During my PhD, I developed a model of photographic practice that enabled me to capture reality through the unique properties of the camera to reduce space and freeze time. Something that as human beings we are not able to do. Our lives, thoughts, and experiences move on dynamically such that we immediately lose sight of a moment in time. Through immediate post-processing of my images, I endeavour to recall the moment rather than leave my longer-term memory to compromise reality. By doing this, I can capture and preserve what I call allure. By sharing my work with others, I enable viewers to experience the essence of the moment of capture and the entanglement of reality in nature. I created a visual heuristic that articulates the model of practice I developed during my PhD enabling me to enter a non-conscious state of zonal flow and dynamic awareness. The Shutter Diagram below seeks to describe the pre-conditions or components that allow me to leave the sensory world in favour of Graham Harman’s “real” world.
The Ten-Signifier Shutter Diagram - March 2024
As we begin 2025, I think about my practice post-PhD and post-living on the Isle of Skye. Hitherto, I had worked almost exclusively beside a tiny loch – Loch Cill Chriosd – and with a lone silver birch tree perched precariously on the side of a hill in the shadow of the Cuillin. I also need to think about how the academic grounding for my practice might develop after completing my doctorate. Do I seek to pursue the development of my philosophical thinking and/or continue with practice-led research? Do I engage in collaborative practice, and do I continue with the model of co-authoring papers as I had done during my doctoral study?
I mull over some of the questions I have posed above, I think about developing creativity and what it means. Would a focus on creativity compromise my search to capture reality? Can I retain the reality of a photographic moment while developing creativity in the presentation and curation of my work? Would collaboration in my practice develop or widen my creativity in a way consistent with my ontological position?
A Handmade Artist’s Book – Traces of Being
As a photographer, it can be all too easy to fall into the traditional model of presentation, that is, images mounted and framed. Indeed, until recently, this has been the gold standard of presentation for distinctions from the Royal Photographic Society. However, digital production is also widely accepted. As practice-led research, my PhD submission consisted of three components: a thesis of 45,000 words, a blog presented as a Critical Research Journal and a handmade Artist’s Book. Rather than produce an exhibition of prints for the examiners, the handmade book was intended as a more appropriate and authentic way to display and curate my images. At the time of submission, I wrote the following about my choice of format and the reasons for it:
“The considerations about how to present my photographic work at the end of my PhD began early. The previous posts below give a sense of my thoughts and reflections:
Thinking about Books – Ontology, Style and Essence
Review of The Sea by Barbara Bosworth
https://www.wildreflections.photography/uncategorised/review-of-the-sea-by-barbara-bosworth
Paper Surfaces and Printing Images
https://www.wildreflections.photography/uncategorised/paper-surfaces-and-printing-images
Rhythm of Nature by Sandra Bartocha
https://www.wildreflections.photography/uncategorised/rhythm-of-nature-by-sandra-bartocha
Most PhD candidates seemed to present an exhibition of their work in a reasonably standard form, but I felt while an exhibition would allow me to produce images on a large scale (A2 or above), I felt this form of display would lack the intimacy of sharing the images in a relaxed and slow manner that reflects my work as a “quiet photographer” (Badger 2002). Furthermore, my images contain traces of Being and nuances that require careful and close examination. Another factor in my early consideration was that I intended to choose a textured paper best suited to display the tree images in particular, and the glass on the frames would reduce the impact of this paper choice. And so, the idea was borne that I would produce a large format Artist’s Book.
As my considerations continued, I reviewed the books of a number of photographers and artists including Awoiska van der Molen (Blanco and The Living Mountain), Matthew Murray (Saddleworth – Responding to a Landscape), Barbara Bosworth (The Sea) and latterly the newly published Rhythm of Nature by Sandra Bartocha. While I loved the scrapbook aesthetic of Awoiska van der Molen, the professional and high-quality production of Saddleworth, and the comprehensive nature of The Sea, it was the self-published book by Sandra Bartocha that gave me the most inspiration. From the non-standard just off-square format, the white space around the images and her collaboration with a friend to create words presented alongside her photographic work. Furthermore, her images and approach were most akin to my own practice.
My thinking concluded with the production of a handmade Artist’s Book with glassine paper between the pages. I began to see the book as my performance as a quiet photographer. The scale of the book allowed me to share nuances. I was seeking allure within the single images while the set of images in the book represent multiple readings of the landscape and my subjects. The image is an individual layer, added to by subsequent images and viewings. Whereas the images in my thesis are more of a story of single images, the book is about the combination too. I hope the book will be an art object that will be revisited, that will sit on the coffee table and be returned to time, and time again as different meanings and details emerge.”
Here are a few images of my book which now resides in the Artist's Book Collection at the University of Dundee.
Handmade Artist's Book Traces of Being, Alison Price January 2025
Introductory Page from Handmade Artist's Book - Alison Price, January 2025
Illustrative Page of Handmade Artist's Book - Alison Price, January 2025
Illustrative Page of Handmade Artist's Book - Alison Price, January 2025
As I reflect on my initial question, how to be more creative in the presentation of my photographic images, I began to realise that I have made some steps forward during my PhD and not only in terms of the handmade Artist's Book discussed above. I have submitted my work in digital form via my blog and added lots of words to discuss and reflect on the topic of the day. I also exhibited a collaborative piece of work, along with fellow PhD student Katie Potapoff at the University of Dundee Expo in January 2023. This involved producing a concertina book, alongside a de-constructed concertina book produced by Katie. There is more to write about this topic, and next time I will consider how my blog has contributed to my work and its role in my practice.
References
Badger, G. (2002). “Stephen Shore, In Praise of a “Quiet” Photographer.”
Alison Price
My name is Alison Price and for the past ten years I have travelled the world photographing wildlife, including Alaska, Antarctica, Borneo, Botswana, the Canadian Arctic, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.