Research- Jeanie Finlay

I got recommended to look at Jeanie Finlay from discussing my ideas in the tutorial. She is a British artist and film-maker. She is very much into working in the documentary genre and a lot of the time the work is very personal and quite intimate too. She's particularly relevant for me to look at as her work has explored the themes of identity, personal perception and also has an interest in social networking and making projects based around this. One of her projects, 'Belongings' saw her asking her friends to give her an item from their homes and write in 30 words why it was important to them. The range of items she got and the reasoning was fascinating and included some more odd finds such as an ice pick. I like the idea that to the outside these items could seem so random or pointless, but clearly each one evokes a memory or moment to its owner which gives it value and worth. It's a way of looking at identity and shows off individuality.



Another project of hers that I find particularly relevant is 'In Your Face' which explored beauty and how people perceive themselves. She did this using a variety of questions that participants answered. Their responses formed the basis for creating digital portraits and it's interesting to see how people mark themselves down. Perhaps it's a British thing to be modest and feel the need to put ourselves down, because in my experience, friends from other countries have always been more happy in themselves and their looks.

Her work with text is also very inspirational and I love the project 'Longing' where she got people to write on cards about the love of their life whether that be lost, found or longing for. I think what I enjoy most about researching her projects is how it gets people to engage in something and open up due to the anonymous aspect of it all.



To get more people to engage, the cards were left in a gallery to be completed. This is a great idea as the type of people likely to be in a gallery are those more likely to be intrigued by the project and engage in it. Location and audience is something to consider if I want more responses. Perhaps using the Portland building where it is largely art, video and photography students is a good idea.