My Photographic Practice

Over the past two years at university I have discovered my own style and practice. The option of two specific pathways for photography were given: Fine Art or Commerical. The Fine Art pathway was always an option for me and over this past year I have decided it is the best pathway for me to follow. Specialist project 1 'This Must Be The Place' helped me discover my interest in the debates of fine art. Artists I looked at that inspired me included Keith Arnnat, Olivier Richon and Marcel Duchamp. Within my work the question over the status of the object as art became apparent. Photographing found objects in the studio, my work questioned the meaning of the art object and the status of photography as art. This made me look into conceptualism and the way the photograph is used to create meaning. I started asking myself what is my role as a photographer? Should I consider myself an artist instead of a photographer? What is the difference between an artist and a photographer? How can a 2d object such as a photograph relate to something three dimensional such as a sculpture? What do I want my work to mean? Exploring these questions helped to push my project further then I had expected it could go. I started to read essays about painting such as Norman Brysons book 'Looking at the Overlooked' and philosophical stories such as Junichiro Tanizaki's 'In praise of Shadows'.