1. Sturt’s Desert Pea 
2. Silver Birches 
3. Essence of landscape 
4. Glitch 
5. Fragmented
It was with some trepidation that I clicked the link that said my Lens Culture feedback was available. I submitted a series a couple of years ago and found the feedback very helpful. I am now more confident about showing my work to others but for the most part this is to other artists and students that I know. The benefit of Lens Culture is that it is someone who doesn’t know my work and has no backstory to go on, all they have is the submitted work.
Given the focus was Fine Art I decided to submit some of my more abstract work; this felt like a bit of a risk as I think of most photography competitions as tending towards the more traditional with a focus on the technical.
You are asked to write an artist’s statement and give brief descriptions for each submitted image. This was a great opportunity to find a way to succinctly express my intentions and to find a way to unite a group of images that are not connected as a series but share a common thematic. You are also asked to say what you would like to gain from a review. I asked what strengths could be seen in my work that I should take forward. My statement:
Influenced by Abstract Expressionism (Colour Field) I have been exploring links between emotions, memories and photography. I am interested in how abstract photography can push boundaries and be used to look at existential issues like transience, death and legacy. I have been investigating the interface between the digital and materiality (‘Glitch’ and ‘Fragmented’ are based on physical decollages created from my photographic archives) and its implications for our identities as we move into what is arguably the post-human era.
I couldn’t be more delighted with the feedback, it is clear, thoughtful and very encouraging. I like that the reviewer starts with an honest statement that this might not have been work that ordinarily attracted them:
Although this kind of imagery is quite different from the photography that usual draws me in, the gentle yet powerful compositions and lovely colour palette appealed to my artistic sensibilities. Besides the intense aesthetic satisfaction of the images, what interests me also, is that I feel that intention of yours to transfer a message goes beyond experimentation with the form.
The reviewer goes on to make an interesting point about there being a danger in experimentation and abstract photography that the photographer remains ‘entrapped into experimentation without having a clue about what they want to say with their work.’ They note:
You instead, described a very interesting idea in your beautiful project statement, an idea that has the potential to grow more.
In terms of the individual images the reviewer starts with the essence of landscape, which seems to echo other feedback I have had.
Picture 3 grabbed my attention from the very first moment. I like your idea to experiment with the notion of Landscape, and I am sure there is a lot of space to investigate in regards to this topic.
They also respond positively to the digital afterlife images and suggest this could be extended further into the idea of ‘Afterlife as a cultural phenomenon. In relation to this they recommend looking at the film ‘Enter the Void’ as a potential source of future inspiration.
An interesting point is raised in relation to Image 2 – the Silver Birches which questions whether abstraction is an appropriate approach for looking at memory, the suggestion being that more representational images are better placed to look at the topic. This is something to think about, my immediate response is that I am not sure representational images are best to deal with the memories that are indistinct or blurred over time. A stimulating point to have raised.
Image 1, ‘Sturt’s Desert Pea,’ appears to be the least successful of the set from their point of view. The suggestion being that ‘you are trying to put too many subjects in the same frame.’
Nonetheless, I believe that you are doing something very interesting here.
In reading the review I am really struck by how important the descriptions and statement are to someone for whom this is completely new work. It is very helpful to know that my statement was well received and is ‘quite strong, to the point, and well-defined.’
The project statement is considered extremely important nowadays because it gives access to the objectives of your work. Your objectives have been described in a crystal clear way, and the images fulfil those objectives in the most creative manner.
I am overjoyed with the reviewer’s concluding thoughts:
To conclude Dawn, you are a talented photographer – or to say better – a visual artist, and you have the potential for doing great art. I firmly support your endeavour to keep on investigating the subjects you are interested in.
It is such a pleasure to read:
My engagement with your work was an exciting and pleasant experience. I am very pleased with what I have seen in this submission, and I am looking forward to seeing more of your work in future. In a world flooded with photographs, it is important to make work that is valuable.
The reviewer also suggested a very helpful and extensive list of resources that I might like to consider. Some I had already come across like ‘Ways of Seeing’ and ‘The Photograph as Contemporary Art’, but others are new and I will be following up:
- The Practical Art World: Suggestions for writing your artists statement
- The Artists Statement: How and why to write yours
- The Poetry of the Surface: craftsmanship and materiality in photography
- Why People Photograph
- Photography as Activism: images for social change
- Beauty in Photography
- The Photographer’s Playbook
- Finding Your Audience: An introduction to marketing your photographs
I know one could be sceptical about such an activity – I have no idea who actually wrote the review, it could be a photography student paid by the word. However, the review does feel personalised and I find elements of it very helpful. A previous submission in 2017 was equally helpful in getting me to really focus on my use of light to improve my work, I am sure there are elements of this review that will have a lasting impact.
If nothing else I have renewed courage to own the title ‘artist.’