The purpose of this website is to consolidate my OCA degree work from the
last eight years. My practice has always been quite varied which would appear a
little unusual compared to my peers. The first part of SYP is about broadening
my network – not an easy thing to do today when so many people are clamoring
for visibility and recognition. My final body of work and dissertation were
centred on landscape and the contestation of place and space. Much as I have
enjoyed the process (mostly) I do not see my self as an ‘artist’, simply a
photographer enjoying a range of genres and working with equipment and
techniques old and new.
As a first step for SYP I have submitted photographs to the Pink Lady Food
Photographer of the Year competition again after a gap of a few years. I have
previously had some success in this competition (the portfolio tab on the home
page will take you there), although it has never led to work or further
recognition , despite one of my images featuring in the Independent newspaper
magazine one year.
I have also submitted a portfolio of 10 images to LensCulture portraits
competition and have paid for a portfolio review, something I last did in 2020
with a level 2 body of work on the mental health benefits of allotment
gardening. This project was also used by the National Allotment Society with
exposure during mental health week. The work was entirely 120 format film. The
review is below:
“Thank you for submitting your work to LensCulture.
Your photographs have a beautiful, soft color palette. The compositions have
a wonderful sense of detail that floats through the series. There isn’t
anything fussy in capturing what makes up the imagery. You have a collection
that also feels well considered in variety of images, from closer more intimate
images to those pulled back that give context. The photographs express a space
of quiet and calm.
Polish photographer, .Jan Brykczynski The Gardener and Japanese photographer
Masako Miyazaki’s book The Other Side, published by, Tosei sha come to mind as
works that might be of interest to you, somewhat aligned, within subject matter
or within mood.
I would consider submitting the work to a number of different platforms to
get more eyes on it. From traditional platforms like The Guardian to advocacy
organizations for future work. Plant Journal and Pleasure Garden are two
publications that come to mind. Additionally The Garden Edit’s website features
work related to the place of gardens of all kinds in our lives. Your work has a
specific subject but the beauty of it is the broadness of its appeal. The
calming / healing / quiet, the purpose one finds in a garden are all aspects
that touch across different swaths of society.
I am interested in what the spoken statement is? I assume it is longer than
or more detailed than the one provided here? In presenting the work within
reviews or pitching it to spaces I would include a bit more information on this.
On an entirely different subject matter, Nan Goldin became a name through her
slide show presentations of her work ( The Ballad of Sexual Dependency ). I
would look into this just in terms of the photographic legacy of the format.
This is a lovely, relevant series and I wish you all the best as you finish
your studies and share the work further.”
My next post will explain my current project and my plans for a review of my food photography work.
Robin Stewart 