Beneath the Surface/Hidden Place
This project is possibly one of the most iconic from Nicky Bird as not many people have seen any of her other work apart from this. The concept of these photographs is to show what places were like then and now. The photos were taken in Glasgow and Bird likes to look at un-covering the history of specific sites. Personally, I really like this style of photo manipulation as it is quite simple, but effective. I really like also, how the old photos are very dated and aged in comparison to the newer photos as it helps represent the age difference between the shots. I think it shows Photoshop skills as well as all of the images are lined up perfectly and nothing looks out of place. The modern images are also of a very good quality, everything is in focus, the lighting is right and there is no sign of camera shake; I feel that this makes the overall image look very precise and clear. I think also featuring people in the old photos makes the pieces more hard hitting, as this could represent people who are maybe not with us anymore but were in the past, almost like their spirit has gone with the old scenery. I feel that this links very well with the 'Beneath the Surface' subject as not only is it the name of the project, but it shows what places used to be like and despite them changing, people still have the memories of what they used to be like.
Nicky Bird is an artist from Glasgow who has a huge interest in un-covering the history behind certain places and showing this in her work. She has a PHD in Fine Art and has had many solo exhibition spots in Art Museums and Events over the years. Besides all of the Art Experience, Bird is also often highly involved with world issues, such as Feminism and Discrimination against Homosexuals. Bird also runs a blog that she often updates with her new ideas and pieces for people around the world to see. She is constantly looking for ways to incorporate new photography with oral history and has a huge interest in people who have collections of historical archives that she could include in her work. I admire Nicky's efforts for her arts as I think it is a very good way to show today's society what the world used to look like before they were around, and this could un-cover anything from family history, to un-answered questions about the place they come from. I also really like how Bird uses a variety of materials to create her pieces, and not just a camera, which is always a good thing in order to stand out from other artists.
Raging Dyke Network
This project was created in 2012, and is inspired by a group of women who used to travel round the world airing their views and being open about their sexuality. The movement itself 'The Raging Dyke Network' spanned across 52 places in the world, including the UK, Canada, America and Europe. The aim of this project was to represent the scale of the network, but not to openly portray its actual meaning, Homosexuality. I wouldn't say that this certain project has a link as strong as the project above to 'Beneath the Surface', but I do believe that it links with the subject in the way that the project is hiding the actual meaning of the concept, in a very clever way. I quite like this style of work because I really like the idea of creating something like a postcard for a piece of art, as it is something quite simple. The actual postcards themselves are on sale to the public and all profits go to The Glasgow Women's Library; which is where initial materials were donated to from the 'Raging Dyke Network' in order to help make the postcards (photos and personal letters mainly). I really like the images used on the postcards as they are very bright and vibrant and the landscapes look very peaceful and chilled. I do think however, having the words 'Raging Dyke Network' across the middle of the postcard may put some people off buying them, especially if they are prejudice and discriminate people. Besides this, I think this project is very special and unique.