Art & Soul
7
The Restoration Process John Lafferty Spider Project
Ive have been running regular Photography Group sessions at Spider for over 6 years now and came to the project via a chance meeting with the Artist Dave Jacques, a Trustee of the project, whom I had been asked to photograph in his studio for an illustrated project called Edgy Cities. I have been interested in images for as long as I can remember, but would come to find photography as a creative outlet much late than I might have expected. Originally starting off with grand ideas of becoming an Illustrator, through a mixture of laziness and frustration, I found that weeks of intricate line drawings, designed to show the world my inner most feelings and deeply misunderstood brilliance - could all be replaced with the 'click' of a shutter. Gradually my quest to be both understood and to understand my surroundings via complicated set ups and tableaus of varying complexity, gave way to the realisation that the truly inspiring was to be found at arm's length and all around us. I found that the most interesting stories are to be found on the street, on the bus indeed, anywhere there are people willing to talk. The Photography Group at Spider is a real mixed bunch, all extremely interesting and interested in describing the world as they see it. Sessions involve Group projects and personal work, each interlinking as much as possible with the work produced by other groups. I am really keen to push the involvement of members from the creative writing and drama groups as much as is possible. After initially beginning the process of sending them out each week and then discussing their projected works upon their return, it became apparent that group members had a lot more to say and once past the hurdle of technophobia, began to grow in confidence and approach. We began with the premise that recovery is an ongoing process and one with many different paths to follow. I am careful to avoid words like 'therapy' but taking pictures can become an extremely therapeutic process.
"I found that the most interesting stories are to be found on the street"
With this in mind, we have worked upon themes such as 'Identity', the idea being that we can all too often feel as though we are losing control of who we are and that is important to regain or rebuild this inner picture before setting off down our chosen path feeling prepared, even if only for the day ahead. I think what is most interesting about the Group, apart from the friendships, banter, humour and creativity, is the fact that although members each have different interests and skill levels, they all contribute and assist in each other's projects. Run in conjunction with IT sessions hosted by Adrian Bailey, the discovery learning approach also yields results in the form of growing technical ability. This by product, can result in natural peer learning and is still often a surprise to people who will readily claim to not know anything about computers for example. Whether via Social Networking and checking e mails or sourcing inspiration on the web, I think the single most important aspect at the heart of the Photography and all of the other Groups at Spider, is communication, pure and simple.
Family is often a good
starting point for discussion
with new group members and
with women in particular. It can be
fascinating to compare often factual accounts from the male group members, with the detailed and for want of a better word, 'lived' stories told by the women. One of the things I will often ask a new group member to do if unsure of how to join a group that can seem noisy, busy and possibly ahead of where you think you are, is to bring in any old family photographs that could benefit from some restoration and cleaning up. This serves to introduce people to the scary, beeping computers, printers, scanner and cameras and provides an instant talking point and ice breaker with other group members. More often than not, a connection past or present will be made and the creative momentum will begin to build from there. One such Photography group member, Margaret, has become quite proficient and seems to enjoy the digital restorative process of old images, more than that of actual picture taking. I think the retelling and sharing of the stories of the torn, faded, time worn sepia stained faces that stare back up at her from the paper, belie the advance in technical ability and computer literacy that has come hand in hand with their restoration. If pushed, she would probably admit to relying upon tutor assistance, but this would be untrue and a genuine downplaying of the new skills and consequent sharing of these with her fellow group members, that Margaret has shown in the last few months. We have often spent the remainder of the session, waiting for the 'snappers' to return, sharing stories from the past that echo the political, spiritual, funny and sad situations we find ourselves as people in, today. As with most of us, Margaret hates having her picture taken, doesn't like being filmed and will go to great lengths backed up with colourful vocabulary, to confirm this. However, it is people like Margaret, who when pushed, conversely, have the most to say, are unafraid to say it and will honestly stand by it, once said, whether by herself or those she supports.
"I have been interested in
images as long as I
can remember"
As I have said, most of the time, the session involves talking and listening. Whether the match, the news, the weather or a welcomed, 'What are we doing this week ?' This might sound surprising, but I think it's better we produce less images, but make those images speak the fabled 'thousand words', rather than have hundreds of empty pictures that have nothing to say. The groups enthusiasm has always served to inspire the next theme. Just now we are preparing for an exhibition and short film called 'ZONA', to be shown at FallOut Factory on Dale Street from 24th April to May 1st. An exploration of the city, an illustrated time lapse journey that takes the viewer on an audio visual guided tour from the past, through the present and on to the future. Experimenting recently with film, stop motion and animation techniques, the group are moving forward all the time. The possibilities are endless and the chance to gain further experience in collaborating to produce more photographic stills works, as well as break new ground in areas such as documentary and drama, one that the group and I greatly anticipate.