Assignment 4: A Sense of Place

A changing city

The year 2017 draws ever nearer as Hull prepares for its big reveal as City of Culture. I’d like to say there’s a buzz of excitement in the air but on a stroll through the maze of blockades and safety fences, the only buzz you’ll hear is from the chorus line of pneumatic drills. If one thing, it’s colourful, orange dividers, yellow diggers and an array of bright blue signs telling us where it’s safe to walk; we can finally say in all honesty, it’s not dull in Hull.

The council are telling us that change is happening, it’s going to be a masterpiece! They admit, not all of it will be ready for the grand opening of our year in the spotlight but well, it’ll be ready by the end… hopefully.

Whatever’s going on behind the scenes, a walk around Hull city centre does not yet bring visions of residents cooing and revelling in what’s going to be. An amalgam of Crystal Maze type challenges puzzles locals as they try to navigate the shortest path to the shop next door, streets upturned, buildings barely accessible, memories demolishes to make way for shiny new buildings.

I have aimed to show a sense of Hull the way it feels in 2016. Never before have we experienced such an upheaval and we probably never will again so for locals, it’s quite a poignant time. We’ve never been a city to show off, most recently known for being one of the worst places to live so this City of Culture award came as quite a shock.

I think that in the grand scheme of things, this mass inconvenience is comforting. I once heard it said that Hull’s like that embarrassing uncle, you’ll always love him but you wouldn’t want to introduce him to your new girlfriend. As our embarrassing uncle prepares for his big reveal in shiny brogues and designer suit, it good to see him one last time, up to the eyes in muck and flat on his arse!

Initial selection

In my initial selection, I have aimed to show a variety of images from around the city centre. Bearing in mind my tutor’s advice to avoid putting across the same message in multiple images, I have split my images into categories.

Demolition

 

Wide angled scene

 Obstruction 

Positivity

Humour

Reducing the set down to seven images was achieved by choosing my favourite images from each set, with slightly more weight on the humorous element. I feel that one of the better qualities of Hull folk is the ability to not take themselves too seriously.

Evaluation:

Demonstration of technical and visual skills

I feel that my new submission of A Sense of Place is a good improvement on my original set. Not only is this set more fitting to the brief but the images are more technically competent and creative. I feel that I have now produced a set of well-balanced, well-exposed images. I am also pleased that I found a few unexpected pockets of humour as I photographed the city.

Quality of outcome

My initial image sums up the project as a whole for me; Spencer Tunick’s naked photo shoot is the original masterpiece, yet the stripped down road suggests the meaning may also be relevant to the city. Having decided to resubmit this assignment, the new masterpiece also applies to my own work. The passing lady looked up to see what I was photographing just at the right moment.

The complete set is brought together by a constant use of signs, some more informative such as the Road Closed signs and some more humorous, such as the Building a legacy sign beneath the builder chilling out on his phone.

I couldn’t believe my luck when a removal van in matching colours passed the sign, Change is happening. I felt that this made a great final image for my set.

Demonstration of creativity

When photographing on the street for fun, I enjoy spotting humour and irony in signage. I feel that the set as a whole has an element of humour, particularly the van that I see as moving out the old Hull ready for the new, sparkly edition. 

Context

I have come a long way in the process of finally completing this assignment. From a failed attempt due to a need to photograph the front of people to a realisation that my hometown is more interesting than I had originally thought. I have discovered many new photographers along the way and learned many different approaches to photographing a city and those that inhabit it. I hope that some of this learning is evident in my work.

Bibliography

Angier, R. (2007) Train your gaze: (a practical and theoretical introduction to portrait photography). AVA.

Arran, T. (2016) Home - hull UK city of culture 2017 Hull UK City of Culture 2017.

Available from: <https://www.hull2017.co.uk> [Accessed 12 April 2016].

Gibson, D. (2014) The street photographer’s manual. London, United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson.

Perraudin, F. (2016) Thousands strip naked in hull for Spencer Tunick photographs. The Guardian, 11 July. Available from: <https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jul/09/thousands-strip-naked-in-hull-for-spencer-tunick-photographs> [Accessed 10 July 2016].

SPENCER TUNICK (n.d.) Available from: <http://www.spencertunick.com> [Accessed 12 April 2016].