Sam Holden
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Artist's Statement
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Installation View
With ’70 Still Frames and 5 minutes 50 Seconds of Video’ my aim is to reveal the editorial processes (utilised by both photographer and subject) that are inherent within photographic portraiture, subsequently questioning its capacity for success in representing ‘the subject’.
I began by removing the photographer’s control over decisive elements of the photographic act; subjects were invited into a studio, seated and then informed that the camera – operated automatically using image capture software – would photograph them every five seconds for half an hour and each one of the resulting images would be displayed unedited and in chronological order. Once alone with the camera the subject was able to control their own representation, knowing that the photographer had surrendered command over the shutter’s release and the editing process. Put more simply; the subject could now choose exactly how much of themselves they wished to share with the viewer.
Despite the photographer’s subjectivity having been diminished the viewer could still only access what the subject deemed suitable. The photographer had been denied ‘his need to plead his case[4]’ but the subject was still thoroughly capable of pleading theirs.
To counteract this I introduced a hidden video camera into the studio environment. Concealed beneath the cameras lens it recorded the entire duration of the photographic shoot, capturing not only the shutters release but also the enlightenment in between; the rehearsal of a smile, arranging of a hairdo or loosening of facial features.
‘Within this very small space of video-time a kind of authenticity of the self is revealed – not as an essence – but as the product of the dialogical process. The negotiation between self and other, private and public is made visible as an ongoing process that is essential to our sense of being.’[5]
With a deliberately noticeable edit and the subjects’ preparations exposed, the viewer is made aware of the journey a portrait has already undertaken prior to meeting their gaze. Whether the viewer decides to extend this subjective journey by adding a personal interpretation is up to them.
Sam Holden © 2008