Dear Me

2020 - Photography - Georgie Herst

Georgie Herst is a photographer and visual artist. She specialises in portraiture, fashion and editorial photography. Her personal work consists of a mixed media approach and addresses social issues around youth culture. Her work is a collation of the different expressions of women in the form of illustration, photography, poetry, spoken word literature and written letters.

https://www.georgieherst.co.uk/

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‘DEAR ME’ 

Text by Ramzia Jawara

In ‘Dear Me’, Gerogie explores the topic of self-love in the female community. Her personal project creates a platform with different young women to address social issues in our society connecting to the female form. She collaborates with women from different backgrounds, giving them a platform to express themselves in any form.


In order to add context to my perspective in approaching Georgie’s project, I’ll discuss the ways my work resonates with hers. My artistic production is an intuitive and emotional  response to my surroundings and worldly affairs, my early works being primarily mixed media and documentary photography. Further into my creative journey I began to  incorporate materials and objects into the studio which has led me to a more conceptual route. Along with the use of materials I still enjoy working with people and overlapping the two to form a visual language and aesthetic. With documentary I enjoy the thrill of capturing and analysing the moment. On the other hand, the fine art approach allows me to ponder and elaborate on a thought intuitively following the process and communicating through my personal visual language. I use my work to inform individuals of issues outside of their own peripheral vision. A lot of the work I create is issue based with a composition of personal experience and identity and observances surrounding contemporary issues such as race, gender, and sexuality. I see it as a collection of present day archival images and communication between different multitudes.  


When looking at Georgie’s work my attention is immediately drawn to the mixed media elements she composes. The eclecticism of the work adds a quality that hints at the unique experiences of each woman, while moments of synchronicity between them demonstrate a spiritual unanimity between them all. The chaotic layout and partial concealment of the words metaphorically demonstrate the complexities of being a woman, how much is revealed and how much lies beneath the surface. When I look at it, It conjures up an aura of curiosity which feels like a micro expression of discomfort, mirrorring the emotions delivered in the writings.


Georgie’s process and technique involves the use of layering, following a mixed media approach. In a conversation with Georgie about her work she mentioned how due to the covid-19 outbreak, her work has led to a predominately text based outcome with lesser use of imagery and how the multilayering process was intended to imitate the voices of women and their stories. Her work was highly influenced by the Gurls Talk platform by Adwoa Aboah and the work of Chloe Sheppard who speaks largely on the topic of body positivity with a collection of collages she writes ontop of. All of Georgie’s work in this project speaks heavily on behalf of the feminist community with topics regarding body politics and sisterhood and fits within this particular context of personal-as-political work.


I personally admire Georgie’s direct addressal of the issues that are less spoken about in female communities. Her use of online communication allows for conversation between women from different walks of life. Without interference from herself, her work delivers a direct expression of the women, each touching upon universal issues surrounding femininity. The combination of illustration, photography and literature, joined with the raw and intimate monologues of each participant, tie the piece together in a way that brings the talents of each person to the foreground, alluding to a high sense of empowerment.


It could be interesting to see where this could go in the future and whether the issues which arise now stay the same or change through time as generations pass. A sensory piece, the colours and imagery express the emotions in the texts and confront wider contexts in relation to gender roles in society. As a female I would call this a therapeutic read as it talks about issues that people can access and relate to.


My open ended questions for Georgie would be:

What inspired you to work with other people’s work rather than your own?

Do you find any parallels between other people’s stories and your own?

Read Georgie Herst’s essay on Ramzia Jawara’s work HERE.