letthemadnessbe-gin

[letthemadnessbe-gin]

For my Final Major Project (FMP), I chose to create an autoethnography in the form of an annotated photo album. An Autoethnography is a case study that follows the traditions of ethnographic research.  The essential difference between an autoethnography and an ethnography is that in an autoethnography, the researcher is not trying to become an insider, but in fact, is the insider. The context is all their own. Through autoethnography, those marginalised individuals who might typically have been exotic subjects of more traditional ethnographies have the chance to tell their own stories (Russel, 1998).

I explored the theories of postmodernists, relating them to new media, to understand this culture I myself had begun to inhabit and answer the question as to why a physical piece reflects my theoretical framework. It is the literal translation of McLuhan’s statement of ‘the medium being the message’(1964), thus in an age where sharing digitally is commonplace, I chose to take influence from images shared from Social Media sites and applications such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat and present these images in an ‘analogue’ (print) format. By changing the format in which these images are presented, from online to on paper, the context of the images still remains the same but is presented through a different medium.

I initially started this project as a form of documenting my time spent at university, but over the course of 3 years, it has morphed into a self-reflection of Britain’s subcultures and its growth of culturally harvested microorganisms. I’ve always been passionate about sociological studies and cultural theorists, specifically the works of Alvin Toffler (1980) and Marshall McLuhan (1964), however, I’ve never seen myself as an academic writer.

The aim of my FMP was to represent my reality through my art. It is argued that art is a sub-category of representation. So where we may see an object of physical beauty, art is a representation of this beauty, in René Magritte ‘La trahison des images’ (1948) we see a pipe, but the argument is that in reality it is not a pipe, it is our representation of a pipe. Through this project, I initially set out to answer the question of whether art adds a layer of obfuscation by attempting to represent a scene presented by the artist.

As a piece of art, my FMP draws correlations to William Hogarth’s 18thc, Gin Lane. In this piece, Hogarth creates a hellish representation of the streets of London. The political influence of Gin Lane was the so called ‘Gin Craze’. The consumption of gin rose from 1.2 million gallons in 1700 to 8.2 million in 1743. The gin crisis has been likened to the opium dens and the rise of crack cocaine in inner cities. London had become a hell in this vision of society falling down. Gin provided a refuge from the harsh realities of daily London Life. Francis Place, a social reformer, critiqued Hogarth’s Gin Lane, writing, “The enjoyments for the poor of the time were limited, they often had only two, sexual intercourse and drinking, and that drunkenness is by far the most desired.

When it came to shaping my FMP it was Place’s critic which stuck with me. I could see the parallels between my life and the lives of which Place wrote of. I believe that we create our own society through the cultures we inhabit, so the idea of a society falling is a powerful one. The subculture I had fallen into is one that escaped the norms of reality and built their own to build their own (Baudrillard, 1994).  In this post-modern society, subcultures have become even more apparent. Throughout history, subcultures and cultural tribes have always been documented, but the digital advancement of technology is documenting these tribes in different ways.

For example, fashion photographer Corinne  Day changed the way we view fashion and models, by offering a real alternative to the glamour and gloss of the previous decades of fashion. I likened this once again to the advancement of digital media. With the help of social media and digital apps, photo shoots can now be set up without the aid of a full study and professional equipment. Many of Britain’s creative youths simply rely on their phone camera and their social followings on apps such as Instagram, Tumblr and Facebook.

It was this notion that I wanted to explore, the idea of the consumers becoming the producer (Alvin Toffler, 1980).  Using this theory along with McLuhan’s and Baudrillard, I decided to turn my FMP into a print-based piece that feeds of the notions of digital media.

The Idea of my FMP was to create a visual book, document my experience with youth culture. Aesthetically my FMP resembles the works of Day and cult Filmmaker Larry Clarke, especially his 1995 controversial film, Kids. This book offers an insight into my life, a reflection of this detrimental subculture I’ve grown to inhabit. Through a series of anecdotes, lyrics and photos, I aim to explore the unflattering reality I have come to accept.

When creating this piece I had the image of someone in their late 20s in mind. But as the project progressed my audience grew past the restrictions of age, but to anyone socially aware of subcultures, be it an ex-mod from the 80s, or an 18-year-old shop assistant. As a piece of art, I believe my FMP reaches everyone. As a theoretical piece of work, my FMP targets someone who is both digital savvy but has an interest in the social and political structure of Britain. I believe this book reaches that audience. However, the use of raw and unfiltered images juxtaposed with the digitally altered pictures speaks to Britain’s forgotten students, both the academic and the artistic.

[letthemadnessbe-gin]

A video I made to showcase Kingston’s underground music scene

[letthemadnessbe-gin]

A feature about Brown Bear, a collective consisting of DJs, Musicians and artist.  Written for Kingston University’s newspaper, The River

[letthemadnessbe-gin]

During my 3rd year of university, I was the photo editor for the uni paper, The River. 

My roles included, sourcing images, editing photos, designing graphics and making sure everything was print ready and cleared of any copyright infringements. This role helped spark my interest in photography and digital art.

In this issue, I had a feature (pg 14) that was a satirical piece showcasing the stereotypes surrounding Kingston students. 

In this issue, a large majority of the photos were edited by me, as I was the only person confident enough to use Photoshop at a professional level!

[letthemadnessbe-gin]

Review of Ghostpoet’s debut release, Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jams

[letthemadnessbe-gin]

Review of I.AmTru.Starr’s ‘B-Side’ for 1520 Project:

Off the back of his 2015 project, Hair Like Basquiat, The New York Native, I.Am.Tru.Starr, continues feeding the souls of the woken.

With his follow-up ‘B-Side’, part 2 of his 3 part series, I.Am.Tru.Starr, verbally creates aesthetics depicting the Black man’s plight.

The four track EP creates a harmonic soundtrack to the life of an inner city Black man in 2016. With its gospel inspired lo-fi sounds laced with introspective raps and melodic vocals ‘B-Side’ offers a reflective look into this post “To Pimp A Butterfly” world.

Beginning with ‘Fake Intro’ a blues driven track that incorporates 808 drums and ending with ‘Love Jones Sixteen’, an after-hours ode to Nia Long, ‘B-Side’ speaks to the every day man with a story to tell.

Staying in the same sound brackets as its predecessor, exploring sounds reminiscent of LA’s Beat Scene, ‘B-Side’ creating correlations between leftfield electronic music and neo-soul inspired hip hop or as Tru.Starr says, Soul Hop.

[letthemadnessbe-gin]

Review of ‘TJ Tucker’s Off The Wall’ for 1520 Project:

Sporting an off beat, braggadocios flow, TJ.Tucker laces harsh truths over harsher beat. 

Tucker’s delivery and vocal tone on Off The Wall has him living up to the tagline ‘Born.In.Houston.Created.In.London’. 

Offering gritty aesthetics and off-centred rhymes this track embodies an American being consumed by the smog and spat out as an East Londoner.

[letthemadnessbe-gin]