Scholarship – 2008
Photography
Examples of Candidate Work
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This submission utilises a photographic premise as its primary focus. There is a
contextual awareness that frames this project; about the context that photo operates
within. Research questions are pertinent - questioning the position of photography,
led by incisive selection of artistic reference. Quotes are also well chosen and relate
effectively to the central proposition. Inherent in the portfolio and actioned through
strategic analysis is the decision to take learning from process and exclude the
object, bringing the focus back to the pictorial. All shifts that are made; colour, black
& white, material, medium, analogue to digital, relate strongly to specific shifts in
concept – there is a logic to choices made. The restraint in the use of colour is astute;
colour is tactically employed. Text is used both as a visual device and a tool/ element
in conceptual thought process. This device is not reliant on the text to communicate
alone, but rather acts as an image as well as text. Conventions of photography are
employed to transport concept with a broad range of pictorial devices employed;
these are well adhered to, ie the candidate is aware of how aperture/ shutter speed
can convey ideas. This is a strength – it is an informative relationship. Again, the
candidate documents installation/ performative aspects with cognisance that the
outcome operates as an image, and is in effect about the picture, and thus is able to
sustain communication of the idea. There is a consistency in the continual
questioning of media and its relevance to the overall premise. The fact that this
portfolio keeps moving is a real success in unfolding and extrapolating complexity of
concept, eg. on board two there are 5 options explored that each build and broaden
the dialogue about the investigation; a criticality is employed in deciding what to
take forward. The last work – the performative aspect (burning); the act of burning is
dealt with succinctly, and links back to the notion of the artefact. The workbook
highlights the integration of artistic models and practice, and includes key ideas and
concepts of relevance. The selection of work for the portfolio is well chosen; the
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portfolio is visually coherent and fluent.
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OUTSTANDING SCHOLARSHIP
This submission examples an intelligent and highly independent pursuit. Early
identification of a topic with such wide-ranging potential set this candidate up well
for engaging in a sophisticated and robust inquiry. The topic has a lot of available
information/ potential source; Wartime 1915 – the focus here on how war is depicted,
the effect of it on young men; and specifically the notion that what is left behind of
‘young soldiers’ is – existence as an image (a name on a page). The candidate
identified through both research and making how war was represented then (1915) –
and how that then constructed a series of understandings. A major strength in this
submission is that the proposition changes throughout the investigation; the more the
candidate thought about what they were doing the more they personalised it. The
revelation in the workbook, when the candidate realises the enormity of working
with images of deceased soldiers and the loss they signify, underlines the heightened
comprehension and mature contextual insight on the part of the candidate. Distance
travelled is extensive and possibilities far-reaching. Being responsive to the act of
making changes the candidate’s own place in their practice. This level of ownership
of the topic and commitment to such an intelligent quest brings great depth and
understanding. Parallels are set up between the dead soldier and use of their own
brother as subject. In both the portfolio and workbook this personal engagement
pinpoints a determination within the interpretative nature of the practice.
Strategically the introduction of Dada-type devices opens up conceptual territory in
useful and inventive ways. Photographic conventions are strategically employed to
motivate new avenues; pictorial construction, introduction of colour, cutout, new
motifs, etc. The experiential aspect involved in the making transports the conceptual
element. Image-object-collage-installation-dioramic relationships are treated with
inherent understanding of the power of photography to convey complex image
language construction; this is a sustained pictorial investigation.
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