Ok so in preperation for my seminars this week, both dissertation and project, things are beginning to take shape. My project is now losely based on the idea of maps, and how it can show whatever it wants to, depending on who the author and the user are. My map is going to show my childhood, and I want to create a collage work, with maps of areas where I grew up, surrounded by images and written accounts of my memories. I so far have a fair few images of me, family and friends in places I have strong connections with, such as my old family home. I am currently a little undecided whether this project needs new images of these places, as if I am mapping my childhood with memories (including the old photographs) surely new images wouldn't fit into this idea. However, this will be one of my main burning questions I will ask in my seminar on Friday. (I have already began taking some images of these places as they are now with a great deal of shock at how willing the current tenants are to let me shoot there.)
Above is an image of the garden of my old home, which seemed familiar and fairly similar to how I remember. Below is an image of the garden of my nans old house, which was a little different than I remember. First off, it seemed so much smaller than I remember, and secondly, a few things have changed such as the end of the garden is now full of bikes, rubbish and other garden waste. I have focussed on the gardens as I do have a lot of memories and photographs of these, and also the current tenants are much more willing to let me into the garden, rather than inside their home.
Dissertation is also beginning to seem clearer as the reading progresses. I have pages of quotes already, which is good! It will be on the idea of tourism, mainly focussing on the tourist maps and guide books and how they show a place at its best, selecting and structuring the photographs to make the destination look perfect. I am beginning to look into the role Kodak has played in the tourism industry, making photography cheap, simple and for the masses. I have also began looking at Martin Parr - Small World, and I might quite possibly look a little deeper into his work, depending on how things go. For now, I want to keep reading and home down my idea so I can begin writing the daunting 8,000 - 10,000 words.
