Reflection Week 4 Webinar 

Another useful webinar with Michelle this week. My intention this week wasn’t necessarily image based. The area I am currently struggling with is the intent of my project. At present, the documentary approach towards my work I feel is becomming somewhat one dimensional. Therefore it was good to consult with my peers and tutor to identify approaches and methodologies to opening up my project whilst making the intent of my work more concise.

I am relatively pleased with the development of my practice and feel that strategies of looking are becoming more mature as a result of contextual research in addition to guidance from Michelle. 

I recently contacted Julian Germain with regards to seeking some guidance on my project. His response was brief but he did highlight the work that he felt was strong. 

The main benefit of the webinar was the identification of Emma Case and the project ‘Red’. Red is a participatory project which collects and archives fan photographs of Liverpool fooball club. Not of the football but of the culture and surrounding experiences of fans. As Liverpool have a rich legacy in the history of European football the project encompasses lots of interesting memories. The project also encompasses the work of Case herself who possesses a documentary style which is appealing in terms of her use of colour and composition.

I was also led to consider a project I looked at at in the early stages of the course. Humans of New York states the intentions of the project… 
‘The initial goal goal was to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers on the Street, and create an exhaustive catalogue of the city’s inhabitants’.

At present I am reserching the structure of these projects in order to formulate a type of structure to my own. One of the key considerations will be whether to continue with a range of football teams and locations or focussing on just one football club which would be Stockport County. The club already have a number of organisations and supporter groups but most point towards  what happens on the pitch. There are many social media groups which already act as a type of archive however I see this as an opportunity to connect and raise awareness of my project. 

In terms of the direction of my work. When and if spectators are allowd to attend football matches. My approach will be to frequent public spaces in and around the stadium in addition to attending away matches which will provide different aesthetics. I will contact Emma Case in order to seek advice about the project in addition to formulating a type of mission statement and rational. As agreed, I will send this to Michelle in the coming days.