Thomas Joshua Cooper

Thomas Joshua Cooper is a landscape photographer. I am a big fan of his work as I find it very inspiring and peaceful. He would find places on a map and then locate them to photograph them. A lot of his images are borderline abstract and it would be almost impossible to track down the areas he has photographed, as demonstrated in the image below. The title of the image is what gives away the location the image was taken.

Cooper, T. EAST-MOST - LOOKING TOWARDS SCOTLAND - THE NORTH CHANNEL AND THE IRISH SEA - BURR POINT, THE ARDS PENINSULA - COUNTY DOWN, NORTHERN IRELAND - THE EAST-MOST POINT OF IRELAND, 2013

His images are very reflective and in a way calming. The darkness of the shadows and the beautiful light that is let in allows one to sit and think and just be.

“Emptiness and extremity are what I was searching for, with the firm belief that it’d kill me or transform me.” - Thomas Joshua Cooper

This is such a deep quote but so meaningful that he would go to these extreme landscapes for his practice which, as he states, would either change him or kill him, and he was willing to take that risk for these beautiful photographs. I really find this motivation to be so pure and profound, feeling so strongly for a photograph that one would do anything to get it. I feel at times, that when I am behind the camera, nothing can hurt me, it almost feels like a protective shield, I often climb dangerous rocks which I would be afraid to do if I did not have my camera, but when I do, it feels like I can do it without any anxiety. I am not too sure why I feel this way.

THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, THE BUTT OF LEWIS, THE ISLE OF LEWIS, THE WESTERN ISLES, SCOTLAND, THE NORTH-MOST POINT OF THE WESTERN ISLES, 1990S - Thomas Joshua Cooper

Between the Dark and Dark

Looking through Cooper’s book, it is really inspiring and interesting to see how this book was put together and how the text was added, it makes me really think about the layout I would like my book to be in. Do I want each page to be a similar layout? Different sized or same sized images? Text on the adjacent page? Or pages to follow?

Looking at this book has made me ask myself all of these questions which I really think will help me towards making my book.

I found my images to be quite similar in terms of composition and subject to those of Thomas Cooper’s. I also like to work with that abstract type feel but also filling the page with natural landscapes and making it impossible for the viewer to have any recognition of the place in the photograph. I think this-makes it so much more interesting and in a way shows how something or somewhere you walk past often could be captured in a completely different way when photographed compared to seeing it with the naked eye.

The voices that are them.

I have four main voices in my head, 2 of which are my own, my mother’s ex-partner and my mothers. They all appear at different times or all the same time. 

My own voices consist of an angel and a demon, the angel is always nice to me, tells me to relax, tells me to allow myself time and that it is OK to feel, however the demon is very overpowering and fights the angel into a corner. The demon tells me I am doing EVERYTHING wrong, I am failing, I am not doing enough, that every little thing I do will annoy someone or upset them, it tells me that whenever I do something the angel is telling me to do, something nice and caring, that first the person will not even care about my actions and then second, I am only doing it for my own pleasure. The demon is always there. 

My mother’s ex partners voice is best friends with the demon, they both gang up on me and tell me I am not worth anything, that I should just kill myself now. That I am just a waste of space, they also like to scream my name in anger whenever something goes wrong, even if I have nothing to do with this anger. They like to convince me that anyone I care about is only using me and that they do not care. They also tell me that my boyfriend is a Russian spy, who is just keeping a close eye on me for when I eventually break. 

My mother’s voice is only occasionally there, sometimes I hear the things she has called me in the past, but most of the time I just hear her sad or crying. I hear this mostly when I am close to ending my life, this is mostly what stops me. My boyfriend’s voice usually comes in at this point, however I am lucky enough to be able to talk to him about all of this, so I want to say that his voice is real, actually there, but they all are. 

I am never alone, even though sometimes I really wish I was. I am scared to be physically alone as this is when they all come out and start screaming at me. Unfortunately, the bad stuff is a lot easier to believe. I sometimes try to get away from it all by listening to music, but I always have a fear that someone is calling me when my music is so loud, and this fear is so clear that I actually hear them calling and so I can never just listen to music in peace, without hearing my voice being called a billion times. I cannot go for walks without being scared of what I will be coming home to, even though I do not have that to worry about anymore. I have started to answer these voices. I guess it helps me to calm them down. By I always end up just saying sorry, or leave me alone. 

These voices become stronger and louder every day, I have started to see their faces. Weirdly, the face of the demon is me at all ages, even when I was really young, but the angel does not seem to have a distinct face, I am not sure if it is me? Or if it is even human like. I am hoping I will find out soon. It upsets the angels voice knowing that the demon is beating them, that the demon is myself, that I am able to hate myself on a level that I torture myself every single day. 

Francesca Woodmen

Francesca Woodmen started photographing at the age of 13 and continued until her suicide at the age of just 22. I have often been very inspired by Woodmen’s work and how she conveyed her feelings through her work.

She had an unsuccessful application from the National Endowment for the Arts, which according her Father sent her into a deep depression and was most likely the reasoning behind her suicide.

Her work would often involve a ghostly like feel as she would regularly have blurry subjects which gave off a sense of fragility. This demonstrated a rather personal touch to what she was feeling at the time and so she communicated her feelings through her photography.

The images would sometimes include peeled/ cracked paint, empty rooms and a Gothic feel with conveyed a sort of damaged feeling which could be her way of displaying her depressive feelings and describing them as being broken or damaged. The atmosphere which has been given out in the imagery also shows a sense of vulnerability, isolation and the feeling of being alienated. Her photos were very powerful however I feel they are quite different to most other artists of this era which may be why her application was unsuccessful, it is just a shame that this is likely to be what drove her to these dark thoughts.

Some of her images had a personal message , they were hand written underneath the prints which made them have a more intimate feel to them and also makes the audience feel slightly more connected to the work. Handwriting has a very precious and personal feel to it as everybody has a different way of writing meaning that the words written under the images are very powerful.

Her parents would encourage the use of Art and so it is very much the case that Woodman used her practice to communicate her feelings and therefor use it as a form of therapy. Again, she may not have used it as therapy deliberately however, in my mind, if this is how she felt and was able to express these feelings in terms of imagery then it is in fact a form of therapy and self help.

Liz Hingley - Hampstead Heath

Liz Hingley is a British photographer who works very closely with nature and the idea of using the connections with the environment as a form of therapy and as an escape.

‘When British photographer Liz Hingley’s sleep was interrupted during the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020, she dreamed that nurses and doctors came streaming out of London's big hospitals, all dressed in masks and protective gear and began embracing trees — hugging them.’

She basically decided that she wanted to make this dream a reality by helping health care workers who were working during the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. This is when Hingley decided that something had to be done and so she created a sort of course where health care workers could get a new perspective and an escape from the type of work and horrible things that were happening around them. A way for them to connect with nature.

‘And during that time, I was doing my sort of one-hour lockdown exercise and walking on the Heath and so aware of what a healing resource this place was for me and for so many people during that really confusing time.’

It is incredible how during these extremely uncertain times, we realized just how important nature was when it was basically taken away from us when we were told to stay in our homes. I know that I definitely felt this way, and being able to go out for walks with my camera and take pictures of my surrounding environment has definitely helped me to feel a lot more relaxed and grounded.

‘ And there's an area on the Heath where there's two of London's largest hospitals to either side of the city. I just kind of called them up cold and said, can I run some photography walks on the Heath for any staff? And wonderfully, both hospitals responded positively. And I had no idea what the uptake would be, but it was kind of overwhelming.’

It is beyond incredible and very caring for Hingley to create a project such as this, especially for what these health care workers are doing for us and for something to go out there and do something to give them something in return, it so inspiring.

‘And the aim of the project, it was to really take people away from the workplace and the crisis conditions in the hospital. And, allow them to connect with local nature that was just on their doorstep and develop a practice potentially using photography as seeing more deeply and reconnecting, in a way, just in lunch breaks and short periods. I didn't label it as therapy.’

Being able to use this time to create a sense of purpose and place other than the extremely hard work in the hospitals must have helped them to feel humanised again and not so extremely overwhelmed, as a getaway from their everyday environment.

‘What struck you about their photographs and their approach and what all that tells us about their lives right now?’

‘People really saw light. I know that sounds very simple, you know, thinking about photography, but it was very much about light and dark and shadow and shade and a lot of photographs of paths and looking up, people generally looking up. And I was also encouraging that because I have a vision of installing the images all around the hospitals where they work and in alternative ways and to draw people's eyes up. Because I think that can be a very uplifting feeling, especially when we are generally exhausted or psychologically stressed, we tend not to look up enough.’

Very interesting this concept of having people look up, especially at the work they have created as this is a very rewarding feeling, knowing that this is what you did. Again, especially in these stressful times for them. Being able to take their minds and wonder again even for a short time and then to have something in return.

Photograph by Frosso, an ICU nurse at The Royal Free Hospital, during a photography and ecology walk on Hampstead Heath, London, led by Liz Hingley, 2020.

‘they're so, so energized, these environments and so far from the natural world. So, a lot of people were seeking that pause and reconnect with a different light and movement and pace outside.’

This just goes to show how photography can be used as therapy even for those who do not use photography or art as a usual part of their practice, as walking through nature and reconnecting with the earth is such an incredible experience and being able to capture these beautiful feelings in a frame is just so gratifying and it helps you to remember what you were feeling during these times. It is like a way of communicating with yourself and others all in one.

Pablo Picasso - Blue Period

Picasso has a slightly different story to that of Van Gogh as he was highly affected by the events that would happen around him. For example, his younger sister died at the age of 7 due to a bacteria infection - diphtheria. One of his friends - Carles Casagemas, also a painter, committed suicide, something which affected Picasso a fair amount as they were quite good friends.

This traumatic event started off, what was known as Picasso’s Blue Period, the first painting of this period was of his dear friend.

This period went on from 1901 (the year of Casagemas’ death) until 1904. These were the years of his depression where he would show and express his feeling through his paintings which would show humans suffering mental illness, torn clothes, sad faces, hollow eyes and malnourished bodies, he was primarily screaming for help through his paintings, however, the ideas and conception of mental health were not well recognized throughout this era so no one was aware of his problems. His blue phase started by making edges bluer and then slowly became predominant within the paintings a creating a more depressive perspective, in other words, his feelings slowly started to spread within his imagery.

As seen in the image above, there is clearly something wrong with the subject, they do not look ‘well’ as well as the use of the colour blue which is seen as a sad colour in terms of symbolism. Picasso was basically painting his own feelings into these subjects which were, as said above, a cry for help, but also a way of coping with these strong emotions and the grief that he was feeling from the sad events that were happening around him. As psychiatric help was not well recognized in this era, instead of talking through his feelings, he painted through them which is a perfect example of self-help and art therapy. He would paint people that were seen as sorrowful such as beggars and those who suffer from desolation.

It seems that his art was a very useful tool in terms of getting through his depressive era, and it was likely that he was oblivious of how much it actually helped him, as already mentioned, the concept of art therapy had not yet been invented and due to his already keen interest in this practice, he was probably unaware of how much it helped him through this period.

Art therapy is proving to have been a lot more common than I first realised as it is a way of explaining and demonstrating what one is feeling through visuals instead of verbally.

Van Gogh - his mental illness

Van Gogh has always been an inspiration of mine, especially as there was a Doctor Who episode based on him and his life, which off course made me so much more interested in him. He suffered from manic depression/ bipolar throughout his life and was always seen as a mad man due to his illness. He sadly committed suicide in 1890 at the age of 37.

He was no doubt very advanced for his time in terms of painting and how he used colours. He had a strong connection with the colour yellow due to over medication and excessive consumption of liquor, this caused him to see everything with a yellow hue which could explain why a lot of his paintings due contain the colour yellow. This is odd as yellow is generally seen as a happy colour.

He admitted himself into a mental hospital and would paint during his time there, even though the idea of Art therapy had not been created, he was said that when he painted this helped me keep peace of mind. It was also said that when he was in the hospital, the others would leave him alone whilst he was painting so this was a way of him getting away from ‘the crazy people in the hospital, he referred to them as crazy in a letter he sent to his sister in law.

Some art historians would depict some of his paintings as him representing himself, for example in this painting ‘Irises’ by Van Gogh

The white Iris which was painted among these beautiful blue Irises was a representation of Van Gogh himself although he did not admit to this being his intentions in any letters.

Interestingly, Claude Monet saw this piece of work in an exhibition and remarked ‘How can a man who loved flowers and light to such an extent and who rendered them so well, how then did he still manage to be so unhappy?’ - Interestingly, it seems as if he would put all of his depression symptoms into his work and use his art as a coping mechanism to create this sense of hyper-reality. I found this very intriguing that Claude Monet, a painter so insanely talented who also suffered from mental illness, would comment this based on Van Gogh’s work, it is almost as if he is using this painting as a way of relating to Van Gogh which in itself is reassuring and a form of therapy.

If one was to have no clue about Van Gogh’s life and his sad problems, it would be very difficult to see his suffering through his imagery, so I cannot help but think that he really did use his practice as a form of self-help even if the concept was not around at the time.

Jo Spence Inspiration

When I started my third year, and I explained to my tutors that I was hoping to research into how Photography can be used as a form of therapy, someone had mentioned Jo Spence to me, who since has come up an unprecedented amount of times as a lot of her work is based on Phototherapy.

For a number of her photographic projects, she would collaborate with different individuals who would take on the role of psychotherapists, such as Rosy martin and Valerie Walkerdine, and she would analyse certain aspects of her life and learn things about them that she otherwise would not have necessarily realised.

Spence had a lot of problems with her mother and so a big part of her phototherapy treatment would be to do with how her mother would act during her upbringing, to get into character, she would dress up as her mother in different situations and this would, in theory, help her to feel a connection and to empathise with her mother to be able to understand the relationship between them.

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After going to an exhibition at the Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol showing Spence’s work and doing a fair amount of research into her practice, I have realized that as much as I admire her thought process behind the works she produces, I am really not a big fan of the work itself, which has only made me like her more. I believe that she has inspired me to realize that, as everyone is different, it does not mean that if I wish to pursue a project or even a career into this idea of photo therapy, it does not have to be in the same theme of manner that she does. This is probably a very odd thing to takeaway from her work as I am sure she was very unlikely to be thinking of it this way, but for me, I have figured out that my way of working to create a sense of therapy and help is to walk through nature and to be with myself and my thoughts without any distractions. Simply walking with classical music and just being alone is something that has really helped me to better myself and has been a very effective way of therapy for me. I have so many unanswered questions in my head, but when I am alone I have nothing to worry about, I cannot make any mistakes in which would cause me to overthink later on or anything of the sort. So I am hoping that this project will help me to make these questions a little more clear in my head and to create a bit of a safer space for myself in terms of my mental health.

From looking into Jo Spence, from what I can tell she was quite angry at society and did not conform to it, which is something that I truly admire, she was able to be herself which, in my opinion is most likely what helped her to jump into different characters when working in her photo therapy sessions, for example when she would dress as her mother as shown in the images above. O even when she was able to take pictures to show how she felt and what her mental state represented, for example her photography set demonstrating over-eating.

The facial expression of Jo is one of sadness, almost forlorn, as she looks down at the treats she holds in her hands, knowing that she shouldn’t eat them but wanting them, nonetheless. Spence’s true accomplishment is her ability to depict herself unashamedly and without fear, in ways that are not traditionally attractive. Spence’s body was at odds with the Western manufactured ideal of beauty: the scar from her lumpectomy in this image is visible, next to the Bounty bars, strategically placed, and one is fully aware that she is slightly overweight from the visible rolls of fat on her stomach. Spence presents herself as the antithesis to standard beauty ideals, showing she is imperfect, from her messy hair to her scarred breasts.

As stated in this extract from - https://www.richardsaltoun.com/content/feature/305/artworks-11565-jo-spence-photo-therapy-greedy-1989/ - she is fully aware that she does not necessarily fit beauty standards in the modern society and so she almost uses this power to create an image which some would find disgusting and unflattering which makes the message even stronger in terms of understanding that ‘Emotional eating’ is some people’s way of dealing with stress or other mental health issues. This work is titled ‘Greedy’ which in my opinion can be such a powerful word as it can cause immediate guilt when being called it.

I really do admire Spence for these forceful and important messages that she is giving out, she holds a lot of control and dominance in her work which makes it so much more effective to the viewer.

Shoot 1 - Walk with Nature

I began this project by going for a walk around my local area, I had just moved into a new house so this also helped me to get to know my surroundings and so on.

I was feeling quite low throughout this week and so went for a walk to try and clear my mind. I was in the car with my boyfriend a few days beforehand and saw the opportunity of the fog is a way of explaining to him what ‘brain fog’ feels like, it’s difficult to see ahead of you and everything feels quite confusing, so when I went for the walk I remembered this analogy and decided it would be a good way to try and describe it to those who have never dealt with this before.

I was quite pleased with the outcome of the photoshoot as I feel the images are quite strong and demonstrate a sort of gloomy feel. I would like to experiment with layouts by adding archival images of my childhood which, hopefully, will add contrast to the project.

I felt a lot better after coming back from the walk.

Proposal

Currently, I am a bit unsure as to where this project is headed. I have a few ideas of what i would like it to be about, however I do not quite know where it is going to end up.

I have noticed a lot in the past couple of years, that I connect quite strongly with nature, I believe this may have come from growing up in Brittany where I was always surrounding by natural environments and would feel myself more when going for walks around my village.

When I go for my walks, alone, I do not feel like I need to prove myself to anyone, it’s my time to sit and just be me, without worrying about annoying anyone or upsetting people; I can be just be alone with my thoughts and allow myself to talk through my worries without any judgement.

I would like to use this project to express myself through images of nature and possible archival images of my childhood. Growing up, my siblings and I were victims of severe mental abuse and this has scared us for life, we struggle to met ‘societies’ standards as we do not necessarily understand what is normal and what is not. Through my images, I would like to express different anxiety symptoms - dissociation, confusion, social awkwardness, isolation, etc….

By bringing in images of my childhood, I would like to express how these are all symptoms I felt as a child, which (now that I understand more) is not normal for children to feel. We were always suppressed and made to believe that we had no authority, which is still the case today, in my early 20’s. I still feel like this little child who has no place in this world, who is always in the way and who always gets on peoples nerves.

I would like for the image to contrast with one another with the images of a child who may look happy, but inside her head she has no idea what will happen next, if my parents would be in a bad mood, or a good mood. That feeling of unknown was always so terrifying.

For this project, I will be collaborating with a Creative Arts Practice student who specialises in Creative Writing, we will be working on creating poems or just general text to go alongside the images to help create this contrast with the childlike innocence and demonstrating the voices that I hear in my head and that take over my life most of the time.

In all, the ideas I have for this project are very scattered and need to be put together, but overall, I would like to demonstrate how a child should never feel these feelings, I would also like to use this as a form of therapy to teach myself, that even though I have grown up to believe that so much is my fault, and that I was such an awful child is not true, I was only a child and should not have been shouted at for little things, nor should I have been blamed for things that are normal for a child to do. I still struggle to believe that I was not wrong and I struggle to connect with my younger self and to sympathise with her and so i would like to take this opportunity to teach myself to be kinder to all versions of myself.

Photography used as therapy

How Photography Saved My Life | Bryce Evans | TEDxSFU

Wow, so this guy has just completely put into words everything that I feel, not being able to talk about the mental health issues, but being able to show them through photography, But also, how we see photos differently depending on our individual mindsets and stories. At the moment, I am suffering with a lot of mental health issues, so when I look at images, I tend to see a lot of the darkness within them, whereas I image someone who a whole different situation and view on life would see the image completely differently.

Each person can use photography as a way to communicate with themselves and to connect with their authentic selves, anyone can sit and decipher an image based on their own experiences and allow it to speak volumes to themselves. Photography is such a powerful tool which I believe could help many people to start talking about their mental health problems, which is why I really want to get into photo therapy and build courses for people to be able to start talking and to start believing that their feelings are real and they are nothing to be ashamed of.

This guy really spoke everything that I feel, and it is so so nice to hear something say these things out loud. It’s also funny how photography does feel like a purpose to live, something to do where you can scream so loud and some people may actually be able to see what you are feeling by looking at your images. I am really glad that I have watched this video, it has made me a lot more excited about using this space to talk about my mental health and my struggles.

Collaboration

Who am I working with?

What does it mean to be in a collaboration?

Who is the work for?

Does the audience understand the meaning of the work?

Does my collaborator understand?

These are a few questions I wrote out to get a better understanding of what I need to consider when working with another person. I am quite a solo person when it comes to my photography and my thoughts, so I am quite nervous about this experience with working with someone else and getting to meet new people….

I decided I wanted to work with poetry alongside my images so I have contacted someone named Eve who is a Creative Arts Practice student, she is very into creative writing. I really hope she is nice and understands me ok as I always worry about this.