darkened space of Rickett's "To The River"

Shilpa Gupta at The Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol

As interesting and awe-inspiring as Shilpa Gupta's creations were, I found the pieces were just too different from each other. Each work seemed to stand on it's own, delivering it's own message. Using a range of mediums including photography, sculpture and sound, Gupta addresses the diversity of modern culture, emphasising the impact different media sources have on our understanding. 

"Singing Cloud" (2008-9), a huge suspended form made up of 4000 microphones (some shown above), remains the most memorable part of the show. Hung in a darkened room, the ominous cloud's microphones have been redesigned to emanate sound, rather than register it. As the sound travels over the sculpture in ripples, these words, sung disjointedly by the artist herself, can be heard -

I want to fly,

High above in the sky

Don’t push me away

We shall all fly

High above in the sky

I want to fly high above

In your sky

Can you let it be

Only your power

And not your greed

A part of me will die

By your side

Taking you with me

High high above

in the sky

While you sleep I shall wake up and fly

To be honest, as impressive as this sculpture was, I believe it's meaning (which I struggle to comprehend) gets lost behind it's presentation. 

For more information about Shilpa Gupta, visit her website: http://www.flyinthe.net/index.htm