One in four people will experience mental distress throughout their lives, yet despite this statistic those who are diagnosed often feel isolated, alone and stigmatised.
A large number of stories we are exposed to in the media emphasise danger, unpredictability and violence in those who experience mental illness. These representations are often unfair and inaccurate, contributing to negative public attitudes which can have damaging effects on individuals who are experiencing mental health issues. In an increasingly mediated world, it is important to show more than one side to a story.
In a series of photographs that explore personal space and objects, the viewer is able to enter into an intimate and private world of someone living with a mental illness. The project explores identity and aims to question how we judge a person. By seeing someone else’s private possessions and personal space, what do you discover about them? What do you discover about yourself?
Photographer: Rosie Croome [rac31@sussex.ac.uk]
There is an intimate relationship between the objet petit a and the Gaze (Lacan/Mulvey), the unattainable object of female desire. In a society where people’s relationship to and perception of objects is socially and culturally dependent, cultural property becomes a basic element of personal identity.
This project intends to form a perception of identity, using the female body and their relationship with personal objects they have chosen to help define them in their current social place. As women subjected by symbolic relations, this project opens discussion of how women both should and want to be perceived within the constructs of current society.
In focusing on the female influence, it has been insightful to observe the growth of these women as they have developed further understanding of their traits, behaviour and character over a period of time; therefore highlighting how women are idealised, objectified and acclaimed in relation to gender and the Gaze.
Photographer: Katie Birks [khabirks@gmail.com]
