Fabric experimentation

I brought some fabric that you can print onto from a craft fair this weekend. I thought it would be really fun to see what it would look like if I printed this image onto it.
Well, it worked out really well and it is so simple to do. When it has no light behind it you can just see the image, but when it is held up to the light it becomes more transparent.

I then tried layering the fabric over the acetate text and image (above). It worked really well I think. I was hoping that it would work but I didn't expect it to be as good as it has turned out.
I also like that the trees aren't lined up properly so it gets a sort of 3D/shadow effect on it.

However, it is already very apparent that the fabric frays so easily, you just have to touch it and it all starts coming apart. If I use it then I will have to sew the edges or something to stop it from doing this all the time.

True feelings

To be honest, I am feeling really disheartened with this project.
I really don't want to give up but at this point it just feels like its going nowhere and it's just not working. I don't know what it is thats making me feel like that though. =/ I just feel so rubbish about it.

I really like the print on acetate and the text. But i don't feel like it's enough. How can it be enough?
But.. its a representation of my trip.

I feel so passionate about the subject matter and what im trying to show, but i just.. it's not showing through! I'm not doing it justice - I feel like I can't do it!

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!! Sometimes, I just want to scream!

Drawing

I tried doing some drawing of slave ships and islands to try layering but it just really didn't look or feel right.

I really don't like drawing and it doesnt come easily to me, so i really felt like I was labouring it a little bit too much for it to be an inspired drawing or anything like that.

Here is an example of one of the ships:

It just didn't aid the overall look and feel that I want for my project.

I tried it at least, but I wont be adding any drawing to my work.

Making it personal

Ive been trying to think of ways to make my project more personal and I am really struggling. I don't want to add anything that will take away from the imagery, or that will make the concept so much more difficult to understand. Or just make it all look to busy and overcrowded.
I think it represents me and my trip to The Gambia in that it is my image and I am bringing all of the elements together to tell a story. You don't look at the image and see the history of James Island and straight away know about the slaves etc.
The history and darkness is hidden totally by the idyllic image, the viewer must do research into the meaning of my work to know what it truly represents.

(This is what I have written my mixed media essay based on. How the meaning of a photograph can be hidden from the viewer.)

One way I have considering making this piece of work more personal, was to stitch into the text. I thought about stitching certain words from the text which help tell the story, or that stood out to me as being important or moving.

However, this really didn't work. The only materials I could get the needle and thread through were paper, tracing paper and fabric. The acetate was just too tough to get it through.
As I really want to print onto the acetate, this isn't going to work.
I would need an industrial, super sharp sewing machine to be able to stitch into the acetate. This costs money and takes time, and I don't have enough of either to do it.

So.. I will keep thinking...

E-mailing Charities

As part of my book I want to include some sort of quotes or text about the perception of Africa and African children. I feel it would work well if I could get some from charities who are working in Africa at present, it will back up what I am saying with my images.

I have e-mailed a few charities that I am aware of working at present in Africa. This is a copy of my email..

Obviously, I inserted the name of the charity that I was e-mailing in the '...' space.

I'm hoping that their responses, if I get one, will be helpful in looking into why charities feel that Africa is in need of help nowadays. We all know that it does need some aid, but do we really know what the charities' and organizations' reasons and aims are in providing aid? I think we just see the imagery and hear the words, but don't stop to consider the reasoning or think any further into these things as individuals.

I hope that these responses will also help me to figure out in what way I want to use my imagery from The Gambia, and help to solidify my presentation reasoning.


I e-mailed this out to the following charities:

- UNICEF
- Tearfund
- Compassion
- Save the Children
- World Vision
- Oxfam

Experimenting

Because my image worked so well printed onto acetate, I wanted to see how well text printed onto acetate.

Here is my test:

I photocopied a random page from the 'Roots' book on the photocopier. The good thing about printing onto acetate, is if the text comes out backwards you just turn the acetate over.
I really like this.
I knew it would work because many people do this and project using text on acetate.
I just wanted to check that it worked printing off of the printers at university. And it does! yey so no expensive costs involved.

So then I put the image and text together and this is how it looks:

I absolutely love it. It works so well. It gives extra depth to the image and makes the tree really stand out i feel.
I tried it the other way around but the text was so overpowering you couldnt see the image as clearly below it.

I feel that I perhaps need to make it a little more personal, add a layer in that links it back to my trip to The Gambia. I'm not sure how to do this yet though.

What is a photo book?

Bello, P. D., Wilson, C. E., & Zamir, S. (2012) The photobook: From Talbot to Rushca and beyond, London: I.B. Taurus

 Page 3

".. it must present something more than a mere collection of images; it must demonstrate intention and coherence in design.."

"The photobook has a 'particular subject - a specific theme' and what matters most is how the images work together: 'the sum, by definition, is greater than the part'." 

These are points that I need to consider and remember when collating and ordering my book. I need to use images that fit together to demonstrate my intentions. I need to remember not to just throw a group of photographs in and hope that they work, I need to get across my theme and my meanings well and in a way that the viewer will understand.