AS PART OF MY BA PHOTOGRAPHY YEAR 2 PROJECT, I AM DOCUMENTING MY WORK ON THIS PART OF MY WEBSITE.
‘Everyone Woz Here’ documents bathroom graffiti in clubs and venues ideally presented as a photobook (however submission is digital PDF) blending imagery of messages, tags, and drawings with low light club photography creating a contrast between the hazy dancefloor and solitude within a toilet cubicle. The theme of anonymity and art in a public space is materialized through the various messages left which I have chosen to capture, common subject matter includes people signing their name off, crude drawings, or conversations carried on by strangers adding another message to the chain. Through a rich history of markings from The Merry Thought: Or, The Glass Window and the Bog-House, toilet graffiti or ‘Latrinalia’ coined by Alan Dundes in 1966 has led to a wide range of identity development and freedom of expression.
To every person who has attended a club or music venue before, entering the toilets feels like a void with the music distorted, being present within a small cubicle and seeing the layers of wall markings from a range of years of confessing their love for someone, sharing a secret, or leaving behind a written alias. My aim for the project is to highlight the diversity in messages and location, with photos being taken in London, Bristol, and Brighton. I would like to develop my project further in future by taking pictures in venues away from the Southeast and showcase toilets from Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, and Newcastle.
Its situated nature can be presented at an exhibition/ event with the images on the wall with an interactive board similar to the work of Yoko Ono and her exhibition 'Refugee boat (ADD COLOUR)' inviting people to take part and draw on the walls. As a photobook there is the option to look through the copies as well as the exhibited wall pieces.
for the PDF of the project.