This project formed a creative investigation, to respond to the invisibility of ‘blackness’ in the visual history of Britain.
A framework that critically but subtly shows this historic invisibility through the photographing, and making visible, of a black family.
Canonical, anthropological, colonial and archival referencing takes place within this project, fragments of people are mixed with family album narration and interiors.
The history of identity is also explored. What is seen and what is not creates answers and questions about who the families are.
By referencing the photographic ethnographic system that was developed in the Victorian times, to distinguish type and Other; the images made play on the disjunction of race, slavery, and colonialism.
The Images touch on the remaking of blackness in the use of the portrait style which is a direct indication of Du Bois American Negro 1900 pictures and the rise of family album narratives, while the documentary nature of the images reference the need to record
Jacques Derrida view that ‘In this present day archives are not just holding places, they are also part of the everyday activity of identity, formation and maintenance by ordinary people, therefore it is up to us to show reality for the future’. This as helped Marcia to produce this project to make sure that black families have a history of who they are in Britain. looking for her own identity in the british archives, Marcia found few photographic examples, she does not want this for future generations, what she is producing is her response to their being none but at the same time showing what was not.
The images shown are but a selection.
Born and raised in London Marcia Michael began photographing at the age of 18. She studied at Derby university and then later moved on to Bournemouth art college and finally to London College of Communication (formally London College of printing) where she completed an MA, in photography.
Since her time at Derby University she has been freelancing for many editorial magazines such as the now defunct Face, 20 ans, Tank, 2nd Generation, Trace and newspapers. She has produced work for Designers such as Bella Freud, Boudicca, Preen and Louis de Gama (all London based).
Marcia’s work has always been of a classical nature.
Her formal approach to photography definitely have a link to the masters Weston, Strand…
The work is one of anger. In reference to the classification system developed in Victorian times, used to distinguish type, her images play on that idea of race, slavery, and imperialism, they also touch on the remaking of’ blackness.
