After Projection 1, I felt like I had a bit more direction of where I wanted to go. The feedback I recieved for Projection 1 made me reconsider my approach to production. After seeing everyone else’s work, it felt a bit lonely being the only person who makes designs and publications that look intentionally “bad”. I began to question whether my own humour and irony were best served physically or contextually, as the combination of the two seemingly pushed the irony and absurdity over the edge.

Over the break, I watched I am Martin Parr, a film in which the work of Parr and himself are the subject — which was very refreshing and iluminating. Parr doesn’t argue for an intense analysis or explanation of his work, mainly allowing his imagery to speak for itself. In contrast with other photographers, designers, and artists, I found this position to be an oasis in the desert of self aggrandisement — a mantra of ‘my work is just my work and I have fun.’

So, when I came back from break, I knew I definitely wanted to make a photobook, but something that also combined text with image. I think a lot in song lyrics, random phrases, but also visually, photographically. My mind is usually either silent with images, ideas of images, popping into my head — and in conversation usually is refrencing songs I’ve heard. I wanted to kind of doccument that process, combined with the sort of ethos I had developed in the last project during projection 1, which was about not fitting in with the industrial graphic design world I need to join in order to survive.

After the first tutorial, I had a few ideas and made iterations of those, first beginning with a staged anti-protest protest photoshoot I did at the bank.

Admittedly, it was a bit difficult to shoot and model at the same time. I used my tripod and a remote to achieve these photos, but I also designed and built the signs, and it was clear that if this were to progress as a series, I would need more than one person to help, and I would have to carefully consider what I was writing on the signs. I didn’t have many ideas, but they all revolved around statements, hot takes I had, just really honest thoughts — I wanted to represent putting yourself out there both mentally and physically.