LCFMA16 continues with MA Fashion Photography student Tania Franco Klein who says the course allowed her to play around with the interactions between art, photography and fashion. LCF News caught up with Tania ahead of LCFMA Exhibition between 17-20 February 2016 to discuss her final project, plans for the future, and what she found most interesting and challenging about a postgraduate in fashion photography.
What did you study before your current MA?
I studied Interior Architecture before my postgraduate.
Why did you choose LCF and MA Fashion Photography?
There are so many reasons that made me chose LCF, the fact its situated in one of the most important cities for the art and fashion scene nowadays really caught my attention. Being part of a college dedicated specifically in fashion also has a lot of pros, as having a many different and unique specialities in every field, which are hard to find somewhere else. This also allowed me to have a lot of interaction with people of different programs in order to be able to collaborate with them.
Tell us a bit about your final project
My final project was called Pest Control. Its a series of images that work in a metaphorical way as a representation of the spectacle of contemporary societies. The main aim of the project was to observe and explore contemporary social behaviour in a public context. I wanted to visually represent the surreal relationship, or lack of relationship between individuals in public spaces and what is understood as “non-places” (Augé, 1995).
Pest Control is based on research, personal experience, analysis and my point of view on social behaviour. I developed my project as a contributor and spectator of the ‘society of the spectacle’, ‘supermodernity’ and ‘hyperreality’ (Guy Debord, Marc Augé and Baudrillard theories of the postmodern world) in particular to the masses and public spaces (non-places) of the contemporary cities.
Social behaviour and social practices was the subject of my previous projects, and has become the most important in my practice when thinking of myself also as a product of society. Social behaviour has become part of my constant observations and my individual position on contemporary societies – its become a personal matter that I constantly question on a daily basis.
What do you like most about your course, and what have you found most challenging?
The fact that we can play around a lot with the interactions between art, photography and fashion is great. It allows us to push the boundaries so we can try to redefine practices in photography. This helped me explore and understand my work, allowing me to further develop my own style and interests. Once you understand where your practice is situated everything takes a whole new meaning.
The beginning was challenging when I started being more conscious about the possibilities and power that an image can bring. But it became part of my everyday practice and now exists as a natural habit in my work and thinking.
My tutor also made my journey really unique. He allowed everyone of us to develop around our own concerns and interests, but always respecting our particular views of the field. This helped the greater development of our course as we all had something different to share. We learned a lot from our classmates!
What would be your top three tips for prospective students?
- Take advantage of all the facilities, resources, lectures and workshops that UAL has to offer.
- Be open readjust your thinking.
- Collaborate as much as you can with other students.
What is your plan for after you finish MA Fashion Photography?
I’ve nearly finished my first book, which was part of my Masters Project. I’m planning on publishing this book and carrying on with some of projects and exhibitions that I’ve been working on during my course.