Here is an online link to my photobook: L’Expression de Soi

How I set up the layout of my photobook:

How I ended up presenting my photobook:

Evaluation of Photobook:

When starting this project, I knew I wanted to make a photobook as a final outcome but I was unsure of how to present it, I had two options:

1. Present it in a way that shows the development of the gender spectrum, starting from one end of the spectrum e.g. femininity and gradually going through into the other end of the spectrum e.g. masculinity.
2. Present it in a way that shows my own thoughts on gender identity and the confusion that comes with trying to find my own gender identity.

I chose the 1st one as I thought the 2nd one may be too personal and might not come across in the way that I would’ve wanted it to.

Throughout the book, each image represents a different part of the gender spectrum, starting with femininity and finishing with masculinity. As part of this the “androgynous” part of the spectrum is well represented which could possibly be to do with the fact that I present myself as androgynous at the majority of times.

This project/book is one of the most personal ones I have done yet as I feel like it really shows some insight into my personal thoughts on gender and gender stereotypes. I really enjoyed developing this project because of how personal it was and how much fun it was to go against stereotypes whilst producing the images.

For the virtual galleries, I chose to represent a similar narrative as the book. Using each person’s different shoots and creating a different virtual gallery for each one. Like in the book, I kept the concepts of “masculinity”, “androgyny” and “femininity” separate in the different galleries.

How I will be presenting the images on:

A3:

A4:

A5:

The images I have picked to be printed and presented:

A3: I will present my A3 images singularly as I feel like these images are stronger alone than in a group of images.

A4: I will present all my A4 images as diptychs, these images come in pairs so are stronger presented in that way.

A5: These image, in my opinion, will work better in a group which is why I will be presenting them as a triptych.

After picking the orientation of my photobook, I picked what image I would use for my title page.

After choosing my title page, I clicked auto-layout, this makes sure that all the images are in the book and after removing the images I had decided wouldn’t be in the book, I had 88 pages.

I then sorted the images into the “narrative” I wanted, showing the gender spectrum through each set of images.

When planning the ideas for this book, I decided that I would start and end the book with images of myself with my face hidden “masking” my identity. This was with the intention of showing that I am still struggling to find my identity and want it hidden.

In the end, the photobook was 58 pages in total.

You are the Weather – Roni Hor

You are the Weather, 1994-95, is a four-wall installation of 100 photographs of Margret Haraldsdottir Blondal bathing in the naturally heated waters in Iceland throughout July and August 1994.

All the images in this book are similar to the one on the front cover, showing Margret bathing in the hot springs but only showing her face, some of the images are in black and white and others in colour.

I think this book really represents one of the themes I’m exploring during this project, the female gaze, as the images only depict her face and not her entire body, essentially removing any opportunities to sexualise the subject. I also think this links to the female gaze and it shows the natural beauty of the woman, unlike in the male gaze, where women would have a “superficial” beauty.

What is the “female gaze”? The female gaze is a way of speaking and listening, rather than the action and chaos that fills a screen. As well as, looking through the lens of both desire and detail that take place in a women’s cinema. Allowing there to be this connection to desire, but in a way that isn’t just purely sexual, as there would be in the male gaze. I also think that the female gaze can be viewed in a few different ways. The female gaze is how women view themselves. That there is finally this ability to look in, rather than just the reflection of how society has wanted to see us. There is also the definition of the world being viewed from a female gaze, meaning more feminine without the purpose of benefiting men.

“We worked daily, mostly outside, and regardless of the changeable, often unpredictable climate that frequents the island.” – Roni Horn

Inspired by Nancy Honey’s project “Woman to Woman”, I made a few different Triptychs to present some of the images I produced.

I decided I would make some with a twist, using the images that portray “masculinity” to create some Triptychs.

I also tried to do the same with some images that represent “androgyny”

After the editing process, I ended up with 145 images from the shoot.

Most of these images didn’t need as much editing as some of the other images in this project.

Some of my favourite images and their settings:

In my third photoshoot, I produced 401 images.

Some of my favourite images:

Of the 210 images that I had produced in this shoot, I only ended up selecting 86 of them.

Some of my favourite images and their edits: