London Art Fair Discussion - Laura Hynd

Control of the Frame: Power, Representation & Identity in Photography - Laura Hynd - "The Letting Go"

 

Thanks to Pam Glew, I was able to attend London Art Fair where I went to a discussion about "Power, Representation & Identity in Photography", organised by PhotoVoice. The final panelist was Laura Hynd who spoke about her latest project, "The Letting Go". 

For this she became "the submissive" and allowed others to photographer her as part of a healing process to help her move on and push forward in life. The collection is a "personal and confessional series of photographs, portraits and self-portraits". She let others photograph her to reveal something personal and to help deal with her own and others' perceptions of her. 

During the discussion she showed a video of her photos in a montage instead of talking, but the images spoke for themselves. Each individual photograph has a very personal story behind it, and they speak very strongly as a collective. 

The notion of loosing control and allowing others to take lead was a strong part in her work. "My photographic ideas and private notions have been challenged and developed. Becoming the submissive during a photo shoot, trusting others and allowing self-portraiture to tell the story of a critical shift."

Everyone deals with suffering and pain in life differently. Although Laura never actually said what has happened to her, you can feel the lifting of social pressures and pain from personal experiences through her work. She has begun to realise that other peoples' perception of you shouldn't effect your daily life. You are you because of personal experiences during your existence.

Peace out xo