COMMUNITY / PROTEST | Lucy Jane Purrington

ACCESSIBLE PHOTOGRAPHY

A few months ago I was exploring ways to produce creative images without or with very limited use of photoshop.

Because photography should be accessible for everyone!

This is a black and white portrait photograph of a man’s face. The image has been taken close to the model’s face. He appears to be neutral in mood and is looking directly outward in a friendly manner. The image is distorted with layers of the photo cut up in small sections and placed slightly off to create a disjointed effect. The left side of the image is shadowy and shows the curves and facial features of the model.

This is a black and white portrait image of a man’s head, chest and torso. He is unclothed and appears to be vulnerable. His arms are raised up, holding on to the sides of his head. His eyes are closed and he is looking downwards in a melancholic manner. The image has been cut up into small squares that have been arranged so that each has a small white gap in between them. This creates a distorted appearance to the photograph.

This is a portrait photo of a woman’s head and neck. Her face is tilted to the side so that the angular shadows of her collar bone and jaw can be seen. On top of the photographic print is a layer of paint in swirly patterns of white, grey and black. This paint conceals the face of the model so that we don’t know how she’s feeling. This blob of paint stretches out in a circular shape and covers her hair also.

Here's some instructions if you want to have a go yourself and if you have access to a smart phone, up to £3 scissors and glue:

Take a photo on your phone
Print out 2 or 3 copies (Can do this at local camera shop for typically under £3)
Leave one image as your base layer
Cut up the remaining prints into odd shapes and place them on top of the ‘base layer’ to create a distorted effect
Once you’re happy with their placement, glue them down
Re-photograph or scan the image (once it's dry)!

Here's some instructions if you want to have a go yourself if you have access to a smart phone and up to £1

Take a photograph on your phone
Print it out (Can do this at local camera shop for typically under £1)
Using a pair of scissors, carefully scratch off the photographic layer on the paper. Sometimes it peels away quite easily!
Re-photograph or scan the image .

Here's some instructions if you want to have a go yourself and if you have access to a smart phone, up to £1, a piece of white card or paper, scissors and glue:

Take a photograph on your phone
Print a copy out, I decided to do mine in black and white for a change. (Can do this at local camera shop for typically under £1)
Cut up the picture into small square shapes and start placing them on top of paper or card layer to create a patterned effect
Once you’re happy with their placement, stick them down
Re-photograph or scan the image.

CAUTION: Dangerous chemicals must be treated with care and protective clothing and equipment used in a well ventilated area.

Here's some instructions if you want to have a go yourself if you have access to a smart phone, up to £1 for printing and some random house hold chemicals:

Assemble what liquids you might want to experiment with, I used nail varnish remover on this picture.
Take a photograph on your phone
Print it out (Can do this at local camera shop for typically under £1)
This is the fun part - pour on small blobs of your chosen liquid, and tilt the photo around so the liquid moves and dribbles to create funky patterns. You may need to set it sit for a minute or two before the image changes colour / exposure.
Re-photograph or scan the image (once it's dry!)

Here's some instructions if you want to have a go yourself and if you have access to a smart phone, up to £1 and some paint:

Take a photograph on your phone
Print it out (Can do this at local camera shop for typically under £1)
This is the fun part - pour on paint in big blobs and tilt the photo around so the paint moves and dribbles to create funky patterns.
Re-photograph or scan the image (once it's dry) and there you go!
If you want to add a funky filter, you can download a range of free apps to do so. I decided to change mine to black and white.

THE BIG DRAW 2019 *A film created from content filmed by the families and participants.

A group of young artists from Ynyshir Primary School, South Wales, with The Workers Gallery and RCT Arts Services won an award in the category of ‘Community Participatory and Libraries’ at the The Big Draw Festival 2019.

To get there, they had to fundraise almost £4,000! This video tells their story and is an opportunity to thank all of the all of the 50+ individuals, small businesses, trusts, charities and community groups, and everyone who pulled out all the stops to get this inspiring group of young people to Manchester to receive their Big Draw Festival Award!

THE INTERNET OF THINGS

This collaborative experimental video piece was produced in response to the growing concerns around wireless technology, the 'internet of things' and 5th Generation wireless systems (5.G).

This film first premiered at the South Wales Creatives Against 5G event at Inkspot Venue - Cardiff in September 2019.

Film by Lucy Jane Purrington and Victoria Clarke of Mad Cobbler Productions

Sound by Alisdair Clarke - Samhain- UK

Model: Renee Butcher