Putting theory into practise

Putting theory into practise

Looking at Jo Spence

Many of her works were self portraits about her own fight with breast cancer.

The photograph of her, taken whilst having a mammography done, exemplifies her vulnerability, as semi-naked, she literally has to place her body under the control and scrutiny of this machine. When you look at her work it all has such a deeper meaning, it's not just nudist pictures it's telling a story and showing feelings and fears captured in a second, photo therapy is what it is called.

I love how she has captured herself with such emotion in every shot. They are meant to make you stop and thinking about what you are seeing. 

We then had to look at the intro page in any photography book and choose a sentence to relate to the photographer we had been given (Jo Spence).

I chose the sentence: 'Illusion is appropriate, for it recalls to us the extent to which the attempt to record and fix a permanent image was seen as almost magical in it's effect and suggestiveness'.

Then I brain stormed what 'Illusion' meant to me:

-Unique

-Tricks the mind and eyes

-A picture within a picture

-Strange

-Hallucinations 

-Something that's not really there

-In the corner of your eye

Now I had to relate this word to my photographer.

I think Jo Spence's work can be related to illusion because people think that they have the idea of illness and cancer in their mind, they think they know how people look and feel. Jo's images really speak her mind and takes the illusion of glamour and turns it into real-life, you really see how she is feeling from the photographs and what really goes on.

She ended up having a mastectomy and that as a woman is very degrading. She has photos of herself topless with dates on a bit of card from when she was in hospital leading up to it. This could be her trying to maintain her identity as a woman because I can only imagine what it would be like to lose something that makes you what you are, and then trying to continue being and feeling feminine. She is truly an inspiration. 

I love this picture. She has written on the breast she has/having removed. This is such a powerful image and message.