How can photographs change how humanity is viewed?

List Of Illustrations:

Mayekel Lima
Unknown title
Glitch Photography
2013-unknown

Paul Graham
Unknown title
A1- The Great North Road
1981-1982

Matteo Delred
Unknown Title
Blurry Wurry
2020-2021
I have chosen to write about humanity and how it can be shown

through different contexts, within this piece of writing I intend to

explain how peoples views of humanity can change depending on

the context in which humanity is shown and presented. I also hope

to show how by presenting contrasting images you can challenge a

viewer and make them think more in depth about the topic. One of

the photographers I have chosen to look at is Paul Graham, I have

chosen him as his style of shooting is quite unique and I feel as

though his work relates well to my theme as he frequently shoots in

urban landscapes with many of his photos being unstaged and

natural. One of the other photographers I have chosen to look at is

Matteo Delred, I have chosen him as his images are mainly focussed

around everyday subjects as well as “selected memories”1. He shoots

in an almost documentary like style while still maintaining some

experimentation within his work which is what makes it stand out to

me and why I believe his work links to my project. His images relate

to my theme as his images can be related to different aspects of

humanity and I feel as though I will be able to effectively evaluate

and analyse them in a way that is beneficial towards my project

overall. I have also chosen to look at Mayekel Lima as he has a wide

range of distinct and similar images focused around portraiture ad

digital manipulation, through applying theory to his work I will be

able to find links relating to my project. One of the theories I will be

using is Roland Barthes semiotics theory, semiotics is a study focused

1
Delred, M. (2021). Biography. Available: https://www.matteodelred.com/about. Last accessed 16th Dec 2021.
around signs and meaning and how they can be used to

communicate different ideas or themes. This theory relates to my

topic as in order show how humanity’s meaning can change

depending on context I will need to be able to show how certain

aspects of an image link back to my idea and the theme I am trying

to present within my project. One of the other theories I will be using

in my work will be the New Topographics, this theory and style of

working is concerned with land usage and the images are all shot in a

similar way that is quite simple yet appealing and when sustained

this type of shooting can create a message commenting on the usage

of land. I feel as though this theory can be related to my work as it

could be used to present multiple different aspects of humanity in a

simple yet eye catching way that would hopefully generate thought

within viewers about the meanings behind my project. By looking

more in depth at these photographers and theories I hope to achieve

a greater understanding of how the theories can be applied to my

work and the work of other photographers, I also hope to develop

my own shooting style and improve upon different aspects within my

photography. I also hope to learn more on how different theories can

be applied to infer a variety of meanings from different images.

Through looking more in depth at other photographers I also hope to

acquire a greater understanding of the photographic process and

some further understanding into how different shoots progress.

Here is an example of one of Maykel

Limas’ images, all of his pieces of work are heavily distorted to

obscure the face and body of his models, this distortion combined

with the minimalism within the images leads to a slightly off-putting

photograph which appears to be very surreal and even almost fake.

This surrealism impacts the audience by generating thought and

questions both about what the original image may have looked like

and about what the inspiration behind the image is. Lima also has a

way of manipulating his images that allow them to keep an elegant

and not too creepy feel which may be too off putting for a viewer.

This image is a good example of that as while the image is ever so

slightly off-putting I feel as though it is more intriguing. His use of

digital manipulation is what makes these images stand out when

compared to other forms of portraiture as many other portraiture

photographers choose to present their models in a flattering light or

include different poses or facial expressions whereas Limas’ work

doesn’t rely on these norms that many other people would stick too.

His images hide and distort the body of his models, this distortion

and hiding of peoples identifying features could be interpreted in a

way of a disconnect from humanity as faces and body language are a

vital part of how people connect and communicate and when the

face is removed or distorted it gives an image slightly more of a

disconnect even though it is an image of a person the lack of a face

or other identifying features removes some depth and connection

viewers may have.

 Here is an example of Paul Grahams work, a lot of his work is based

around landscapes and capturing people and places through the use

of portraiture and still life shooting. This specific image is a part of his

“A1 The Great North Road” project the main idea of which was to

capture the industrial landscape of the UK but also to present the

history of the road and the people that live around it and the people

and industries which rely on it for their livelihood. The images within

this shoot are all striking and the way Graham shoots captures the
essence of the industrial landscape as well as the political landscape

of the time is both effective and intriguing. In his writings on the

project he speaks of how the A1 itself presented complete “freedom

to photograph whatever and wherever”. I feel this image and the

project as a whole can be perceived as a reflection of humanity,

through his use of portraiture, still life and landscape photography

Graham has aptly managed to capture the historical and economical

importance of the road, these presentations of the road and the

people and industries which rely on it, in my opinion, are a good

representation of humanity through imagery. Of this image in

particular Graham talks about the power station and cooling towers

visible in the background and there demolition in the 1990s he says

the towers and the tarpaulin covered trucks are “all markers of

another era” going on to say that “time took care of not only the A1’s

mail coaches and ancient inns, giant power stations can be made

disappear too”2.

2
Graham, P. (2020). Ebb Tide. Available:
http://www.paulgrahamarchive.com/writings_by.html. Last accessed 13th Dec 2021.
Here is an example of Matteo Delreds’ work, a lot of his work is

focusses around everyday subjects and places, in his own biography

he descirbes his work as being defined by “localness and the

connections made from a life being lived”3. This image and the

project it comes from, titled “Blurry Wurry”, were created as a

homage to 21st century post-ironic humour and the project as a

whole challenges what many would consider to be photographic

norms in the sense of focus on a subject and clarity of images, in this

3
Delred, M. (2021). Biography. Available: https://www.matteodelred.com/about. Last accessed 16th Dec 2021.
project Delred has purposefully created images that are blurry and

out of focus however, this experimentation gives the images a

particular artistic feel about them and allows the viewer more room

to interpret the images and there meanings for themselves. The

images within this shoot are all eye catching and intriguing due to

the alternative experimental shooting and this form of

experimentation is something I would like to attempt in my own

project. Delreds work could also be linked to Roland Barthes theory

of semiotics, specifically when Barthes uses “the denotive and

connotive levels of meaning to analyse the signs in a visual object” 4 I

feel this links as Delred describes that his work is defined by

localness and connections made from a life being lived, each of his

pieces of work has obvious and subtle signs of different signs and

signifiers which give each of his projects a more artistic and unique

feel.

4
Hanum, F. (2020). THE ASPECTS OF SEMIOTICS USING BARTHES’S THEORY ON A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE
EVENTS MOVIE POSTER. Available: https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/191681-EN-none.pdf. Last
accessed 16th Dec 2021.
In conclusion, through looking at the work of Mayekel Lima, Paul

Graham and Matteo Delred I discovered that each of these artists

use experimentation and regularly create work that is outside of

photographic norms and this has led me to expand upon these forms

of experimentation in my own work and create photos for my project

that may not fit with photographic norms themselves, through this

experimentation I have been able to create many shoots that have

been influenced by these photographers and their style of shooting

and editing. I have found that experimenting with shooting in general

as well as with editing has led me to create images I would not have

thought to before and has allowed me to expand and build my skills

as a photographer. Through looking at these photographers and their

work I feel as though I have been able to create work that more

accurately relates to my theme and presents it in a better way than I

could have previously.

Bibliography:
Delred, M. (2021).  [online] Biography. Available: https://www.matteodelred.com/about. Last accessed 16th

Dec 2021.

Graham, P. (2020). [online] Ebb Tide. Available:

http://www.paulgrahamarchive.com/writings_by.html. Last accessed 13th Dec 2021.

Hanum, F. (2020). [online] THE ASPECTS OF SEMIOTICS USING BARTHES’S THEORY ON A SERIES OF

UNFORTUNATE EVENTS MOVIE POSTER. Available: https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/191681-EN-

none.pdf. Last accessed 16th Dec 2021.