Performance
Cristina De Middel
The Perfect Man
De Middel is a photographer, writer and documentary maker who lives in Mexico. One particular set of images called "The Perfect Man" examines the supposed role of the male in India. The name takes its title from a Hollywood film starring Charlie Chaplin in 1936.The film deals with the inherent struggle felt by the protagonist living in an industrial modernist society.
"Every April 16 since 1973, in the small town of Adipur in Gujarat, India, ayurvedic practitioner, Charlie Chaplin enthusiast and impersonator Dr. Ashok Aswani has marked the actor’s birthday. What started out as a small homage has turned into the world’s largest Chaplin impersonator convention with around 300 mimics converging on Adipur for the event. When Spanish photographer Cristina de Middel read about this incredible event in an in-flight magazine, she thought it would make a fabulous photographic study"The Perfect Man • Cristina de Middel • Magnum Photos
The images centre around a man called Dr. Ashok Aswani, who views a Charlie Chaplin film 4 times in a row in a movie theatre. The film had a profound affect on the doctor that he could "determined to dedicate his life to honour the character who, he believed, could inspire a whole new generation of Indian men" t est 2 (lademiddel.com)
Sadly, he lost his job that day and found he could not live up to the idealised western imposed view of how males should be throughout the world. The doctor was not the perfect man in western
eyes because he should "works and helps making his country great again. The perfect man wakes up early and goes to work, waves at his wife from the car before getting into the daily traffic jam to go to the office , where he will stay for 8 hours in order to provide for all the family. Charlie Chaplin could not be the perfect man either" test 2 (lademiddel.com)
The series explores how western culture imposes itself on the other cultures and individuals. The result leaves men throughout the world confused and unable to meet these standards. The impact of globalisation on other cultures impacts upon her work. Especially, how a cultural norm from a dominant culture (Western values) can impact other less prosperous cultures. Also explored is reality and fiction. The Charlie Chaplin convention made up of Indian males dressed up as an actor-wearing masks is a concept.
Performance. A group of Indian men attend a Charlie Chaplin convention.
Alexandra Lethbridge.
The Meteorite Hunter
Alexandra Lethbridge is a photographer and instillation artist. Her work is conceptual and deals with "deception, misdirection, misinformation, visual truth and the cognitive processing and consumption of information "Installations — Alexandra Lethbridge
She also uses found images within her practice.
The Meteorite Hunter is an archive where a meteorite is hidden among other items which are equally mundane in appearance. The concept is finding the unique among the normal and everyday. According to The Meteorite Hunter — Alexandra Lethbridge "The work is presented as a collection of artefacts, where only one of the objects’ is an actual meteorite. By combining factual and fictional works, it encourages engagement and participation in the search for the meteorite. Playing on the ambiguity of the imagery makes us reconsider everyday objects, effectively trying to create circumstances where the familiar appears unfamiliar." This concept reminds me of Alma Hasers work with origami portraits-especially of what is fake and what is true in todays world of fake news and post-truth.
The cooperation and participation from the observer makes this a performance between both creator and viewer in questioning what is fact and what is fictional. This concept seems to be influenced by post truth. Insofar the debate of what is fake or real? This concept has been on my mind for some time. Maybe there is no "real" only relevant...
Carl Bigmore
Between Two Mysteries.
Is from the UK where he graduated from The London College of Communication with a masters in documentary photography. His work called "Between Two Mysteries "is a collection of images which highlights a rugged and wild area in the Pacific Northwest of America. This area is an area of extremes in geography and is " dominated by the Cascade mountain range, which runs from southern British Columbia in Canada through the states of Washington and Oregon into Northern California. The Cascades split the region in two; to the west, rainfall is plentiful; the sky characterised by grey clouds; the earth by lush, temperate rain forest. To the east lie vast, arid deserts and rocky mountains" Showcase: Carl Bigmore | Photoworks.
The particular area has a rich history which in white American eyes goes back to the 18th century when settlers followed the infamous and dangerous Oregon Trail in search of wealth. This has left a footprint on the landscape. Such footprints on the landscape and culture are the hotel used in the film by Stanley Kubrick's The Shinning. Described as "chilling analysis of the nation’s conflicted soul. Jack never left. In Washington State, the Twin Peaks of Lynchian fiction continue to emit mystery. The ghost of Kurt Cobain sways to a grunge beat. Cowboys still mount their steeds; small indigenous settlements hug the coastline; sightings of Big Foot crop up now and then". Showcase: Carl Bigmore | Photoworks
The concept of the series looks again at the notion of the real and unreal in culture. Also, ideas which go back as far as the Pilgrim Fathers (protestant work ethic) of "The American Dream" myth and popular culture are addressed. Also, what is organic and what is manmade is derived from the concept-especially important in todays culture of post truth and fake news-what is real is questioned in this concept. 
A common theme of Carl Bigmore is to infuse fact and fiction while including influences such as film and music which complement the landscape. Between Two Mysteries includes the historical and recent cultural affects on this landscape-including camps set up to try and catch a glimpse of Big Foot.
Jonas Bendickson.
The Book of Veles.
Like all the photographers in this series, Jonas Bendickson draws attention to a specific place and investigates a certain concept within the area. Jonas Bendickson is a Norwegian photojournalist who has received a number of awards during his career. His work "sharply evocative images explore themes of community, faith and identity with unsparing honesty" Jonas Bendiksen • Photographer Profile • Magnum Photos
One particular body of work which illustrates this is The Book of Velea which draws attention to a town in Macedonia. Veles suffered badly during the economic crises of 2008 onwards and lost key local industries such as steel smelting and a porcelain factory. In 2016, the US general election was taking place between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Internet savvy individual in Veles created "clickbait" which was clicked on and made some in the town wealthy. This insignificant town which was hit economically by the recession was the birthplace of elections misinformation.
According to Bendickson " I travelled to Veles to explore this unlikely hub of misinformation. The photographs of contemporary Veles are intertwined with excerpts and facsimiles from a 1919 archaeological discovery also called ‘the Book of Veles’ — a cryptic collection of 40 ‘ancient’ wooden boards discovered in Russia by an army officer, written in a proto-Slavic language. It was claimed to be a history of the Slavic people and the god Veles himself—the pre-Christian Slavic god mischief, chaos and deception. While popular among Slavic nationalists, the text is debunked as a forgery by most scientist"
The Book of Veles demonstrated also the power of globalisation and what goes on thousands of miles away can impact anywhere with the power of the internet and a bit of knowledge. The term coined by Donald Trump, "fake news" is relevant here. Again, post truth is at the heart of this series which shows the power of the internet and people ability to believe what is on the internet. Also, we live in a time where globalisation has created insecurity from the outside. Therefore, some people look towards the state and revoke nationalist ideals to deal with the fast paced change of globalisation. An example of this is America building a wall on the Mexican boarder.
Natasha Caruana
Fairy-tale for Sale
Natasha Caruana works with still life images, installation art and film. In this series of prints, she befriended brides to gain a better resolution in imagery and takes photos. Her concept is the wedding industry and the performance connected to it.
"The smiling faces of the bride, groom and their entourages’ are blocked out in white, cloned over, smothered in blue tac or scratched off in a bid to disguise and make anonymous their private day now in the public arena. What remains are bizarre theatres of marriage; white-faced performers have taken to the stage and act out emblematic scenes" Fairytale for Sale — Natasha Caruana
She questions the pantomime of the big day being offered to couples in love. Everybody has their place and every detail has been planned for.
She states " But now the party is over, the cake has been eaten, the presents have been opened, and the photographs have been framed; the online adverts represent the detritus, the props of the fairy-tale wedding production" Fairytale for Sale — Natasha Caruana
Christian Patterson.
Redheaded Peckerwood.
Christian Peckerwood is an American photographer who uses research to underpin his contextual narrative in his work. An example of this is in his works Redheaded Peckerwood which examines - "the story of 19 year old Charles Starkweather and 14 year old Caril Ann Fugate who murdered ten people, including Fugate's family, during a three day killing spree across Nebraska to the point of their capture in Douglas, Wyoming. The images record places and things central to the story, depict ideas inspired by it, and capture other moments and discoveries along the way. From a technical perspective, the photographs incorporate and reference the techniques of photojournalism, forensic photography, image appropriation, re-enactment and documentary landscape photography. On a conceptual level, they deal with a charged landscape and play with a photographic representation and truth as the work deconstructs a pre-existing narrative"
One image says "what happens after I shot a friend" then the next page shows the back of a persons head.
As with other works such as Carl Bigmore's Between two Mysteries, Redheaded Peckerwood mixes fact and fiction together and tells a compelling narrative pictorially using a concept to a certain area or environment. To complement photographs taken, they are presented with a poem, letter or map which belonged to the killers. Some where only discovered by the artist and apparently, not the police!
The book is like Cluedo with pages and imagery. It is described as "the work is presented as a sort of visual crime dossier, including pieces of paper which are inserted into the book. The many individual pieces included serve as cues and clues within the visual puzzle. In this way, there are connections that are left for the viewer to be made and mysteries that are left to be solved"
Living Trust.
Buck Ellison is another American photographer and visual artist who uses collage and film to illustrate white privilege and the wealth gap in contemporary society. His series of photos and montage's examines "the language of privilege through meticulously researched images, often executed through staged settings and performative interventions into the visual language of photography"
The images show a class divide at work and a clear hierarchy. Also, a perfect family unit of white middle class respectability. 
Within the images are pictures of vegetables, family Christmases and games of golf. However, lurking there is resentment such as the caddie still and subordinate above while one of the golfers urinates. Also, a page on the book states "Only the horse knows how the saddle fits "A reference to the class divide in society.
Alma Haser
Cosmic Surgery.
Alma Haser was originally in the refugee category. I asked my tutor for clarity here because I didn't see her as belonging to the refugee category. He agreed as said I could put her in any category I saw fit. Therefore, I see her belonging to a few such as proximity for dealing with people and their stories, appropriation for reworking of imagery and performance because it uses fine art aesthetics in creating a portrait.
Alma Haser is from The Black Forest region who now lives in Britain. She graduated in 2010 in photography. She uses art in her photography to illustrate points. Her works include Twins, Within 15 minutes and Cosmic Surgery. Her work uses origami and photography to illustrate concerns and tensions of younger people today. Her work also looks at the importance of identity in society. Haser has fused fine art, portraiture and photography together and come up with an unsettling mutant effect. However, her concept deals with gender and identity in terms of culture. She states that "by de-facing her creations, she has made them her own creations "Cosmic Surgery — Alma Haser
In understanding her work and contextualising its content, Haser makes us question what is true and what is fake. She uses Photoshop to manipulate her work into manipulating the person viewing the images. Haser makes us question what is true and what is false in a post-truth world where the lines between fact and fiction are now blurred due to fake news. Her work also uses a concept of insecurity among todays Generation Y or millennials who are internet savvy and have preponed marriage due to economic insecurities. They are also seen as the first generation to be considered "global" due to the power of the internet.
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