A new item has appeared on my neighbour’s bush (I call it Connie’s Corner), you can view all items past & present HERE
Latest
Photo Ideas
1. Arrest Mug-shot: Words/phrases generated earlier would be used where a persons name & ID number would normally appear on a mug-shot. This can be achieved in a studio or classroom setting with a flash setup, I already have a magnetic A3 Blackboard & magnetic letters. Volunteer models/actors will be required for this idea.
2. Text image: Have the project title Dyslexic Portraits in the middle of the image with all the words/phrases generated sprouting off from the title, interlinking to resemble a completed crossword puzzle.
3. Situation based: A series of constructed situations to portray words/phrases generated earlier. This idea has the possibility of generating both still & moving images (video). Volunteer models/actors will be required for this idea.
4. Abstract: A series of interior & exterior photos of my old school only all the images are devoid of people. In other words empty of any human presence. I’m thinking I could put some kind of object in each image as a way to represent me. However is this abstract?
Words/Phrases So Far
Updated 07/03/2012
Alone
Antisocial
Anxious
Awkward
Backward
Confusion
Criminal
Denial
Depressed
Difficult
Dim
Embarrassed
Fear
Gifted
Insecure
Intelligent
Isolated
Lateral-Thinking
Lazy
Lonely
Lucky
Nervous
Obstructed
Odd
Panicked
Phonics
Savant
Self-conscious
Selfish
Shy
Slow
Special
Stupid
Taboo
Thick
Unique
Unmotivated
Word-blindness
Dyslexic Portraits
Dyslexic Portraits is a conceptual photo-project centred upon Dyslexia. This is a continuation of my dissertation ‘The Dyslexic Photographer’
Concept Description
Words & phrases associated with Dyslexia as well as individual’s experience of being Dyslexic expressed through images (still & moving) is the concept of this project.
What do I mean by words & phrases? Well here are a few examples:-
Dumb, Slow, Stupid, Backward, Isolated, Alone, Self-conscious
As part of the creative process for this project I am asking anyone that is Dyslexic or works in the field of Dyslexia, to email/post me words/phrases that they can think of to describe their own individual experience of Dyslexia.
Possible Outcome
Well I’m hoping to publish the still images as a book as well as possibly some mounted prints. Any video will be uploaded to YouTube and will be viewable from the blog (Dyslexic Portraits).
Conceptual Research
When I began researching this project I put the title into Google to see what it would turn up. The images the search engine returned can be put into three types.
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Word based: This is a graphic based image which is mostly made up of just a word or words.
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Situation based: This type of image makes up a significant amount of the images I found on the internet. Typically the image is composed of a child or children in an educational setting such as a school classroom.
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Celebrity: Images of Dyslexic celebrities such as Richard Branson & Henry Winkler.
My initial ideas for this project centred very much on stereo typical portrait photography, someone in front of the camera holding a pose &/or possibly with some props.
Having carried out this initial research I have concluded that a more conceptual led approach is needed if I am to fully explore how to portray Dyslexia through the visual medium of photography, possibly video as well.
I’ve decided to use words/phrases used & associated with Dyslexia as a catalyst & to try to portray these words in a visual form. But what words shall I use?
It has become obvious to me that to simply use words/phrases I can think of myself won’t be a sufficient scope, a collaborative element is needed. So the next step is to put a post on the Old Northeasesians Facebook page asking for people to collaborate with me & to write to the head of Northease Manor School, maybe some of the kids there would be interested too. There are also a few forums I can put similar posts on.
Web Site
A very rough version of my web site is now online ( adavall.com ). Theres still a lot of work to go in it but I felt a bare bones version needed to be up & running.
I’ve been using Serif’s WebPlus X5 web site design software to make my site. Having never used it before I’m learning as I go which is why there is still lots of work to do on my site to bring it up to a more professional level. I haven’t figured out how to make my contact forms work properly so that anyone who fill’s it out doesn’t need to email me. At the moment when someone clicks the submit button they are sent to their email provider to send the contents of the form, I’ll work it out eventually.
London Galleries/Photo Facilities Visit Thursday 26th Jan 2012
Whitechapel Gallery
I’ve never been to the Whitechapel Gallery before but was impressed by what I saw. The Zarina Bhimji exhibition was very interesting. I especially liked the film installations (Yellow Patch especially). It was interesting to see what the two films were made up of from the series of still images though I think this could have been achieved with fewer images. I found the light box’s & mirrors interesting but the part where some work was suspended in the middle of the room was underwhelming & a little naff really. Overall though well worth the visit.
Brick Lane
Until this visit the venue for our third year degree show has been nothing more than idle thoughts. Seeing where we will be showing our work & the surrounding area really brought home just how close the end of the course really is.
PrintSpace
This was by far the best part of the day, having everything properly explained in a non-patronising way was excellent. Seeing the different types of prints/paper available as well as the facilities & equipment was very interesting. The free print was a nice touch too.
All in all a very productive London day trip
Year 3 Progress:- Self Assessment
I completed my dissertation this week you might think ‘So what? For me it’s the first tangible triumph I’ve made against my Dyslexia.
My Dyslexia really blighted my childhood, I think the main reason for that was not being assessed & consequently ‘diagnosed’ until I was in secondary school aged 12.
From almost the start of my education I was treated as thick, stupid, slow, that kind of treatment has had a real lasting impact. I still have low self esteemed & trust issues. As time passed and I got older I slowly found things I was good at, first Chess then Mathematics. Not what you would call typical of someone deemed slow/stupid. It showed people I had a brain & that there was something different going on. It carried on like this until finally I was assessed & found to be Dyslexic. You would think it would come as a relief, well in some respects it did but it also became a burden.
For the next 20+ years my Dyslexia became a crutch which I would use when things became tough / difficult. No more, I thought for a long time as to how I might change this rut that I had become a custom to. My solution in the end was quite simple, face it head on. The first part of this self challenge was my dissertation, making it about Dyslexia really motivated me to try as hard as I could to write as well as I know I am capable of. There was however no way I would be able to just sit & write thousands of words in one sitting so I had to think of an alternative strategy. My solution was to break it down in to parts / bits & concentrate on writing just 1 bit at a time, slowly building up until one after one each chapter was completed. This strategy has worked very well for me & has proved to me that when I really want to I can write just as much & just as well (or better) than anyone else regardless of my Dyslexia. This realisation has been very gratifying & very positive.
My next challenge is to translate my thoughts & ideas for my major project ‘Dyslexic Portraits’ into something that I can communicate to other people. This is something I have to some degree struggled with throughout the two & a half years of my degree. So in the next few weeks I will try to put down into words the ideas I have come up with so far for this project.
Like this:
Branch Glove
Even a bush can get cold
