Making space: photographic traces of absence, stillness and the in-between in public spaces

Fraser, Nicole Clare

Making space: photographic traces of absence, stillness and the in-between in public spaces

Master Thesis

2022

Abstract

My photographic project Making Space: Photographic Traces of Absence, Stillness and the In-Between in Public Spaces explores banal and commonplace empty spaces, non-places, liminal spaces and ordinary, inanimate objects. In the first section, Situating my Practice, I contextualise my practice within the broader context of photography and architecture, looking specifically at the exhibition New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape (1975) and affiliated photographers to highlight ideas about photographically documenting built structures. The visual language of the deadpan aesthetic is an important aspect of my work, and I elaborate on and explore “neutral” and “objective” ways of seeing. I consider a selection of photographers to establish various ways in which imagemakers use a formalistic photographic approach to communicate narratives through the representation of built structures. I expand on a phenomenological approach to making images, exploring notions of tenderness, care, alienation and violence. In the second section of the document, (Dis)Locating my Practice and Making Space, I position myself within the identified terrain to further explicate my practice and project. The physical project takes the form of silver gelatin handprints, larger inkjet prints and a video projection, and I discuss the method of display and curation of the exhibition and how they motivate ways of looking, slowness and intimacy.

Keywords

Fine Art

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Masters

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