Evaluation

I feel that the overall outcome of our exhibition was very good; it was obvious that we had taken time and effort to turn this empty shop into a fully functioning photography exhibition. Each of us put in a lot of effort and thought to make the outcome as good as possible.

           
I feel the strongest component of our exhibition was the location itself; it had everything we required, a large window space, enough room for our work to be separated but kept in the same room and also a back area for the rest of our exhibit. If we had chosen a different location the exhibition as a whole may not have been as successful. The best feature was that the window was very large for people to easily view the work yet kept them out and was used as a barrier to enforce our Unreachable Fantasies theme. It may have been possible for people to enter the shop but it may alter our message slightly. If we had more time we could have changed things to make it suitable.

It would have been better to open our exhibition to the public more by having it closer to town but even then we would not be able to leave the shutters constantly up for security reasons.

            I am very happy with the look of my photos as I feel they had a strong link to the theme of our project as well in comparison to one another’s. People may think I over edited my images as an amateur mistake but it was intended to bring out the kitsch feel of over selling something. Also hopefully people will not be offended by my graveyard images as they were not intended to offend, I just felt they worked well as a set and it is a location which is obviously not a nice place to visit. My intent was to show people how advertisement can make anything seem pleasant.

           
In comparison to our last project I feel that we have improved. Not just with our images but as a collaborative group as well. We were able to bring ideas forward more freely and could expand on them more. As we all knew from the last project how each of us work we could work on each other’s strengths and help to create our own style further.

Statement

Have you ever wanted something so badly? Do you believe that obtaining this will improve your life somehow?

Maybe that dream holiday you saw that never quite turned out the way you hoped. As people, we desire anything that may improve our lives this may be a huge change or something small that may brighten our day for a moment.

We are always being shown ideas about what will make use happier. Advertising can be deceiving, manipulative and prey on your weaknesses.  Companies will do anything to sell a product, they rarely care whether you like what you have gained or not.

Objects can be worthless to some and priceless to others. Depending on your viewpoint they can possibly have a great value. Looking at objects in a different way can make you see it’s true worth.

People are misled by advertising each and every day which leads them to believe they need these material good in order to have a happier lifestyle, such as an exotic holiday or a new item to own.

Our Exhibition

We opened our exhibition on Wednesday 9th. People seemed pleased with what we had shown and I feel everything went smoothly.

This is the view from the front of the store, we as a group wanted to keep the work distanced from viewers as to complement the 'Unreachable Fantasies' theme. This meant not putting our pieces on the window itself so that people had to peer in to view what was just out of their reach.

My Work:

This was my part of the exhibition, I feel that they complemented everyone else's work and also the theme itself. I arranged my work on one wall near the door and then the far back wall, this meant people had to peer through the window to see my images. This gave a feel of the items being desirable yet unreachable.

I placed some of the items on the window shelf so people could view them but as they were behind glass they were again distanced from the exhibition.

Alex's Work:

Alex's work was about creating a fantasy world which these characters exist. Using both card typography and  characters, he has managed to make this world seem desirable and wanted. By hanging his images up with wire he has added to the fantasy feel. This made our exhibition as a whole that bit more interesting.

Carl's Work:

Carl's idea for unreachable fantasy was to use toy cars and replicate car advertisements that you see each and everyday. Using bold statements to attract you to that car instead of any other. To make a stronger statement about this he has used humorous and unusual captions. The truth is that these are usually quite true but a car company would never say this to you. This adds to the fantasy which was never quite what it seemed.

Byron's Work:

Byron's work was a book of his selected prints. They included images which were quite dark and gritty yet had added or even enhanced colours. The back of the store had a staff area which was set in complete darkness when the lights were out. This worked to our advantage as people could see this book yet had the idea of fantasy being both good and bad. 

Byron dressed in dark camouflage and would sit in the chair behind his book in complete darkness. Then a few people would be sent in at a time, whilst reading the book under a dim light Byron would then startle them  when they were at their calmest. 

This added to the nightmare idea of a fantasy and we decided for this part for the audience to be involved as this was an area they may not want to be a part of as they were out of their comfort zone.

False Fantasy Exhibition

Our next exhibition is going to be about people’s desires and dreams which when achieved are usually not what the person might have hoped for. Examples of this may be that dream holiday which never meets the standard that it was hyped up to. Or maybe that brand new car that you need, although once you buy it, you realise that it is just like any other car. Maybe you have seen a product being advertised which you think will improve your life? 

The idea of something beyond your reach makes it that more desirable. Although the feeling you gain once you obtain this desire is never quite enough.