Final works 2018
The single photograph is always ambiguous. The image is always relative to something else—another image, the mode of presentation, text or the viewers own mood and memory. In this hands-on workshop, participants used their own and found photographs to experiment with visual language and context in playful ways, referencing themes like chance, truth, contradictions, humour and absurdity. The video below depicts some part of the process.
The images featured below were chosen from the 3 sets of images (3 x 25) brought to the workshop by each of the workshop participants, that were used throughout the week as part of various games and creative tasks, providing distance from the established meanings that tie a photographer to his/her work. They also formed the basis of the interactive installation "START HERE" for the ISSP exhibition in Kuldīga. Taking the form of a game, the installation invited the visitors to create their own visual associations, choosing from the images to answer questions such as: How do you remember your childhood? What do you think about squares? How do horses laugh? Is talking necessary? Up or down? Is understanding possible? Where is the party? What's next? The game gave spectators a chance to form unexpected "odd couples" and experience the way the sense of a visual sequence changes when adding something new.
In its work to maintain one memory at the expense of another, the archive not only preserves and curates memory, but buries it as well. Work with archives can bring to light that which remains hidden, and raise questions about the boundary between fact and fiction, truth and evidence. Taking the history of Kuldīga as a starting point, the participants explored local archives and added their own material to create personal photographic projects.
In the era of so-called democratization of the media and the overabundance of visual content, it has become even more important to reflect on the motivation and method of telling a certain story. During the week, participants explored the most suitable strategies for presenting their projects and the varied possibilities of storytelling using a combination of media - images, text, sound and more.
Starting with the editing process, generating and conceptualizing ideas to the physical process of designing and creating a photobook dummy – students spent the week transforming their projects into publications. The workshop was focused on understanding the process of storytelling with a personal vision – exploring ways to incorporate subjective experience and voice into work, pushing boundaries and experimenting with new visual methods.
During the week, 12 photography and lens-based media curators discussed various issues that arise when exhibiting photography, drawing particular emphasis on what happens after the opening - how content can be activated from a mere wall display to a meaningful interaction with the audience through actions and educational programs. Through lectures, group discussions and an analysis of curatorial case studies, the curators worked on individual curatorial proposals and took a key role in the conceptualization and installation of the ISSP Final Exhibition.
The ISSP Residency offered 13 photography artists the opportunity to work individually - concentrate on conceptualising, developing and steering their on-going work to completion, benefiting from individual editorial and curatorial consultations and other resources available at the ISSP campus.
