Week 1 The Global Image: How does the global nature of photography relate to my practices?

A current portfolio in the abstract relates to the centenary commemoration of fallen soldiers from World War I 1914-1918. A Visual narrative supports a book. A standalone book of images is envisaged or set of images accompanying the text.

The narrative is of brothers Richard and Adam, initially living and working in rural Scotland. It portrays how their environment led them on to the dire conditions of the battlefields of mainland Europe where they perished. When surviving austere social and economic times in rural farming communities, the brothers had previously and separately visited Canada and lands to the east beyond Europe.

The visual images of this portfolio are intended to be abstract creations derived from photographs related to place and are intended to characterise the light, shade, textures and colour tones present. Where in retrospect we traditionally view such past in monochrome or at most recoloured images, those people in their time, still experienced the fullness of their lives in the full presence of colour. Historic monochrome imagery alongside a keen appreciation of colour in our present-day lives is something we share globally. Colour would have been seen by ancestors a century ago. A strong intent is to feature colour within this portfolio.

Themes interwoven within this narrative are idealism, romanticism, in particular, bringing attention to the limitations this presents and will go on to incorporate religious elements in the symbolic or cultural aspect. Again these should translate to the global perspective.

Perception and change are also relevant to this work. From our present-day vantage point, our beliefs and our standards have changed over a view of this past. Global cultures will vary in a variety of ways, this resulting from different stages of social, cultural and economic development and so the portfolio should read differently in different parts of the world.