Today me and Rachel ventured to The Public in West Bromwich. Despite some of the negative views that I had heard about it, I found the museum/gallery to be really inspiring and engaging.
During our visit, I came across 'The Public Self Portrait Project'. Having explored the exhibition, I established that it relates to the theme of participatory art. The project began in June 2009 and to date has had over 5000 people participate.
The project allows members of the general public to participate within the creation of their self portraits via a cable release from the digital photography equipment. This mechanism allows individuals to take control of how and when they want their photographs to be taken, therefore encourgaing the co-creation of the work.
Here are some of the pictures from the exhibition:
I really like these photographs. They capture a moment in time as well as recognising, celebrating, and promoting our diversity.
A great project, with an intention that allows the photographs to form an archive, which become more valuable over time as a record of who we are. I think that the intention of the project has contributed to its ongoing success, which has therefore encouraged the general public to actively participate.
From this exhibition, I have come to recognise that the intention and purpose of participatory art needs to be clear. So this is something that I need to think about, consider, and develop in relation to my own practice and its success.
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