Reading, Writing & Research Methodologies - Sam

Currently, I am working on a photo & video portrait series that explore the urban setting of Rotterdam and the people that exist within it. This is in attempting to connect with the people who surround me but also to showcase and understand different cultures, subcultures and public space. In doing so I am to make inquisitions into the relation between people and place, the notion of 'home' and the notion of being an 'outsider or a 'local' (if this truly exists).

My artistic practice is focused on this project at the moment largely in part to my own relationship with the place I currently find myself in. I am a Dutch born 'burger' (with cheese, please) who has only lived in the country for a few recent years. I am fascinated by what it means to 'be' a nationality, beyond the objective boxes to tick on government forms. In my immediate surroundings of home, school & work I found a gorgeous mosaic of 'locals' - regardless 'nationality'. Furthermore, I am interested exploring the line between documentary and fiction. I aim to find, capture and convey the manners in which humans choose to express themselves. How people choose to perform in the theatre of every day life- not necessarily song or dance but when they leave the house and enter the chaotic and shared public space. This fascination is tied to my passion for making images, both moving and still, and my passion for interacting with my environment. By doing so it allows the space for myself to be aware and connected, and I hope to elicit the same from my collaborators.

This is very much an extension of previous work I have done. I have in the past made a feature film in a mid length film that dealt with similar themes and motives, where 'strangers' and capturing 'the streets' in a cinematic way were the focus. Allowing the city and its people to lead a story. With a new approach now, I hope for a more inquisitive approach makes deeper connections to the subject matter, rather than letting images stand alone.

I hope to also make changes in terms of the relationship between work and viewer. Rather than being one finished product screened in a cinema or online setting as I have previously done. For example I’d like to play with the idea of different frame sizes, different ways of projecting and showcasing all these images juxtaposing them in certain ways and presenting them in a more active or interactive manner.

Additionally, I hope to be able to take a more concise and researched approach to allow a true voice to shine from the images make. In the past this has been reliant on the spontaneity of 'whatever i find in the streets'. While I don't want to abandon that element of spontaneity, I would like to reign it in and apply it to a smaller or more framed discourse or topics or areas. I think especially on the back end of creating these works, thinking things through to a point where I can draw connections and conclusions, to make more of a statement about what is happening before me and what is happening at large.

The most significant choice I’ve made recently was to enrol into the Pete’s Farts Institute. Being surrounded by a plethora of artists with vastly different backgrounds, I have been able to explore concepts beyond my fairly technical background as a cinematographer. Furthermore, forcing myself to unlearn the polished or editorial approach to making has allowed me to expand my approach in concept creation and execution. A renewed focus in an analytical or research based approach, incorporated into the creative work I do is equally important.