A LEVEL ART AND DESIGN

COMPONENT ONE: PERSONAL INVESTIGATION

TO BE COMPLETED BY THE LEARNER

Centre Name The Henley College Centre Number

Candidate Name Lucy Martyn Candidate Number 2

Entered Option

LEARNER STATEMENT
COMPLETION OF THIS FORM IS COMPULSORY
Complete and submit the learner statement with your work as it may be beneficial to the moderation
process and will be referred to when it is assessed (expand boxes below if required).

To place your submission in a suitable context, use the template below to:

Explain the MAIN IDEA from which you developed your responses
The starting point for my project is broken. I think that this will be a good theme as it is very vague and
will allow me to explore a variety of ideas and concepts and this will help to improve my overall project. I
also liked this starting point as I will be able to explore the different sides and meanings of broken. I will
be able to explore the idea of something that is physically broken as well as metaphorically broken and
this will allow me to be freer within my ideas and work I produce. I feel that this project will also allow
me to create deeper and more meaningful narratives. Within this project I would really like to look into
the idea of broken society as well as looking into other social issues. I have started to look at some
photographers to help inspire me within my work. The photographers that I have looked into so far are
Aaron Siskind and Sam, both of these photographer’s photograph objects and places that are broken.
Siskind photographs a lot of broken textures in a very abstract way which I think is really interesting as
this is not something you would initially link to broken, things like this help to widen the meaning of
broken and the idea that stem from that. Seager on the other hand photographs places that have been
damaged and broken by weather or manmade disaster, I have also looked into the work of Christian
Richter, and his work is mainly focused on taking photographs of abandoned buildings. Richter is the
first photographer I will be looked at and his work is the inspiration for my first shoot and the overall
theme of my project.

One thing I wanted to improve on from the last project was not to narrow down my idea from the start.
My project last year was based around mental health and within this I mainly used portraiture and I feel
like this didn’t give me a lot of freedom and therefore limited the work I produced. By doing this I ended
up producing a lot of shoot that didn’t really add much to my overall project and I ended up feeling very
stuck for ideas. When I chose this starting point, I wanted to choose a theme that would allow me to
look at a wider range of subgenres i.e. portraiture, landscape, cityscape and abstract etc. I feel that by
doing this I will be able to create a more interesting and diverse project and I will be able to explore a
range of ideas and convey them in a more interesting way.

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23/09/19 – After reviewing the work I have done so far and the formal essay I produced for my project I
have decided to switch the focus point of my theme and project. The formal essay I wrote explored how
photographs are used as a means of communication and if they are truthful documents for
communication. Within my essay, I looked into the work of two theorists – Susan Sontag and Steve
Edwards. Sontag’s theory stood out to me. Sontag’s theory is a theory entitled Plato’s cave, the theory
basically states that contemporary reality is still in Plato’s cave and that an image is one frame of an
image that we as audience members aren’t able to access. As I continue my project I want to focus on
perspective and Sontag’s theory of how perspective can be controlled and manipulated. Within this new
idea I would like to explore a range of ideas, I would like to create some abstract work as I feel that this
would add more diversity to my project and would help me to produce an overall more interesting
project. I would also like to experiment with different techniques, both in camera and post production, I
would also like to work with film again as I think it would help to add diversity to my project and I think it
would be interesting to use a wider range of media and techniques.

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My project has now streamlined into how I can tell a story using limited perspective to alienate the
audience and disconnect them in some way. This is leading on from Sontag’s theory as the theory of
Plato’s cave states that we as an audience consume hundreds and thousands of photographs a day
and we don’t know the people in the photographs or why they were taken, these photographs then
becoming fragments of the truth. This very much links with what I aim to convey within my work, the
idea of manipulation and distorting things to some degree.

Outline your initial PLAN in the development of your work

Date/Week Plans
In this shoot I was inspired by Christian
1 Richter who photographs mainly
abandoned buildings. In this shoot I aim to
photograph an abandoned building and
landscape but I would like to include
abstract elements. I also want to use dim
lighting and shadows as I feel it would help
to enhance the destruction within the
images.
What has been achieved? / What next?
I am happy with the images that I produced
although I do feel like the shoot could have
been more interesting in some way. I liked
the photographs I produced and I do feel
that they achieved what I aimed to achieve.
Although I would like to improve on them.
My next shoot will be based on the concept
of real and unreal.

This shoot is based upon the idea of real
2 and unreal. For this shoot I looked into the
work of Jack Davison. A lot of his work
includes reflection and shadows and I
think this concept is really interesting and
is something that I would like to further
explore within my project. For this shoot I
want to take photos of my subject and
their reflection. To edit these images I
would like to crop them so that the mirror
isn’t visible, ultimately confusing the
viewers and making them think. In my
opinion I perceive real to be something
that already exists within the world and I
perceive unreal to be something that is
staged or edited and doesn’t exist within
the world.
Im really happy with the outcome of this
shoot, I really enjoyed working with the idea
of real and unreal. I think the concept of this
shoot fits with the idea of real and unreal. I
think the concept of this shoot fits well with
my overall theme but I think there are
elements that I could improve to further link
to my theme. There are elements within
editing also that I would like to improve on
and change. I think I want to reshoot this so
I can improve on certain elements and link it
to my theme more. To do this I would like to
include images of broken glass to show how
the reflection is only a fragment of the truth
and isn’t 100% real. I also want my theme of
broken to be more visible.

For this shoot I am working on improving
3 my images from the last shoot. I will be
using the same concept but will be
improving and adapting the shoot. In this
shoot I would like to edit a photo of broken
glass over my subject’s face, not only
does this link back to broken but also adds
another element of real and unreal. I will
also be working on improving the light and
shadows.
I am happy with this shoot and edits I
produced although I do feel that redoing this
shoot held back the progression of my work.
I am happy with what I’ve done but I think
that the images are slightly repetitive,
although I did improve on certain aspects. I
have really enjoyed working with this
concept and it is something that I would like
to experiment with again later on in my
project.

This week I will be photographing Henley I am happy with this shoot and I feel like it
4 Royal Regatta. We have to do two shoots
at Henley Regatta so I want to focus on
two different elements of the Regatta. In
this shoot I want to take pictures of the
rowing as this is the main aspect of
Regatta. I also want to focus on colour
within this shoot as for my research I
looked into the work of Martin Parr and his
work is generally very colourful.
For this shoot I want to focus on the social
5 side of Henley Regatta. Although the
rowing is the main part of the Regatta, the
social aspect is also a very big part of it. I
want to show this as well as I feel like
there is a good contrast between the two.
Martin Parr’s images of Regatta also
included images that allowed insight into
the social side of Regatta.
I decided that I wanted to change the
6 focus of my project. I wrote a formal essay
that was based on how photography is
used as a means of communication.
Within my essay I wrote about two
different theorist – Susan Sontag and
Steve Edwards. I decided that I wanted to
base my project around Susan Sontag’s
theory of Plato’s cave. The theory
discusses how photographs are fragments
of the truth and how we as viewers
consume them without knowing the
meaning or the subjects within the images
etc. I wanted to base my project on this as
I felt it would create a more interesting
project and overall meaning. I also wanted
to do this as it links well with my essay
theme.
This week I did a shoot in the studio. I
7 wanted to do this shoot in the studio as
one of the main things I wanted to focus
on was the lighting. I wanted to use
different lighting against a black
background to create different lighting and
shadows. In this shoot I only wanted part
of the subject’s face to be visible as this
links back to Sontag’s theory that an
image shows you a fragment of reality and
the truth instead of the whole truth.
This week I produced a shoot that also
followed the idea that only a controlled
8 amount of the subjects face is visible. In
this shoot, I photographed my subject
looking into a CD to further experiment
with the idea of reflection. For this shoot I
used natural lighting and also lighting
using my phone torch to create light flares
and reflections on the CD.
achieves the aims I set out to achieve. My
next shoot will also be a shoot about
Regatta, but in this shoot I want to focus
more on the social side of Regatta.
Photographing more people around the
Regatta, instead of the rowing. I would also
like to add more variety to my next shoot.
I am happy with the shoot and the image I
produced although I can’t really see a
deeper meaning into these images. I am
also not very happy with the editing of these
as I think they are slightly over edited.
I wanted to change the focus of my project
as I felt it worked well with my essay and
would also allow me to create a more
interesting body of work. I chose to base my
project around Sontag’s theory not only
because I found it really interesting but also
because it fit in very well with my formal
essay. I found the theory to be very
interesting and allows a different perspective
on the image I thought that this theory would
allow me to create an interesting project as
well. I definitely want to explore different sub
genres of photography to create more
variety within my work. I also want to
experiment with different techniques, both in
camera and post production. As I continue, I
would like to explore some different ideas
within a mind map to help me progress with
this project.
I am really happy with this shoot and the
images I was able to produce. I feel that the
images I produced achieve the aims I set
out to achieve very well. I think these
images worked out really well and link back
to Sontag’s theory very easily. I only wanted
to show part of the subject’s face sop that
the whole image wasn’t visible and the
viewers are only able to see a controlled
portion of the image.
Overall, I am happy with this shoot and the
images I was able to produce. Although I
would definitely like to improve on the
lighting of these images as I felt this effected
the overall images. I would also like to redo
this in the studio to experiment with similar
lighting that I used in the first shoot.
 This week I wanted to work with
manipulation of photos. I thought this
9 would be an interesting idea as it literally
interprets the idea of limiting the
perspective. For this shoot I looked at two
photographers – Annegret Soltau and
John Stezakar but I mainly focused on
Soltau and her sewing technique.
This week I did a research booklet as I felt
10 this would help me to explore more
photographers within the ideas I have. In
my research booklet I looked into the work
of Duane Michaels as well as Uta Barth. I
wanted to look into their work as It fits well
with the work I want to produce further in
my project.
Within this shoot I wanted to create a mini
11 sketchbook that includes a storyline as
well as pictures of a limited perspective. I
thought It would be an effective idea to put
the images into a separate sketchbook as
I thought this would help to enhance the
idea of it being a story rather than just a
step by step process. For this shoot I
researched Duane Michaels and Uta Barth
(research booklet) as they have created
similar work and used the same kind of
techniques.
This week I focused on planning what I
12 wanted to do in my next shoot and in
which direction that I wanted to focus my
project in.
This week I plan to do a shoot a shoot that
13 I will use as experimentation leading up to
my final piece. I think this will be helpful as
I want to use a variety of techniques such
as burring the film, painting over the film
and writing on the film. I think that these
techniques could help me to develop my
ideas for my final piece in a more effective
way.
This week I am planning my final shoots
14 and what I want to do for my final piece. I
have decided to make a small book, like I
have done previously. I want to use a
narrative based around a series of
questions to help add structure to the
narrative
I am overall happy with the outcome of this
shoot, I think the idea and techniques were
very effective and allowed me to
communicate my ideas well. I have never
used a techniques like this before but I am
very happy with the overall outcome.
I felt that this was helpful as I was allow to
research further into the work of my chosen
photographers. I feel this will help me as I
continue in my project as it will help to easily
influence my ideas further on within my
project.
Overall, I am happy with the outcome of this
and this is definitely something I want to
continue on within my project. I think this
idea shows limited perspective in a very
effective way as the images are very limited
but the audience can learn more from the
narrative and story. I like how this idea is
very open and almost forces the audience to
think about the image and the meaning.
I think that this was helpful as last year I got
quite stuck in my ideas so I think the
planning is really helpful and helps me think
ahead, therefore creating better and more
effective work.
Overall, I am happy with the results of this
shoot, I think that using experimentation
was helpful and will help me progress with
my project. The techniques I used work
really well with my idea of limited
perspective, some of the techniques
physically limit the images where as some
just help portray the narrative and idea of
limited perspective.
I am really happy with my idea, I think this
will reflect my ideas well and
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Describe the CONTEXT (influences, purposes and meanings) of your work

I have decided to bas my project around the theme of broken, I wanted to do this as I felt it would allow
me to create a wider variety of work. So far I have looked at a few photographers that focus on different
elements within the theme of broken

REFLECT on your work critically as it progresses and, on its completion,

Date/Week Evaluation/ What worked well what are you taking forward from here? / How are you
refining your techniques and ideas?
Overall, I am happy with the outcome of this shoot and the images I was able to
1 produce. I really enjoyed taking inspiration from Christian Richter as his work really
inspired a lot of this shoot. I also really enjoyed working with lighting and creating
shadows and is something that I definitely want to further explore within the project. I
think the use of shadows was effective as it really helped to enhance and highlight the
isolation and destruction within the building.

I really enjoyed working on this shoot as I felt the concept of real and unreal was very
2 interesting and allowed me to produce some interesting and exciting images. I tried to
use shadows and dark lighting again in this shoot as I felt it was successful in the last
shoot. I think that this was effective as it added to the mysterious atmosphere within the
images. Although there are some elements within this shoot that I feel like I need to
improve and work on. One of these things being how relevant the shoot is compared to
my theme and overall project. There are also elements within editing that I feel I could
improve on if I reshot.

This week I worked on Improving my ideas from the last shoot. I made sure to use
3 shadows and darker lighting as I felt this was successful in the previous shoot and really
did help to create an effective atmosphere within the images. I also think I benefited
from doing this as it allowed me to experiment with editing in a different way. Although I
do feel that redoing the shoot held me back from progressing within my project.

This week I had to photograph Henley Regatta, I feel that I achieves the aims I set out
4 to within this shoot. One of the main things I wanted to focus on was the colour within
the images as the photographer I took inspiration from (Martin Parr) did this within his
own work and I think it is very effective and helps to create an interesting and exciting
 atmosphere within the image

I had to do two shoots based on Henley Regatta, within this shoot I wanted to work on
5 photographing the social side of Henley regatta, where as in the last shoot I focused on
photographing the rowing. I wanted to do this as I felt it was important to show the two
different aspects of Regatta. Again in this shoot, I took inspiration from Martin Parr so
within this shoot I wanted to focus on colour. Overall I think I did this effectively,
although I do feel that I edited the images to be too yellow toned and I think this creates
less effective images.

I decided that I wanted to change the focus of my project as I felt a bit stuck for ideas. I
6 have now decided to base my project on Susan Sontag’s theory entitled Plato’s cave. I
wrote about this theory in my formal essay that is linked to my project and I found this
theory to be very interesting. The theory basically states that when viewing an image,
the audience are only able to see a fragment of reality. So I have now decided to base
my project around this theory, focusing mainly on how I can manipulate my viewers. I
will do this through the use of different techniques and ideas.
For this shoot, I focused on lighting and shadow. Within my project previously, I have
7 experimented with light and shadow and found it to be very effective and successful.
Within this shoot, I photographed my subject in the studio and I worked on lighting the
subject from the side so that only a controlled portion of the subject’s face was visible. I
really enjoyed doing this and I am very happy with the outcome of the images. I think
the use of light and shadows is really effective and helps to create a mysterious
atmosphere. I also think that this concept is effective as it forces the viewers to think
more about the image. This shoot links to Sontag’s theory well as it only shows the
audience a controlled portion of the image rather than the whole image. I definitely want
to use this idea and concept again within my project as I think it is very effective and
achieves the aims I set out for this project.

This week I again worked on photographing something that only shows the viewers a
8 controlled portion of the image. I think that this idea is really effective and links very
closely to Sontag’s theory of Plato’s Cave. This week I decided to further experiment
with reflection and mirrors as it was successful in my shoot at the start of this project. In
this shoot I decided to use the reflection of the back of a CD. I wanted to use the back of
a CD as I think this is an interesting and new way of showing a reflection and this idea
allowed me to create interesting images due to the light flares on the back of the CD. I
again tried to use shadows and interesting lighting within this image as it does work
successfully and I feel it adds more to the images as well as linking closely with the
theory and theme.

Overall, I am happy with what I produced within this shoot. I think the technique was
9 really effective, I really liked working with this idea. I tried to use the same background
as I think this further helps to confuse the audience and make them think more about
the image. I decided to use different subjects to further confuse the audience and I also
made my subjects do a variety of poses and facial expressions. I decided to use white
thread as I think it stands out a lot more against the black background.

This week I decided to work on a research booklet, I think this was effective as it helped
10 me gain some direction within my work and allowed me to look further into certain
photographers and this has helped to influence my ideas and think about my ideas in a
deeper way. The research booklet also helped me think about certain elements I wanted
to include within my future shoots.

I am really happy with the outcome of this shoot, I think that this concept is really
11 interesting and is something I would definitely like to continue working on in the future. I
defiantly think that I need to work on the narrative as the narrative in this book was very
loose and not as effective as it could have been. I would also like to improve on that
actually layout of the book as I think there is a more effective way to layout the book. I
do think this is defiantly something I would like to continue on with in my project as I
think it communicates the theme of limited perspective really well.

I think this planning was again really effective as it allowed me to gain direction and
12 helped me to think seriously about where I want to go with my project and what I need
to improve on and change. Last year I got very stuck for ideas and didn’t really know
where I wanted to take my project, this resulted in me producing shoot that didn’t really
add to the overall project.

Overall, I am really happy with how my experimental shoot went, I think this will really
13 help with my project and the development for my final piece. I think this will help me
create a variation in prints and work.

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