Hand in is next week

After speaking to Su and discovering that it is not necessary to mount work and it is preferable if it is handed in in a box I have decided to print all 9 images from the centre grid full size (10"x15"), as they would be displayed. I also decided to have a print of each of the grids made in the same size to show the layout of each grid. The prints will all be presented in a portfolio box.

Final Layout

These are my images of the final layout of my final piece. If I was displaying the work in a gallery the size of each print would be 10"x15" window mounted on A0 board, this means that there would be three A0 pieces. As I have decided to show my work in grids of 9 I decided that one grid may look a bit out of place so decided to make a tryptic. The images above would be displayed in the same order but horizontally rather than vertically.

All of the showers

I really like the shower in Laura's bathroom (far right top row) so I decided to see if I had enough photographs to make a grid. At this stage I don't actually have enough photo's for a grid and I don't have time to do any more shoots.

All of the toilet rolls

I found this section of the bathroom the most interesting. Lots of people had empty holders with a new roll balances on something instead. Whenever I replace a toilet roll I have to put it so the roll drapes outwards, not against the wall. This is also something I noticed was different in each bathroom

All of the toilets

This contact sheet shows all of the toilets which are possibilities for the final prints. I had some landscape and some portrait of these but most were portrait. the sinks were all landscape but as long as they are all the same way round in each grid I can work out how many grids I want to make.

All of the sinks

This contact print shows all of the sinks that are possibilities for the final grids.

Final Prints

After the feedback from the presentations where I asked the opinion of my tutors and peer's to see if I should make a book or to have large prints, the general consensus was to make large prints. The prints will make more of an impact and I think my photoshop image of an example on a wall gave an impression of the scale. I think although I could get more images in to a book it would not have the same appeal.


The next option is how to print and display the grids of images. I decided that I would prefer to make window mounted prints with each of the photo's within each grid being individually printed rather than doing a large single print of all 9 images in one. I decided this for two reasons, the first being that I really like window mounted prints and thought it would be more attractive. The second reason was the cost, its considerably cheaper to make 9 smaller prints (I'm going for 10"x15" on A0 mount board) than it is to print an A0 sheet in one go.


The problem I have recently discovered though is that no one stocks A0 board so I have contacted a paper mill close to home to see if they can supply any.

Key Development Points

• At the very beginning of my project I wanted to concentrate on the feeling of not belonging. I wanted to show how I felt about always packing my bags to go somewhere else. I felt like I didn't have a secure home. The basic reason was that in the first year of my degree I had some problems at home and moved out midway through the Christmas holidays. I then spent the following summer at my Dad's house and then last summer at my Grandparents'. I felt that although I felt strongly about the subject I couldn't find a good way to show these feelings in photographs. I took some images of my belongings in different places. The things that come with me everywhere.  

• While I was photographing my belongings I also decided to record some of the objects that I leave behind. Things that are in every house and I take for granted.

• From the initial idea I took the small section of it and started to photograph fixtures and fittings within the houses I live in. During this shoot I took several photographs of clocks, this made me start to think about time and I decided to time some of my daily routines and pair the number of seconds with the photographs.

• After doing these 'time' photographs, I decided it wasn't really the direction I wanted to project to travel in and after the Grasshopper's and Guru's session I moved on to concentrating on bathrooms

• Once I had decided on the final path for my project all I needed was to photograph as wide a selection of bathrooms as possible.

• I decided to use a grid formation (as I saw in my research) and also to use similar images within the grid. Before I had used a variety of shots which I liked but felt that the repetition was stronger.

Research - If Walls Could Talk: The History of the Home

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b010jslz/If_Walls_Could_Talk_The_History_of_the_Home_The_Bathroom/ 
- Lucy Worsley, chief curator of the historic royal palaces, focuses on the bathroom - a room that didn't even exist in many British homes until 50 years ago. From the medieval bath houses to London Bridge's communal loos to finding out how piped water got to our homes and finally getting to the bottom of the Crapper myth at Stoke's Toilet Museum, Lucy tracks how our attitude to washing has changed over the centuries and the development of what we think of now as the most essential room in the house.

I watched this (the second episode of the series, The Bathroom) yesterday and although it was interesting I think that it came too late to influence my work as I have done all of my planned shoots. The programme was presented by Lucy Worsley and I really like the aesthetics of the shots.

Mum's house Ensuite

Mum's house, Main Bathroom

Mum's house, Downstairs bathroom

I decided to make a contact sheet of all the photographs I've taken of the downstairs loo at my mum's house. I printed the sheet to annotate it.

Uncle Peter's

After I had photographed my Nanna's bathroom she said she was going to see her brother. He lives a couple of streets away and she was going to take him a pie she had baked. I decided to accompany her and take some pictures of his bathroom. I knew it was really old and the majority of my bathrooms so far have been quite new.

I think that this was my favourite bathroom to photograph as it is so unusual.

Nanna's Bathroom

I went to visit my grandparents yesterday and took advantage of their bathroom while I was there. When I asked my nan if I could photograph her bathroom she looked at me like I was mad for a split second then said it was fine. I went to the car to fetch my camera and by the time I got back she was putting new towels and facecloths out and hiding the false teeth pots. I found it really funny and made her put them back, we had to compromise and have clean facecloths though!

Sandie's Bathroom

When Laura showed me this bathroom which belongs to her mother I found it really interesting. Its a really long thin room and has a variety of old fashioned and modern things within it.

Sarah's downstairs

I didn't take many photo's of this downstairs toilet but I think that I will be using the toilet roll one in one of my grids.

Sarah's ensuite

When I photographed this bathroom Sarah told me she didn't like the bathroom and didn't use it, it was her husbands bathroom.

Sarah's main bathroom

I visited Laura's friend Sarah's bathrooms and this contact shows her main bathroom.

Laura's Downstairs

Laura's main Bathroom

Today Laura, one of the girls from the course, let me photograph her bathrooms as well as showing me the bathrooms of one of her friend's Sarah's and also her mum Sandie's. This contact shows Laura's main bathroom.

Research - Peter Greenaway, 26 Bathrooms

Peter Greenaway - 26 Bathrooms


Greenaway's video was made in London & Oxfordshire in 1985 and shows 26 bathrooms and raises some interesting points about the taboos of the bathroom. 


Most of the owners of the bathrooms where very open, many of them showering/bathing in the film. One of the bathrooms owned by a bathroom designer had a porthole window into the main living space which was kept open to let the light into the living room. When guests used the bathroom they closed the flap to give them privacy, however the action of lowering the cover would attract attention to the fact that someone was using the bathroom. 


Another of the bathrooms was in a public bath house. I think that this change of class from the other upper class bathrooms we see in the film and I like the contrast.


I think that I will take influence from this video if for no other reason than the wide variety shown within it. I don't want all of the bathrooms I photograph to look the same, I want to see bathrooms of people of different ages and backgrounds.

Presentation feedback

Last week I gave a presentation to the group about my work and the possible final pieces. I asked their opinion on the works and the mock gallery and book I made. There was a general feeling that the large prints would be much stronger than the book. I was also given a few things to research.

Large prints or a book?

Starting to think about how I want to lay out my final images. I have already decided that the images are stronger together rather than alone so either way I will be putting them in a grid form. that will either be large grids of 9 images or smaller grids of maybe 6 or even 3.
To help me visualise how it will look I have made a mock gallery and a book page.

I think that I prefer the large prints. However the size may be a little over my budget, perhaps if each images was printed separately and arranged onto a large white background it would be a lot easier. 

I like the idea of making a book but after looking at my mock ups I think that the large prints are much stronger. 

I showed these images when I gave my presentation and the feedback I got received agreed that the larger prints would be more effective.

Hector, Helen and Dani's Bathroom

While visiting Hector Helen and Dani (friends from the course) I decided to photograph their bathroom, I want a variety of different bathrooms, not just my family's bathrooms.

Key development points for Presentation

These are the main development points I will be showing during the presentation.

Photo shoot plan

A list of peoples bathrooms that are available for me to photograph:

• Mum's 
• Main bathroom
• Ensuite
• Downstairs WC
• Phil's
• Main bathroom
• Ensuite
• Downstairs WC
• Nanna's
• Granny's
• Main bathroom
• Ensuite
• Downstairs WC
• Shower room
• Dad's
• Main Bathroom
• Downstairs
• Ensuite
• Uni
• Our bathroom
• Course people?
• Anyone in halls?

Phil's Ensuite

This is the largest contact print I have made so far and I really like a lot of the images on it, click on the photo's to see my notes.

Phil's Downstairs

I really like these images but a lot of them are just too dark.

Phil's main bathroom

I have taken photo's of the bathrooms at phil's house at several different points during this project and I decided to make one contact print showing all of the images together.

Layout Research - Bernd and Hilla Becher

I have looked into this couple for previous projects and I remembered that they used a grid layout to present their works. I really enjoy the repetition of very similar objects in each individual image.

I feel that I will take influence from these artists as I want to use repetition and grid layout for my work.

Dad's downstairs

I'm not sure that I will use any of these photographs to take the project any further.

Dad's Ensuite

I decided that a lot of the photographs in this contact were a bit boring but I did like the images of the sink.