A LEVEL ART and DESIGN
COMPONENT 2
EXTERNALLY SET ASSIGNMENT
TO BE COMPLETED BY THE CANDIDATE
Centre Name The HENLEY College Centre Number 6 2 4 4 1
Candidate Name Charlotte Mansfield Candidate Number 2
Critical &
Art, Craft & Textile Graphic
Tick the title for Design
Fine Art Contextual
Design Comm.
3D Design Photography
which you are Studies
entered X
Tick chosen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
assignment
LEARNER STATEMENT
COMPLETION OF THIS FORM IS COMPULSORY
Complete and submit the learner statement with your work as it will be referred to when it is assessed.
To place your submission in a suitable context, use the template below:
Explain the MAIN IDEA(S) for the development of your responses
My theme is gap, which I’ve explored the possible interpretations of and come to the decision of focusing
on gaps in society. This involves representing how people feel divided from others due to judgmental
people or develop insecurities about themselves and pressure to change in order to feel accepted.
I thought this was a good topic to explore out of the options I looked at, because many people can relate to
it and I know people who have experienced the same things. It has a lot of opportunities to express the
inner thoughts/emotions of people and how it influences them. Therefore, I aim to show how much impact
these divides in society have towards people’s view of themselves, demonstrating this through symbolism
and experimental techniques. Overall, it will represent the gaps created between people, through lack of
confidence, or being isolated and outcasted by groups. This will aim to raise awareness of the issues, and
allow the viewer to come to a closer understanding of them.
Outline your PLAN(S) for the development of your work
Date/Week Plans What has been achieved? / What next?
1 Mind map possible themes that interest I made a plan of some themes to choose
me (gap, environmental comment & from and explored potential ways I could
reflections) Then produce a mood board use them. I evaluated what some positives
and decide on a theme. or negatives could be and overall, this mind
map was really helpful for me to think about
where my project could go. The mood board
helped gather important inspiration, and the
final mind map on gap finalised my decision.
I explored in some more detail what the
theme gap could involve which allowed me
to plan how I may develop it later and the
next steps forward. I now need to narrow
down what specific part of social divides I
want to focus on.
Make a shoot plan based on some ideas After my shoot plan and photographer study
2 from my mind map. Make contact sheets, of Aaron Siskind, I completed the shoot.
edit the images on photoshop and This was aimed to explore a simplistic and
evaluate them. I also aim to study a abstract interpretation of my theme. I felt this
photographer relevant to this for was a good starting point to look at the basic
preparation of the shoot. ideas of my theme first, and to look for how I
can use this for clear and interesting photos.
This was a good way of practicing with the
formal elements, as well as inspiration from
Siskind’s techniques such as texture,
negative space and bold shapes. I found
that making photos black and white
enhanced the abstract appearance. The
next step would be to see how I can develop
these techniques to have more meaning
and link to my theme.
3 Analyse my first shoot and prepare for my After doing research and studying Paul
trip to Belfast with research on context and Seawright, I gathered more ideas and
a new photographer study. Make plans for inspiration. I liked his way of using
the trip such as locations I’m likely to see. interesting perspectives and adding impact
to hidden meanings with text to tell a
narrative. This is something I could apply in
future shoots to make my photos more
engaging. I will aim to use this trip to begin
exploring possible interpretations of my
theme from the mind map (such as divides
in society through conflict and politics). This
will help me develop how I will represent my
theme through symbolism.
4 Complete several shoots over the time I I went to several different locations and
am in Belfast and apply several different photographed a mix of landscape and
methods to interpret my theme. Such as a cityscape photos. I applied some techniques
variety of representations and using I had learnt from my two photographer
abstract methods, black and white and studies. This helped me experiment with
symbolism. creating subtle imagery, interesting
viewpoints, and simplistic/abstract photos.
Overall, it helped me find ways of
representing deeper meanings and
connotations to different interpretations of
my theme. The next step would be to
develop these to a specific message I want
to convey.
5 Make contact sheets for each shoot I did As I had a lot of shoots done over a few
and select photos to edit and print. Then days, I spent the rest of this week mostly
complete evaluations of each shoot. preparing, editing, printing and evaluating
my photos. The next step should be
planning how I can develop my project from
what I’ve learnt.
6 Over this week I will finish all analysis of After completing analysis, I reflected on the
my shoots from Belfast. I will also make a work I had done so far. This was important
summary of what I’ve done so far and my to see what I wanted to focus on and how I
thoughts on what to continue forwards. would convey it. I decided that I wanted to
continue using abstract elements because it
would be an effective way of strengthening
my symbolism and narrative. To progress I
plan to do some portraiture shoots and
explore further abstract experimental
techniques.
Complete a portraiture photographer I studied two portrait photographers, who
7 study, researching my preferred were really useful in giving me more
interpretation. I should also do additional inspiration and a clearer idea. The research
research such as interviewing people for of statistics and asking people about their
context and a closer understanding so my experiences was really interesting, and
photos have a more accurate provided me important context that will help
representation. me represent their feelings.
8 Complete my first portraiture shoot, I found the shoot to be successful and
evaluation, contact sheet & editing created strong atmosphere with the lighting,
shadows, facial expressions and body
postures. Using portraiture will be important
for my theme, and allow the viewer to have
a closer understanding or sympathy towards
what the subject may be experiencing. Now
I will need to see how I can refine their
impact with experimental techniques and
applying abstract elements.
Do my analysis and experimental These experimental techniques were
9 techniques which involve tearing photos successful in adding emphasis to my
and scanography. narrative as they effectively reflect the mind
set of people struggling with these issues. I
really like the symbolism it creates,
especially the scanography ones which are
really interesting to look at and are a good
example of combining abstract techniques
within my work. To progress I think I should
do another shoot that involves further
inspiration from my portraiture studies.
10 Complete two new shoot plans, the I completed two shoots, one of natural
shoots, editing, contact sheet, evaluations objects, using shadows or shapes for
and begin analysis. negative space. Whilst the other shoot
photographed a subject looking into a
broken mirror.
Finish analysis of my previous shoots I am happy with the outcome of my recent
11 and reflect on all the photographers I’ve shoots, especially the mirror one which
studied to evaluate which techniques I created some really abstract and interesting
have used from them and how this images. They also effectively link to my
impacts my work. theme with strong symbolism of insecurities.
It was useful to summarise the
photographers I had studied and what I liked
about them, to see how I had used their
techniques so far and what was working
well. Therefore, it gave me a clearer view of
my progression and which images have
achieved my aims.
Experiment with adding text to photos From the evaluation of the photographers, I
12
and creating double images. Then I will was more certain on what photos I wanted
be selecting final images, which I may to use. After experimenting with double
want to use in my final piece. images, I thought it was a useful way of
combining images and achieved an effective
look. The text was the most impactful,
because I feel it really added a lot of context
to my images to successfully get the viewer
thinking about the message behind them
and making connections with the photo’s
connotations. Next, I will need to develop
final piece ideas such as mount board
compositions.
Make final piece ideas/compositions to I decided on using a mountboard to display
13&14 decide what the best way forward would my work, because I was happy with my final
be when presenting my final work. photos and felt they conveyed strong
Then choose a final composition I like for symbolism to demonstrate a clear message.
what my final piece would be. I wanted to keep a design that was
simplistic and didn’t distract you from the
photos. I also aimed to make a balanced
arrangement with a mixture of colour and
black and white photos, along with some
abstract experimental techniques that fitted
my theme. I liked the final composition I
chose which was simple but still interesting
enough with its layout and different sized
photos. I also think that with added text this
links them all together well.
Describe the CONTEXT (influences, purposes and meanings) of your work
Meaning/Purpose: I know a lot of people who have experienced similar things or felt like there is always the
pressure from being judged by others. Sometimes it is just a small thing and for others it influences them
regularly in a bigger way. In general, it is something that is constantly there, so I wanted to use photos to
convey the different ways social divides influence people and raise awareness that it is still a very common
thing that most people are affected by. Therefore, I think it’s important for people to be reminded of its
importance.
Photographer influences:
Aaron Siskind: Formal elements, simplistic styles, black & white, negative space and shadows/tone
Paul Seawright: Adding text to add a clearer narrative behind the photos.
Edward Honaker: Imagery in portraiture through facial expressions or body postures, stronger use of
symbolism or representations of the inner thoughts/emotions of my subjects.
Paul Apal’kin: Using mirrors and double images for more distorted/abstract effects, also use of atmospheric
lighting.
REFLECT on your work critically as it progresses and on its completion
Date/Week Evaluation/ What worked well what are you taking forward from here?/ How are you
refining your techniques and ideas?
The mind maps were effective to get a simple idea of what the different themes might
1 involve and which one I preferred. I was happy with the amount of ideas this planning
gave me to move my project forward. This early on in the project, I planned to explore
several interpretations, but focus on what interested me most which was divides in
society.
2 I think this shoot was successful in applying techniques I had learnt from Aaron Siskind.
I really liked the effect of using formal elements, texture and monochrome colours for an
abstract look, which may be interesting to develop in future shoots. It was a good way to
experiment with creating simplistic but impactful gaps through natural shapes and
patterns.
3 Researching the context of Belfast helped me plan new interpretations I could explore
from my theme. With this research and studying Paul Seawright, I learnt how context
could add a lot of impact to a photo and open it up to what it could symbolise. This gave
me new ideas for adding text to photos, and got me thinking more about how I could use
perspectives and colours to establish atmosphere.
As I did many shoots during the Belfast trip, I got to apply a lot of techniques and refine
4 ideas. Such as using monochrome colours, negative space and other formal elements
from Siskind’s work or stronger symbolism, impactful composition and viewpoints from
Seawright. I learnt how I could use quite simplistic photos, but apply a lot of meaning to
them that can become clearer when linked with context or other photos.
5 I was happy with the photos I edited in black and white, as I found they added a lot more
atmosphere and emphasised negative space of shadows that create gaps. Some other
images were really abstract or simple, whilst others had more layers of detail and
stronger connotations. I think the trip allowed me to create a good variety of photos and
see what kind I enjoyed the most/found most effective. I think the photos of the coast
and Dark Hedges were successful in establishing symbolism that can be applied to
future photos. I also liked the more subtle photos that represented the political issues
and conflict of Belfast (e.g. The Peace Gates) which were specifically focusing on that
type of divide. To refine my ideas, I should take what I’ve learnt, and see how they can
influence representation of gaps in society.
6 I think using abstract techniques are effective and give me lots of opportunities to link to
my theme with more interesting representations. Therefore, to continue forward, I
should explore how I can combine it with portraiture for the most impact, as portraiture
will be the main focus of the narrative, with abstract elements to support it.
7 Edward Honaker and Paul Apal’kin were really useful photographers that encouraged
me to explore ways of distorting photos to reflect the mind set of people and how they
are affected by insecurities and pressure from others. They both used lots of imagery
that made engaging images the audience could connect with and understand the
meaning. Therefore, these two photographers have helped refine my ideas a lot and
additional research was successful in showing me what the different issues people
struggled with. With this I can make more significant progress in developing my
message and creating my own portraiture shoots.
I was happy with the outcome of this first portraiture shoot, which demonstrated a lot of
8 strong emotions and used a variety of colour and lighting techniques. They have a lot of
potential with how I can reinforce the meaning behind them, so to move forward I will
use experimental techniques to emphasise the symbolism. I will also need to do more
portraiture shoots to further explore what I learnt from my portraiture studies.
9 Tearing photos and scanography were really interesting effects that can strengthen the
representation of my theme. I liked my scanography photos the most with their distorted
looks, and overall, both were good experiments to refine my ideas. They gave me more
inspiration for how I could develop them in future shoots or possibly use them in a final
piece. I could use a similar technique of tearing the photos by photographing a subject
with broken glass which could create the same effect of splitting up their face.
10 The first shoot was successful in creating effective negative space with the silhouette of
the subject. I also really liked the abstract appearance of the dried-up leaf, however with
most normal objects I photographed, it was difficult to create something that wasn’t the
same to things I had already explored. It was also challenging to link most of them to my
theme of social divides, but I enjoyed experimenting a bit more with shadows and
minimalism. The second shoot was more successful, and the whole shoot was focussed
on my theme, creating really interesting images with strong representations.
11 I evaluated the photographers and ideas I’ve explored so far. This helped me
summarise which ideas I liked the most and the photos I’m most likely going to use in
my final piece. The next step would be to experiment with how I could add to these
photos, such as adding text or creating double images.
12 I liked creating double images and think using one double image would be a nice
contrast in a final piece and would link well with the scanography ones. I like how it is
quite a subtle edit but combines two images together in an impactful way. Secondly, the
text was also a successful change because it added a lot of important context that
immediately engages the viewer more and makes them connect with the subject. It also
adds more personal significance with the text being taken from lines in the poem the
subject wrote. Overall, this was good progress in refining my ideas, and I found many
methods I liked and wanted to apply in my final images. To move forward I will need to
finalise ideas to reach a conclusion of my project.
Conclusion: I think I’m quite happy with my final idea and the outcome of my photos. I’ve
13&14 successfully used dark shadows and negative space to give the impression of despair
and the feeling of isolation surrounding the subject. The strong lighting in some of the
portraits adds a lot of atmosphere and the monochrome photos emphasise a sombre,
negative tone. The landscape photos create a visual interpretation of what it might feel
like for people overwhelmed with negative emotions and feeling the pressure from
others. The stormy waves can represent unstoppable thoughts, as well as the struggle
to fight and escape from them. The sea stretching out into the distance gives a sense of
distance and therefore hopelessness as they feel isolated from everyone else.
The scanography photos and mirror photos give elements of distortion such as
concealing their eyes or part of the face. This suggests the person is losing their
identity, hiding it or making a new one just to fit in. It shows they are not happy with their
image and are being filled with insecurities. The facial expressions and body postures
also help convey the mental effect social divides can cause, as well as the text which
directly involves the viewer. For example, the rhetorical questions reach out as though
to seek help from the viewer or challenge them. It can cause them to sympathise more
or feel a larger responsibility about the issues many people face. The text is also an
important way to connect the viewer to the thoughts of the subject so they can have a
better understanding. Overall, I think the photos do well to convey the
experiences/effects social divides can cause.
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