I have been developing an idea for a new project for YOP. I find that I need to set down my thoughts in writing and by constantly revisiting the text I can start to move towards resolution. The project will explore the ‘What do I look like ? dimension within my broader theme of ‘Realism and the Photographic Portrait’.
‘That’s not really me!’ refers to the typical reaction of people when they see a passport photograph of themselves. Most people hate having a passport photograph made. The formal design is very unflattering, e.g. flat lighting, en-face, no accessories and so on. No ‘idealisation’ is permitted, so the airbrush has to be suspended. People often go back to be re-photographed trying to capture an image they believe looks like them. (Or more honestly, looks like the image of themselves they want to project). A good friend recently commented on her new passport photograph with the remark ‘Camera malfunction or mug shot of a drug addict?’ Clearly the idea that a single image can represent someone’s identity is problematic. ‘That’s not really me!’ investigates this issue through a series of portraits.
The basic idea is to produce four portraits for each subject, to be presented side by side in a horizontal row. This style of presentation alludes to the format produced by studio photographers for passport photographs. The passport authorities require everyone to supply several identical portraits, apparently to avoid any ambiguity. But how do people decide which image out of many is the right one? In practice the process is somewhat random. It is the arbitrary nature by which a passport image is chosen, and by inference the way we are identified, that I want to explore.
My plan would be to show the photographs in a very large format – many times larger than life size. (see mock up below). It is easy to overlook small nuances of expression in a small passport-sized photograph, but at the scale I envisage every little detail would be visible and the photographs would command attention emphasising difference not similarity. The work will be in colour and the formal design of the portraits will follow the UK regulations for passport photographs in all respects except for size.
2D mock up of ‘That’s not really me!’ installation
I have set out a more detailed (slightly) note (see pdf link below). At the moment I am wondering if the idea is too simplistic and too obvious. On the other hand I found with the ’45 Seconds…’ project that making things too complicated and tricky created the impression that the work was contrived and mannered. This is a starting point and the next step is to take some photographs, and hopefully get some feedback from others.
Initial Idea – That’s not really me!
photo-graph 
vickimartine
June 14, 2013
Hello!! I get so much from reading your preparation and initial ideas—helps me understand the project; and also see where my prep is so cr*p! And the fact that you are open to continuous revisions to get the project to work. Like the idea and the fact that you are still focusing so closely on the concept of identity/reality in the photographic image.
Catherine
June 14, 2013
A very interesting idea – apparently simple yet with complex layers. Large format will bring extra depth as well I think.
Will comment on your UVC posts when I’m back in UK as the French Server doesn’t always like downloading pdf’s
jsumb
June 14, 2013
I agree, an interesting project. I have found that with portraits, the disjunction between expectation and the larger than life ‘hyperreal’ image can be very disconcerting for the viewer, even if it isn’t a portrait of the viewer, but of someone else. With a portrait of the viewer that level of discomfiture would likely be amplified, so your concept will have some very interesting results I am sure. And I think the simpler the concept the better, if you complicate the process you will allow for un-scheduled variances to appear; though of course that could be a welcome happenstance. I’ll be watching as ever with interest.
Keith Greenough
June 14, 2013
Thanks to all for your encouragement. I think the large format is the key to this. It is transformational….I hope.
Eileen
June 16, 2013
It does look like another interesting project. I am not sure that the choice of which passport picture to go with is random, exactly. People I know spend ages deciding, albeit from a limited selection.
Keith Greenough
June 16, 2013
I think you may be right – random is probably not quite the right word. I suspect that most people fit in having a passport photo made in and around other day to day activities. It is this which I feel is the random/arbitrary element. I suspect that most people don’t book in advance as they would for a professional portrait sitting. So how he/she looks and feels when the passport photos are made has a random element to it. Some people of course will plan in advance and be prepared both mentally and physically, but most I suspect are opportunistic. It is also the case that the process of having a passport photo done is very quick and involves the production of just a few images. A longer photo shoot would offer more the subject more options for selecting their ‘real’ self…
The idea for this project came to me when I was operating a photo booth at our local Rotary Fete….making portraits of children mostly after they had been to the face painting stall. A number of people saw me there and took the opportunity to have some passport photographs made. They had not set out that morning with the intention of having their portrait made….
guy maxwell
July 3, 2013
First, let me say that the physical presentation of your assessment documents is one of the best put together that I have seen in thirty years of teaching at Uni’s, mind you the contents could be terrible, but I somehow doubt that.
Second, I don’t think the transformative magic is in the large format per se. But perhaps in the attitude the phtotographer has when using it and thus transmitted on to the subject. A bit like the influence of the priest when serving crackers and wine. The transsubstantion is in the ritual and the belief, not the foodstuffs that are actually presented. Just a thought.
Lastly, I have been poring through the bibliographies on you papers and see no reference to Roswell Angier’s “Train Your Gaze”. Or did I just miss it? By this stage in your development you may find it a bit basic, but I think you would find some of the chapters quite intersting.
Best regards
Guy
Anonymous
July 3, 2013
Thanks Guy. Lets hope the content is up to scratch too.
On the question of scale etc i take your point. It is not just the size of the prints it is the whole process.
I do have Roswell Angier’s book and it has been a valuable reference point. I found his analysis of Avedon’s approach to his subjects interesting. It made me realise that portraiture is very much a record of an encounter between artist/photographer and subject. Sometimes there is collusion. Other times the subject takes control and vice versa. Avedon’s liked to be on control.