Media manipulations

Yumi Ogura: ‘the ways in which isolation is reflected – in both senses – in facial expressions’

If previous generations drew a part of their social identity from shared experiences of TV, radio and print media, our era couples this with exposure to an overwhelming diversity of communications – anyone with a computer can now be a broadcaster, a DJ, a pundit or a self-publisher.

If anyone can make sense – or use – of our media-saturated age, it ought to be Media Studies students. To test this theory out, you might like to check out ‘Sideways Looks 2006’, an exhibition and screening of media production work by University of the West of England (UWE) students on the BA Cultural and Media Studies programme. It runs, unfortunately, for one weekend only at the end of May, so you will have to move fast to catch it.

The exhibition features work demonstrating students’ critical and creative approaches to the theory and practice of documentary video, interactive media, journalism and photo media. Course tutor Rod Dickinson explained: “Students on this programme have to produce work which shows that they understand the theory behind the way the media work, but also that they can analyse and critique that process. Their work represents a fresh look at the world while often unravelling some of the ways in which our views are shaped by the media. This year several students have used photo media to express their ideas.”

Rachael Allen: ‘we accept surveillance systems as a normal part of life’

Jemma Cassey has produced a photographic panorama of Bristol’s old docks and the Cumberland Basin, taken from a high point in Cliftonwood. She explained: “The panorama focuses attention on Bristol’s heritage as a port as well as its constantly changing urban landscape, including examples of ‘replica culture’ such as the tiny Mathew, docked next to another example of Bristol’s maritime history, the SS Great Britain. I want viewers to think about changing urban landscapes and the relationship between ourselves and the cities we inhabit when they look at my photos.”

Rachael Allen’s photo project looks at the relationship between surveillance and data production. Allen said: “I took pictures of the anonymous and apparently innocent buildings and structures that house the various communications and surveillance systems that dominate contemporary life – such as GCHQ and Thames House – which remind us both of how much we accept surveillance systems as a normal part of everyday life and of how powerful they are. By making visible the mechanisms of surveillance my project draws attention to the way communication is integral to the good things we take for granted such as internet shopping, but is also part of a complex system in which we are constantly being watched.”

‘Sideways Looks 2006’ took place at the Paintworks, Bath Road, Bristol BS4 3EH, and was open to the public from Friday, 26 to Sunday, 28 May 2006.