Phillip Toledano

"Days with My Father"

 

All above images are copyright of Phillip Toledano, taken from his series "Days with My Father" 2006-2009

http://www.dayswithmyfather.com/

"I feel lucky to have had these last three years. To have nothing left unsaid. To know that we loved each other nakedly, without embarrassment. To have felt his pride at my accomplishments. And to have discovered how funny he was." Phillip Toledano

Toledano was born in England in 1968 and primarily received his art influence and education from his American Artist father. His series "Days with My Father" highlights a deeply personal and intimate relationship between father and son and has provided a great point of reference when dealing with my own ideas and producing work. Toledano's series combines both object and human presence as a way of dealing with death, age and relationships in order to treasure his own memories and bring to the public the idea of loss and grieving-something that many like to hide away. This makes the work controversial, which is something that I instantly admire because it makes it different to anything I have seen before. I like the idea of creating work that challenges basic conventions and social issues and affects its audience on an emotional level. Take the image of the wheelchair with the "happy birthday" balloon. There is more here than at first meets the eye, although there are no people in this image it feels as though there are. There is a large human presence, and for me it brings about ideas concerning death and loss. This image draws me in because of its stillness- it provides a space for the viewer to reflect and empathize, drawing on their own memories to interpret and read the image in their own personal way.

This series of images are particularly interesting to me because they are similar to what we would normally associate with family snapshots, viewed in a family album and rarely shared with anyone but close friends and family. The title "Day's with My Father" further emphasizes this idea of the family album, almost creating a dialogue between photographer and viewer. It is like the photographer is saying "here, look at my family photographs of me and my father". This is interesting because you do not normally see such images in public, yet they are displayed on Toledano's website and also in a book for the whole world to view. It is turning the private into the public, turning the camera on the everyday life of a subject that represents a much larger population and is therefore highly relatable to the audience. 

These images create a sense of familiarity for me, as I myself have suffered recent family bereavement. However, it is not just that that draws me closer to the image. I also feel like I somehow know this family, understand them even. I feel a sense of empathy when I view these images. This series will be of great influence to my own work this term because they deal with age, place and personal identity in a way in which the viewer is included, so that there can be an open discussion. This is something that I would like to take on board when thinking about producing my own work.

Project Brief

"The question is, what are you trying to say and what is the context. I would like to place the emphasis around issue-based work, photography that is culturally and visually challenging"-Max Kandhola, Visual Practice, Second Year, Term 2 Project Brief 2013.

Issue-based photography is something that provides a deep interest for me. The challenges provided through producing and viewing issue-based work is both inspiring and intriguing for me. Last term I produced work based around the issue of body image and confidence for women- something I can relate to personally. I enjoyed using the photographic medium as a way of understanding these issues and exposing them in order to make my subjects feel more comfortable both with themselves and with the idea that they are not alone with their feelings. Creating images that are personal provide me with a way of dealing with problems and moving forward. This term, I want to continue this road of personal discovery and understanding, using my camera as a way of coming to terms with the things life throws at me- issue-based photographs in which I can express feelings but so that the viewer can also relate to them.

Last year, I sadly lost a close family member. This time of grief and coming to terms with the loss of a loved one has really made me realise how important family is, but also how little I know about certain members of my family who actually mean a great deal to me. This term I would like to get to know my family better, using the photographic medium as a way of understanding and documenting personal relationships and day to day life for them. Although a very personal project, I also need to consider how I will do this in a way in which my viewer can relate and gain a relative understanding of the concept behind the work I will create. I need to remember that these images will be exhibited in the end of term exhibition alongside other work that may well be extremely different. How will I achieve this? How will I place my work within a particular genre? Who will be my audience, will they understand the work? These are all questions I will attempt to answer as the term continues.

Getting started!

After 4 weeks away from the university over the Christmas break, it's difficult to get back into the routine of researching and making work. What do I want to do this term? Where do I want to take my work and what can I improve on from last term? This term is all about creating work to be shown in a photographic exhibition in 10 weeks time. As well as the planning and execution of the exhibition itself, I still need to be experimenting and making a lot of work. This blog will be my way of thinking and planning, where I will analyze and discuss new research, new ideas and the photographs I am producing in order to highlight where my ideas are heading and what will ultimately be exhibited at the end of the term...