Part 4: Presentation: Zemni Creative Activism 2021

This final part of the blog reflects on what is now my ‘Zemni voice’ in 2021. My voice is increasingly characterised by a particular approach and framework that I would characterise as:

‘ Creative Activism’

This is inspired by a concern to ‘Make the World a Better Place’, but sees creative options for doing this more broadly than overt political messaging. It includes:

• using creative visual exploration and experiment to reflect on and identify my own motivations and increase my understanding of the world and what I am trying to say.
• provoking questioning in the audience rather than ‘preaching’ and promoting understanding between different audiences.
• focusing also on positive visions to inspire, and the beauty in everyday things that can simply make us happy without excessive consumerism that divides people and threatens our planet.

This influences the types of subject matter I am interested in, the ways I combine reportage and creative subjectivity to pose questions in the viewer. I work across a wide range of media and styles, choosing approaches to communicate what I am trying to say about the subject matter. Rather than aiming for any one ‘consistent look’. But my aesthetic tends towards:

‘political sublime’
on the ‘brighter side of life’
(when I am not angry).

Assignment 5.1 reflects on visual communication in single images and the evolution of my creative practice across different media during this module. It brings together different creative approaches and frameworks, applying these to selected images to either present alternative messages, or develop alternative images in different media.

A key focus – as soon as it is possible after current COVID restrictions end – is to get back into my art studio to develop images in a wider range of media beyond photography.

A second focus is to look at my decision-making in the light of audience feedback, including audiences for my earlier work in Assignments 2 and 3.

I then draw some conclusions for a creative methodology that can provide a framework for taking risks ‘inside and outside the box’ that make my work more interesting and challenging, but also helps me avoid getting stuck down repetitive unproductive rabbit holes.

At the time of sending Assignment 5 to my tutor In this module because of the COVID pandemic, access to my art studio and printmaking workshops has been severely restricted 2020-2021. As a result my work has been much more dependent on photography and digital media where it is much easier to ‘play safe’ and avoid risk. And ‘acceptable outcomes’ for many audiences need to be ‘tidy’ and conventionally ‘professional’. Nevertheless I have attempted to push my experimentation using creative prompts and develop a creative workflow that can also extend my work in these media.

In Assignment 5.2 I focus on different types of narrative, and how I can systematically use creative prompts to identify different perspectives and interpretations of the same image series, then push these images in different ways and media to communicate very different narratives. As a way of exploring and thinking around what I want to say about places, and how best to do it.

I focus particularly, but not only, on photography-based narrative, I explore the different narrative principles and questions involved in:

• sequential narratives in the form of Photo Essays and Photobooks: Under the Bridge, Lockdown Photo Essays, Reflections in Grey, Teetotal Street, Light in the Shadows of T’ien Shan, and cartoon strip of the Island??.
• time-based narratives in the form of Moving Image and animations: Aldeburgh Morning Light, Reflections in Grey ( Moving Image/video, the Island?? (animation).
• interactive narratives: Cuckoos at Dawn

Linking to my consideration of visual narrative in my OCA personal development Moving Image module. But I also look at illustrated and animated narrative linking to my work for Visual Research module.

My narrative development for Bridge and Aldeburgh also draws substantially on sketchbook work in different media.

!!The items in black still need some work to finalise what is already there. Items in red italic have materials ready and first drafts, but need substantial new work over the summer. Or will be mapped out eg as annotated Photo Essays as work for inclusion in Sustaining Your Practice.

In addition to finalising the current blog, I have added relevant material from this module and other audience-relevant information on a number of on-line websites and networking sites. Specific links were given on the portfolio above.

• zemniimages.com my professional SMUGMUG website which will be redesigned to link the different aspects of my graphic art, photography and printmaking practice.
• zemniimages facebook page, twitter and instagram.
• zemniimages blog and/or sub-blogs with attention to SEO requirements and including my posts on key inspiration and image making techniques that would attract visitors to my work (my Printmaking blog was successful in attracting 2,000 visitors a month without any promotion effort from me through visitor Google searches on collagraph, linocut and some printmakers)
• gamechange blog, Facebook page and You Tube channel
• stock photography, Behance and other marketing sites.
• slideshow tasters on a new Zemni You Tube Channel.

Because of COVID it proved impossible to show physically at galleries and exhibitions planned for 2020 eg in Wymondham with OCA East Anglia Student group and/or exhibitions of Cambridge Camera Club. I had also intended to get audience feedback from visitors to campsites and Camping Club meetups in East Anglia, Cornwall and North of England.

Going forward I will send selected work to the various on-line commercial card and print marketing sites, and approach some of the tourist card and book shops in Cambridge, East Anglia, St Ives and Lake District and explore opportunities to present some of my printmaking at print exhibitions in Cambridge and elsewhere.

1.1: Everyday Normals: Sketchbook Diary April-May 2021 and April-May 2022

This first body of work is a a day by day diary bringing together ‘old normal and memories, daily reflections and serendipitous responses to Erwitt’s photographs for the day against a backdrop of news events. I started in April 10th till May 9th leading up to my 67th birthday. I then revisit over the same month in 2022 to chart changes that have taken place. It provides a ‘safe creative fun space’ for:

• ranting, raving and following interesting ideas, even if they lead nowhere
• experimenting with visual effects of different drawing, painting and collage media and styles
• helping me think through all the multiple moods, thoughts and influences bombarding me everyday to motivate or prevent me from changing everyday habits
• helping me to get a better sense of how I think ‘new normal’ should look like and start to make the necessary personal changes
• clarify my subjective ‘voice’ that influences and informs my documentary work on location.

It also contains very small experimental sketchbooks of ‘Creative Cut’ imaginary narratives created by cutting up and stapling A4 doodle sketches in my frontroom as exercises in ‘everyday creative serendipity’. These form part of my work on 5.2 Creative Cuts.