A-LEVEL ART AND DESIGN

COMPONENT ONE: PERSONAL INVESTIGATION

TO BE COMPLETED BY THE LEARNER

Centre Name The Henley College Centre Number 6 2 2 4 1

Candidate
Name
Ben Gregory Candidate Number 2

Entered Option PHOTOGRAPHY

LEARNER STATEMENT
COMPLETION OF THIS FORM IS COMPULSORY
Complete and submit the learner statement with your work as it may be beneficial to the moderation
process and will be referred to when it is assessed (expand boxes below if required).

To place your submission in a suitable context, use the template below to:

Explain the MAIN IDEA from which you developed your responses
I intend to create and infer images following a theme of abandonment. These images are to be shot on
film and digital, mainly in landscape, with my artists and theorists in mind. I’m looking to photograph
abandoned buildings and other inanimate objects that may have faced a similar fate. These areas are
hard to come by locally but I’m hopefully holidaying in Torquay and should find places there.

Outline your initial PLAN in the development of your work

Date/Week Plans What has been achieved? / What next?
I plan to complete a shoot and begin my I couldn’t achieve my shoots as I had no
2 photography essay film but I’ve made a start to my essay

I intend to finish my essay and complete My 1st shoot is being processed and my
4 more shoots essay is almost finished

I will shoot more and complete my essay Finished the essay and stuck in most of
6 what’s in my sketchbook

(Half-Term) 2 film and 2 digital as planned

8 4 more shoots (2 film & digital to show
comparisons)
Sketchbook work
 Printing and editing shoots 2/3 Completed printing of shoot 2
10 Typing up analysis, etc. for shoot 1 Wrote up shoot 1

Photoshop shoot 3 Finished write-ups for shoots 2/3

12 Complete write-ups for shoots 2/3 Writing up shoots 4/5
Start work on shoot 4

Finish photoshops on shoot 3 Finished photoshopping

14 Print shoot 4 and write them up Finished printing shoot 4

Plan and complete shoots 6-10 based on Completed shoots 6,7 & 8
feedback from George & Lilian Started planning shoots 9, 10 and 11
16 Start work on uploading all Year 2 work Started working on my website
to my website Experimented with shoot 4

Continue to work on my website Added 5 pages to my website - out of

Complete write-ups for all old shoots currently 7
18 before taking new ones Finished write-ups for previous shoots
Finished experiments on shoot 4

Finish website write-ups Wrote up shoots 6-8

- Shoots 6-8 Completed shoot 9
20 - 9-11 plans

Write about shoot 9 Shot shoot 10

Plan/ shoot shoots 10 & 11 Analysed 9
22

Planning & write-ups Completed shoot 11 and write-ups

Shoots 11-12 & my final piece
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Finish everything, final weeks Finished everything

Write-ups - Wrote up shoots 10-12
26 Final piece - Shot shoots 11-12
Updates etc - Shot & completed final piece
- Updated documents & old pages

Describe the CONTEXT (influences, purposes and meanings) of your work

I was obsessed with abandonment since year 11, doing GCSE Art & I wanted to continue in year 1 but
lockdown halted this until year 2 where it was halted again until March, where I had about 2 months to
do everything. I was researching Siskind, Starflinger, Blatz, Gallagher & Frith to help complete shoots in
response, as an influence and an inspiration. My final piece is based on a building from GCSE & year
1.
My purpose is to bring life back to a dying trend and abandoned structures, items & people, raise
awareness, express hidden, complex beauty in nature and what’s left of once loved and busy
environments
REFLECT on your work critically as it progresses and on its completion
Date/Week Evaluation/ What worked well what are you taking forward from here?/ How are you
refining your techniques and ideas?
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to complete my shoots as intended
2

From my first shoot, I concluded that there aren’t many places that are abandoned and
4 are accessible for my project so I have to think outside the box

I finished my essay and I’m happy with the result, It connects well and I believe
6 expresses what I aim to achieve in my project and the way I will achieve it, also what
my project means to me

Over half term, I went away which granted me more areas to shoot & explore. I decided
to compare how abandonment is captured, whether it is easier, prettier or more
8 impactful on film or on digital

After printing, photoshopping & evaluating I’ve noticed that film isn’t easier to shoot and
takes longer to perfect/ complete but It is the most aesthetically pleasing and relating to
10 & 12 my project. Furthermore, I have decided film is perfect for post-production
experimentation, especially de-ageing techniques

I have completed shoots 2-5 entirely and my experimentation is amazing, I am proud of

shoot 4 and the 1:1 (square) image shape. After receiving feedback from George &
Lilian I have plans for up to a shoot 10. My first shoots were 6-8 in response to Francis
14 & 16 Frith but due to lockdown I had to send them off to be developed but I am happy with
the outcome and interested in the speed of evolution & innovation of humanity since
Frith’s time

Shoot 9 is written & completed and I am happy with the results, expressing the
18 & 20 abandonment of our everyday life and my frustration was in an interesting and intuitive
turn to take and it has finally shown the small details some may not notice or care about
in life & it’s impacts

Shoot 10 isn’t my favourite but it helped me discover an addition artist I hadn’t thought
of, Lewis Baltz, I gained interest in a front-facing, head-on and formal image of mine
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and Lilian suggested I look towards Blatz as an inspiration ahead of this shoot

Shoot 11 is a shoot of abandoned items and I love the impact of the items, the
carelessness of their abandonment and their forgetfulness as their owner hasn’t
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returned. That is what I define as abandonment

In the final two weeks, I managed to capture a studio version of shoot 12 which adds a
new perspective on the items, same or similar, from shoot 11. I also completed my final
piece shoot, developed it then used my images to hang them in the house from GCSE
26 Art. I then photograph the exhibition & left the photographs there. The images were
influenced by my past shoots, plans, artists & evaluations, de-ageing, film & digital and
square images similar to the style of Baltz’ “New Topographics”