This week I have started to plan my written response to my work. I started by further exploring participatory research.
Parafiction and image
At the start of lockdown, I was interested in how Bodmin would respond to these measures of businesses closing and the central hub of the town being closed. I began to document my observations through the use of digital photography. The use of the image to capture the feeling and emotion of a location was the thought process, I soon began to question the role of documentary photography in these times as, the influence of my position as an observer I was documenting what I saw or found interesting. It was not entirely the picture of the whole town. Ben Evan James talks about the use of para fiction and lies being presented as truths. James comments on the relationship between the message and the medium that it is being presented. In a lecture series that explores his work and the use of para-fiction in film, James identifies the stark difference in reality that is presented in the 1920’s documentary film Nanook of the north. Robert J. Flaherty produced the film based on his western views and changed the narrative of the film in doing so. I was documenting a moment in time but presenting this as my own observations rather than historical documentation of time. This idea continued when I have begun to explore other forms of Photography through the use of Pinhole cameras. The rudimental simplicity of the process gave the images an aesthetic that questioned the reality of the time it was taken. This aesthetic changed due to a variety of factors, some of the early stages of this process used a home remedy for developing and fixing the images, I later invested in industry-standard chemicals that gave a clearer image and enabled me to refine the process.
This process of making had been inspired by a series of factors and my response to the initial question was drifting into experiments that enabled me to find a process that inspired my design process. This project evolved into two avenues of responses. My experiments and influences from initial research had allowed me to develop typographic and photographic visual responses to the idea of identity and location. However, I believe that this process of making had inspired my development in the second part of this work. This would be to present a solution to the idea of Identity and location. I needed to explore my own position within this idea to then develop a response that feels it has the community as its main focus.
As I set out in this initial investigation to explore identity within a location, I believe it is important to consider the idea of my own identity and viewpoint.
Participatory Research
Academic questions are raised through the reading and reflection of other research, this offers a linear thought process and we should consider the role of collaboration or participatory research in this context of exploring identity in a location focused project. The initial engagement and research in this project explored peoples responses to questions about identity and location. (see figure…) This initial research helped support theorised ideas, however, the involvement of the community within this project needed to consider their voice and input to truly explore ideas set out in this report.
Participatory or community-based research aims not merely to advocate understanding but also ensure that knowledge contributes to making significant changes within communities. Community-based research should be designed and used to include and be conducted for engagement rather than simply informing design decisions. While participatory research can offer new insights and understanding to offer the first-hand context to issues, there is an argument that community-based research should be a collaborative process and be used to encourage citizen involvement.
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This project started out with unilateral research that explores historical and cultural influences. This first insight opened up discussions and projects with community groups in the Bodmin area. When considering using research to explore identity and voice of a location my isolated approach offered context but little value to the bigger conversation. While this approached offered insights and context to my initial thoughts, I needed to explore other routes of exploration to gain better insights. There is a moving scale of research, from the unilateral approach to that of Participatory and democratic. Community-based research is quantitative, talking to people and consulting with community groups was the initial focus of this project. This approach aimed to build partnerships and ultimately give control over to the community.
Moving from my initial research, I was able to work with Into-Bodmin and the Cultural Geography group Blind Ditch. We developed a series of postcard’s that invited people to reflect on stories of the town and prompted a series of conversations that would explore history and location. No sooner had this project begun, things were altered due to the current economic situation. The challenge from here was to continue this exploration of stories and people but through an online platform. This initial postcard data collection would have contributed to a festival within the town and moving the project online was something that Into-Bodmin and Blind Ditch felt was not in the spirit of the initial project. Despite discussions about this project and how we continue, it was not the time. I will revisit this project with the partners in this in the near future. Still working with Into-Bodmin and Fin Irwin, the managing director I was invited to participate in the Community group (Bodmin Community Action Group) BCAG that occupies a communal space in town and offers a range of lease hire to community groups and opportunities to the population of Bodmin.
This is where the project has taken a turn in a slight deviation in the direction I initially believed it would. I had been working on a series of ideas that responded to the idea of Bodmin and identity, this involved a number of screenprints based on the Cornish language, this then manifested into a photographic essay that is documenting the current pandemic situation. The project started to fork into a number of avenues that I believed needed to be explored.
Design Ideas
These are some experiments with a logo concept that would brand the project, It was suggested from feedback on the ideas all that I explore the shadows and make it more of a 3D element. This will be something I continue with.
After a discussion with Susanna about my project and where I am going she suggested that I contact other groups in the town and ask for their input. I contacted Karen from a voluntary service in Bodmin.
https://bodmin.gov.uk/community/community-groups-volunteer-networking/
https://bodmin.gov.uk/2019/10/08/community-business-trade-up-now-open-for-applications/
I have contacted two initiatives set by the town council, both are projects that run in the town but until now I did not know existed, it would add value to my project but I fear that they may see this as being stepping on their toes. I think that bringing this together as a holistic project would be advantageous and would offer a better vision to people of Bodmin. let’s see how this goes.
Pixels and Serifs. 