Platform Art Photo Text March 2015 | Page 12

Héritage
My Grandad, Pte. Reginald Elwin Powell, passed away in 2002 as a result
of injuries he sustained during the Second World War. My body of work
'Héritage' seeks to consider the ideas of both life lived and his legacy by
portraying elements of my Grandad's lifetime through six constructed
images. Each photograph aims to address and represent a particular
element from my Grandad's lifetime, progressing towards the
presentation of two final images which regard 'official' documents - a
passport style photograph and a scrawled, undignified Doctor's note
which allowed my Grandmother to have the funeral paid for due to the
circumstances of his death. Fundamentally, the series aims to demonstrate
my belief that for the soldier, husband, Father and Grandfather that he
was, the clumsy and menial letter does not credit his life with the dignity
or respect that he deserved in his death.
In illustrating the life and death of my Grandfather by means of a
photographic process I have been persuaded a new beginning in terms of
thought. As a photographic artist, the exploration and analysis of my
personal family album has encouraged me to consider this vernacular
collection as both a work of art and a work of history in presenting a
representation of my family's history. As a developing photographic artist,
this particular project has encouraged me to explor