Jade Chopra

I am currently studying BA Photography at University of Westminster

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Planned Models

With the current national lockdown in place and no mixing of households, I will not be able to have many models as of yet. Models and portraiture is not essential for my project, however, if restrictions change, I would love to look at portraits to create collages with. I do live with others and could explore some portrait or candid photographs, but this all depends on when everyone will return back to campus. 

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Planned Location

As we emerge into a third national lockdown, I plan to keep my locations limited to keep me in line with government guidelines. I will continue to take photographs on walks, in my own flat, and on my own if I go out and about further out from my home. 

In terms of exhibition and installation, with the current situation, I do not know whether that will be going ahead.

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Final Design Layout of Pilot

A Lust for Life by Jade Chopra

This series of images is presented as a diary which documents the four-week lockdown before Christmas. In this book, themes of loneliness, isolation, boredom etc. will be explored through the many lows of the day-to-day life in quarantine.

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Major Project Proposal feedback session

During this session, I presented my images from my pilot project and my final project idea for the major project in semester 2. I outlined my artist inspiration for the duration of my pilot and how they lead me to my idea for my FMP proposal. The feedback I received was mostly positive, however, I was told that I need to take more photographs and continue journaling my thoughts to add later on. I was also guided to look at how colour in the background would effect the narrative of my images and the overall book. 

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Campbell Addy

In the Waiting is an ongoing series by Campbell Addy where Addy took a photograph every day during the COVID-19 quarantine. . “It’s a process that has not only humbled me, but also allowed me to face a vulnerability in my work that I thought I’d lost. In the Waiting will document these anxious times, and serve as a placeholder to remember that stillness is also life, and chaos can birth beautiful ideas.” Addy’s images feel honest and raw, very vulnerable work during a difficult time for us all. This project has been an eye opener for me to see how others have experienced and expressed their time within lockdowns

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John Stezaker

John Stezaker is a conceptual artist that is best known for his collage work. His collages usually feature found images taken from postcards, film stills, and commercial photographs. His collages are interesting yet simple, “My ideal is to do very little to the images, maybe just one cut: the smallest change or the most minimal mutilation”.  I liked the simplicity of Stezaker’s collages as I am a beginner in digital manipulation and wanted simple yet effective images. 

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Artist Research: Corinne Day

For my inspiration for my pilot, I have looked at Diary by Corinne Day. The project looks at a collection of ten years' work and is a personal account of her life and friendships that she has experienced over a decade in London. Her images are extremely intimate moments that Day looks at without feeling intrusive with her camera. 

Her best friend Tara is a central subject for Day in Diary. “Events in Tara's life - partying, sexual liaisons, illness and finally, motherhood - unfold in front of her friend's camera. Tara has an ambiguous beauty - sometimes fresh and pretty, sometimes sad or wasted, always natural and uninhibited - the perfect subject for Day's own understated photographic aesthetic.” Although my project doesn't have a visible subject in front of the camera like Tara, I want to create something similar with exploring the different themes of the life I am leading in lockdown. 

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Pilot Project Idea: A Lust for Life

Due to the limitations of lockdown, I have taken a different approach with my idea. I have decided to look at documenting my life and daily routine within lockdown. Just prior to the lockdown beginning, me and my long term boyfriend had split and I wanted to use the pilot project as a way to express the emotions I was feeling whilst being isolated and on my own during this 4 week period. I want my images to explore themes of loneliness, boredom, depression, etc. During this time, I will also make a conscious effort to use self-care to combat these feelings, such as journaling my feelings and buying myself flowers. 

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This is my installation piece that I would have up in the gallery, to display all of my final images 

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Final Images

These are my final images. I am happy with the outcome from the photoshop technique I learnt. 

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Juno Calypso

This image from Juno Calypso’s The Honeymoon Series inspired my work as this captures sexual confidence and independency of a woman in love with herself. The Honeymoon Series is a collection self portraits that are shot inside retro hotels that are “a bubblegum-tinged ode to womanhood and finding comfort in solitude”. Though at first glance her images appear to focus on a  sweet nature, a closer inspection reveals the sense of eeriness that lies underneath. Her images are captivating, yet thought-provoking and this is something important for my own images. 

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Testing out my images on Photoshop

Here is a few examples of the test I carried out with the Photoshop technique I learnt from the YouTube video linked in the post from my test shoot. 

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Shoot 2

These are the contact sheets following my second shoot. I was pleased with the result I had from my first shoot, but preferred the webcam photos, so I only used the webcam for this entire shoot.

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Shoot 1

For my first shoot, I did my makeup as I usually would, as opposed to doing the makeup I planned and tried in my test shoot. The first contact sheet includes photos taken only on my laptop webcam, the second being photos taken on my phone.

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Test Shoot 1

For this test shoot I attempted to change the colour of my skin with body paint and attempt eyebrow blocking. However, I was not happy with the results. The body paint was very patchy and didn't have a very smooth overall texture on my skin. My eyebrow are naturally very thick and full and this made it extremely difficult to glue down and hide completely. I researched other ways I could try and do this without having the same issues. I took to Youtube and found a photoshop technique whereby I just take a normal photo and make the skin tone adjustments on there.

From this video, I was able to try this method out with photos I will take in my next shoots.  

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Polly Nor

Polly Nor’s work has a dark and satirical theme, consisting of drawings of women and their demons. Her work features a range of hand drawn illustration, digital illustration, sculpture and installation work. Nor looks at the ideas of female sexuality, identity and emotional turmoil throughout her work, and her inspiration comes from her own female experience of life in the internet-age.

A vast majority of her work displays women with “imperfect” bodies. Larger hips and thighs, belly rolls, body hair etc. As a bigger woman myself I want to highlight these things, rather than hiding them in my own images. Normalising these ‘flaws’ are important in a society that has been centred around a ‘perfect’ and unrealistic standard for women.