Tami Aftab and Marie Smith
Two female photographers who use their images in order to display the wellbeing of themselves and other individuals
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Tami Aftab: 'The Dog's In The Car'
Tami Aftab's 'The Dog's In The Car' is a project documenting her father's medical condition which impacts memory (causes memory loss). Across the video, she refers to her father as 'Dad', which adds even more of a personal touch to her work. The majority of her research was first-hand, such as post it notes used in her household in order to remind her father what needs to be done during the day as he is unable to retain that information for an extended period of time. Aftab began this project by simply enlarging the post it notes and displaying them in public. This allowed a more lighthearted viewpoint on the medical illness and allowed others to feel comfortable laughing and appreciating his sense of humour. Despite this condition, the family remain positive and throughout the project, there a warm and unconditional familial love is displayed. When apart from her father, Aftab had to resort to other ways of connecting with her father due to the pandemic. She produced a piece of artwork with the outline of her father's skull as it was 'comforting' for her at the time. The entirety of Aftab's project is based on her father and is overall heartwarming to view.
Marie Smith: 'Whispering for Help'
Marie Smith started her photography journey through her own self reflection and questioned the wellbeing of women of colour and how aware society is about this topic. Before meeting with other people to learn about their experiences, she began her own series in March 2019 named 'The fog has lifted slightly', where she simply expresses her own issues without sugar coating the severity of them. A theme of nature is represented throughout her project, whilst a feeling of emptiness and isolation is conveyed through the black and white images. This began her journey onto her more well-known project: 'Whispering for help'.
Once more, 'Whispering for help' acted as another project creating awareness for mental health, but in this particular one, it was the wellbeing of others and in particular, women of colour. Before even thinking about collaborating with others, she ensured to do intensive research where she 'was met with contradictory statistics' such as Chinese women having low rates of admission to mental health facilities which forced her to question how Chinese women without counselling from the NHS were doing. Smith wanted to ensure communities such as the LGBTQI+ were included as well, since they faced 'even more isolation as they are also a part of a marginal community'.
After doing such research, she wanted to collaborate with others in order to learn about their experiences with mental health as a woman of colour and how things differed and related to her own experiences. However, she wanted each participant to feel comfortable in her presence and ensure that they felt at the same level as her (in regards to power). Before photographing an individual, she discussed and built relationships with each and every individual, developing her role from simply the photographer to a facilitator. She received a handwritten note from each woman and attached it onto the photograph of them, allowing their stories to be shared and exposed to the world, along with an visual aspect of their story (being the photograph).
Once more, 'Whispering for help' acted as another project creating awareness for mental health, but in this particular one, it was the wellbeing of others and in particular, women of colour. Before even thinking about collaborating with others, she ensured to do intensive research where she 'was met with contradictory statistics' such as Chinese women having low rates of admission to mental health facilities which forced her to question how Chinese women without counselling from the NHS were doing. Smith wanted to ensure communities such as the LGBTQI+ were included as well, since they faced 'even more isolation as they are also a part of a marginal community'.
After doing such research, she wanted to collaborate with others in order to learn about their experiences with mental health as a woman of colour and how things differed and related to her own experiences. However, she wanted each participant to feel comfortable in her presence and ensure that they felt at the same level as her (in regards to power). Before photographing an individual, she discussed and built relationships with each and every individual, developing her role from simply the photographer to a facilitator. She received a handwritten note from each woman and attached it onto the photograph of them, allowing their stories to be shared and exposed to the world, along with an visual aspect of their story (being the photograph).
My portraits:
Before photographing these images, as Marie Smith did, I had a conversation with this individual about his feelings and his thoughts about starting school once more. Initially, he was unsure as to how he felt as all he could vocalise was a sense of normality however, he later admitted a slight sense of anxiousness. In the first three images (left to right), there is a display of friendship and contentment. In two of the images, smiles are clearly present, illuminating an impression of bonhomie. In the last image, his hands are through his hair has he places his head in his hands. A feeling of possible frustration and nervousness is accentuated through the tension shown in his body language. He is presented as isolated and in his thoughts, as well as closed up due to the positioning of his arms and legs - once more representing his anxiousness.
Out of these four images, the second photo calls to me the most as I truly do enjoy the overall aura of joyousness in it. The intimacy between the three individuals truly does underline the bond between them and I personally feel a sense of optimism simply by glancing at the image.
Out of these four images, the second photo calls to me the most as I truly do enjoy the overall aura of joyousness in it. The intimacy between the three individuals truly does underline the bond between them and I personally feel a sense of optimism simply by glancing at the image.
Another individual:
The commute
These images were captured on a short walk throughout Kidbrooke. In each of these photos, the main focal point is the individual, however the changing in surroundings should also be something to take into account. The separated pathways in the first image presents the conflicted feeling the sitter has due to the start of school. The fact that he's placed in the centre shows there is no bias and there is complete uncertainty as to what direction he should take in a literal sense but additionally in a metaphorical sense. A common theme in each of these photos is aloneness. The sitter is consistently by himself, underlining a sense of individuality and his inability to rely on anyone but himself. In the fifth image (in the playhouse), the sitter seems cramped, representing his feeling of ensnarement and inability to escape himself. As a simple interpretation, the last two images could just be the sitter looking at his reflection in the water, however it could highlight self reflection and further emphasise the feeling of loneliness.
These images were captured on a short walk throughout Kidbrooke. In each of these photos, the main focal point is the individual, however the changing in surroundings should also be something to take into account. The separated pathways in the first image presents the conflicted feeling the sitter has due to the start of school. The fact that he's placed in the centre shows there is no bias and there is complete uncertainty as to what direction he should take in a literal sense but additionally in a metaphorical sense. A common theme in each of these photos is aloneness. The sitter is consistently by himself, underlining a sense of individuality and his inability to rely on anyone but himself. In the fifth image (in the playhouse), the sitter seems cramped, representing his feeling of ensnarement and inability to escape himself. As a simple interpretation, the last two images could just be the sitter looking at his reflection in the water, however it could highlight self reflection and further emphasise the feeling of loneliness.