Torture

Looking at Torture as another idea for this assignment.


Nic Dunlop


Dunlop is a bangkok-based photographer and author.
This photo shows a former political prisoner demonstrating regulation positions he was forced to adopt in prison. Some of which are equivalent to torture.
This link is the accompanying text explaining what this political prisoner has been through: http://www.newint.org/features/2008/05/01/political-prisoners/

Thinking about other ways you could show torture without being too graphic. What images/objects can symbolize torture?

Animal Cruelty

The idea of animal cruelty for my political theme - looking at how we treat animals.


Jan Oliehoek

Although he may not be the most established photographer using mainly stock imagery to make his digital manipulations, the mutant animals he creates I find very visually compelling. His images which combine animals creating mutant species could be an interesting take on the science and genetically modifying animals.

They remind me of the mouse with human ear.

Mexico Animal Rights Protest 9/12/2009. Another way to demonstrate animal cruelty. I like the idea of including people, a way of saying 'how would you like it?'

Here is my index print for my roll of film taken at the Wellington Zoo.

My idea to show animal cruelty is to have these photo's as background images; the cages from the zoo, and overlay people into the cages instead of the animals - reversing the idea of the zoo.

Political Photography

Peter Kennard

He has been recognised as "one of the very few artists - the only one it might be said - who has had a direct effect on recent British politics". This set of work has been made during the invasion and occupation of Iraq from 2003 to the present. For 'Decoration' Kennard has combined the use of digital printing techniques with oil paint to make images that break up and are torn apart in front of our eyes. Decoration juxtaposes notions of military commemoration with the real victims of the war. The images themselves are war medals, but which are twisted and contrary to the notion of the medal as a military commemoration. Expanding on a visual metaphor first seen in the late 1980s, Kennard's medals are distortions. In place of the shiny metal medallion is a face, bandaged, battered. These faces truly are innocent victims, the men, women and children caught in the (friendly) crossfire.
The images below are more of his political photograph's

Sarolta Ban

Although I am not sure how established her work is I really like her photography and the way she uses lighting in her work. Here is the link to her website: http://www.saroltaban.com/

In terms of political issues, I find these photo's could be comment on technology, or our relation and destruction with earth. 

Political Issues

Looking around at different news events that have been going on at the moment, while trying to decide on a political issue to depict in my photographs.
Could look at:

• Natural Disasters; Christchurch Earthquake, Japan Earthquake/Tsunami, Flooding in Australia (Brisbane)
• Nuclear Crisis; Japan
• Libyan Uprising; inspiration from the revolutions of Egypt and Tunisia the net country to vehemently protest against government autocracy is the North African country of Libya
• Terrorism
• Space- Galaxies, space ships, aliens. Idea of 'is there anything out there?
• BP oil spill

I also found this website (http://www.globalissues.org/issue) which had a good list of global issues such as:
-Poverty
-Global Warming
-Racism
-Aids
-Consumption/Consumerism
-Human Rights
-War on Terror

Need to think about how I can take photo's of these kind of issues, do I have access to this kind of imagery?? Is it possible?

Montage History

After looking at the website d-log.com I found some really awesome photographers who use the montage technique in their photographer to create some really interesting photography.
After looking at a range of photographers over the timeline history of photomontage and photo manipulation, I discovered I find the surreal images a lot more appealing than images which use a more cut and paste style like artists from the Dada movement.
I would really like to try this surreal style of photo manipulation for my series in this assignment.

Dave McKean - from his Small Book of Black and White Lies (1995)


I really like how although his photographs are obvious not real, they are over-layed in a really subtle way with the different images merging together into one photo; there are no hard edges where images have been cut and pasted like other montage artists. 
I also really like the emotive quality he is able to portray in his photographs.

Robert Parkeharrison - from the book The Architect's Brother 

"My photographs tell stories of loss, human struggle, and personal exploration within landscapes scarred by technology and over-use... I strive to metaphorically and poetically link laborious actions, idiosyncratic rituals and strangely crude machines into tales about modern experience." - Robert Parkeharrison

I really like the way he created a whole new world in his images where anything is possible. Very surreal photographs. I especially like the last two photographs.  

Alessandro Bavari


I really like Bavari's strong lighting and the colour in his photograph's. I also like the way he manipulates the human body in his photo's. 

Lewis Carroll - published Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The book had a strong and continuing influence on the visual imagination. Carroll later made the influential 'Xie' pictures, 1868 - 1879.

Main photographic/ literary subject matter - girlhood and the sleeping/dream state - has become common theme in contemporary work. 

I like the way photography from Alice and Wonderland is very surreal, playing with the idea of scale a lot. I think it's shown really well in Millers photo's below. 

I also like the way photographers have taken inspiration from these surreal ideas in storybooks and recreated them visually in images.

Johnathan Millers - Alice in Wonderland (1966)

1893 - Surreal photomontage became a big thing.

Again I like how this series of photo's play on the idea of scale and proportion of people in relation to objects around them. Can think of different ways can use this idea of scale in my series to emphasis certain aspects in image to help portray political idea.

Charlotte Cory- seamlessly recycles Victorian imagery and taxidermy and her own photography and painting to create a fantastical alternative vision of the 19th Century when animals ruled the world.

"Cartes-de-visite' photographic calling cards were a Victorian craze. It was called ' catomania'. Millions were made and are now so commonplace discarded in junk shops that they are almost worthless... So, lask sarcastically as I peer into the picture (Who were they? Why did they choose this hat, that brooch? Look at the carpet, the drapery, the exuberantly painted backdrop)... And yet there is something sadder: stuffed animals in museums, shot long ago not on glass plates but with guns, their very bodies likewise preserved for posterity to gawk at. Where did this moth-eaten tiger sniff his last antelope, over what distant verdure dad that dusty parrot flap tremulous emerald wings? One day it came to me: why not RECYCLE the dispossessed pictures and the long dead creatures. Grant them all a new lease of life. Better, more colourful, more deserving than before" - Charlotte Cory

I could use this idea of morphing humans with animals, could take a look at how we treat animals, scientific enhancing, farming.. morphed with human to put a different perspective on these things. Would it be okay if we did this to people?

Kahn and Selesnick


The repetitive layout and composition of these images is interesting, the montage technique of blending these vegetables with peoples heads/faces creates an interesting message the viewer gets from these images. Have to think about how I combine my photos and how my technique of doing this effects how the idea behind the image is portrayed.
Again combining something with the human body could be a way to relate a political issue back to how we would feel if it was done to us.