Research- Muzi Quawson

Muzi Quawson is a British photographer who I wasn't familiar with until I was going through the Portfolio back issues and saw some of her work and was instantly intrigued to find out more. She had a chance meeting with Amanda Jo Williams who, when the pair hit it off, invited her to stay with her family in Woodstock, USA. The place obviously made its name because of the famous music festival but it's legacy lives on as the hippie lifestyle has long been continued and Williams' family practice it too.

Quawson is very much a fine art photographer but the focus of her work is on identity and this particular project looked at a side of American Culture that isn't photographed so widely. This is something she is interested in, people and communities that almost adopt the title of 'outsiders' that society gives them. It's an approach and area that I haven't even considered looking at, but I really like her style of portraits.

The project entitled 'Pull back the shade' documented Williams' relationship with her partner and daughters in a very candid approach. I like this, because even if some of the images were staged, they still seem very natural. Presumably from living with the family, Quawson's camera and presence started to go more unnoticed and it probably became normal so there wasn't any posing or acting up just for the camera.

A quality of honesty flows from the photographs and the family seem very comfortable and happy in their own lifestyle. As a viewer, the Woodstock lifestyle isn't one I can relate to but I like that Quawson's images don't attempt to put a spin on it. She just documents it. No angle, no trying to make the viewer presume the worst or the best, she just wants you to see it the way she did. This is an approach I want to take in my own work.

The fine art the images have to them is also lovely, the textures and the focus are very effective and I really like the series. Below are some of my favourites from it, I think all of them tell you something about identity and the people you're seeing even if it's just a tiny snippet:-


This last one is my particular favourite. I feel like it's the one where I can learn the most about the subject. I'm not sure what it is, because technically there's no engaging with the viewer, no eye contact and no dead giveaways, but the pose, that concentration and thought, I think that says a lot.