The role of panoramic photography in communicating the relevance of place in the formation of identity.

Supervisors: Dr Nicky Bird, Dr Laura González

Heike’s field of enquiry is photography concerned with meaning of place and representation of identity. Her practice-based research pursues the impact of an environment upon the formation of identity and the self. She focuses on panoramic photography as a tool that can aid communication of this context.

The role of space and place are central to her research. The work of human geographers Ti-Fu Yuan and Doreen Massey, landscape architect Ann Whiston-Spirn, philosophical theories on space and time, sociological theories on identity and memory, the history and context of the panorama and photography theory are analysed critically and inform the visual work. Composition, perspective, narrative, semiotics and form and scale of presentation have formal and conceptual significance in the making of the visual. Multimedia tools connecting individuals, communities and areas represented through the facilitation of the networking of images are being considered alongside other presentation methods, also allowing for the use of text and audio.

The outputs of the degree will be a thesis and artifacts to be exhibited or shown in book and/or electronic format. Most recently Heike has shown her work at the 2011 GSA research degree show and in New York. Test_240411_Image 2_Me is one trial in developing and testing a method to ascertain the connection for a subject between a place and their identity and to create narratives and use signs in the staged image that relate to that connection. She has used herself as testing ground, not least to acknowledge that the understanding of her own identity informs the process.