Sarah Maple - Photographer Research

Sarah Maple is a UK photographer and artist who largely focuses her work on the feminist movement. Sarah's work is mostly satiric in an attempt to portray how ridiculous the world is for still having gender equality and stereotypes. When her work does not solely focus on feminism, she explores what it is like to be a young muslim woman in the UK. In this, she uses her aesthetic to urge viewers to go against the traditional norms of their religion and live how they wish.

I have decided to study Sarah Maple, looking more into her feminist work but not being bound to this as I think she portrays a very clear and truthful message in her work. The use of this abruptness and level of shockingness in her images works very well in creating a strong, running theme within any of  her projects. This is an aspect I would like to work with and attempt as I believe that this can make a series quite unique and it would enable me to be extreme with my images. This is because creating such an impact would require an extreme image - there are examples of how Sarah has done this below.

In summary, I believe that Sarah Maple has created some very unique image series' as she is very upfront, outspoken and satirical, which has lead to her creating pieces of work with a very impactful and inspiring message. The way that Sarah not only focusses on feminism but also religion can separate her work from other feminist photographers as she shows how women can experience different forms of oppression based on religion. 

This image features a woman dressed as Belle from the Disney film Beauty and the Beast acting as a football coach. This challenges the stereotypical princess role that Belle plays in the film and places her in a position of power and in a role that would typically be portrayed as a man. This could connote how women can do a job just as well as a man can. It could also connote how the Disney Princesses are not good role models for young girls and so should be portrayed in a way that would challenge gender stereotypes. Doing this would possibly inspire young girls to strive to be jobs that would typically go to a man and therefore be unachievable to them.

This image uses text to portray a clear and simple message - Sarah does not agree that anyone should not be a feminist. The use of a bright pink background, pink nails and the fact that she is wearing no clothes contradicts her statement and could connote that the feminist movement has not come far enough in their work and that women are still objectified and forced to follow stereotypes that they do not agree with, for example, wearing or even liking the colour pink. In other images of Sarah's, we see that she does not typically conform to female stereotypes and so has been very strategic in her use of the colour pink.

Again, the use of text in this image portrays a very strong message - stitched into her cloak is 'Anti Rape Cloak'. This image has strong themes of feminism but also supports victims of rape and fights back to those who say that rape is down to 'what the victim was wearing'. The Anti Rape Cloak is simply a black sheet being used to cover her entire body so that only her head and feet are showing. This connotes how women are forced to cover up in order to be safe and that they will only be safe if they are completely covered from head to toe. 

This image is an example of Sarah's religious work. On the left, it shows a stereotypical muslim woman  wearing a hijab pointing at the camera. To the right, it shows the same woman but dressed down in casual clothing with wild hair, pointing to herself. This could connote how women within particular cultures are expected to dress and act a certain way, and how if they don't they still feel pressured to follow these norms. It could also imply that people are expected to be the ideal picture of their religion and not follow it the way that they wish - it can sometimes take away their identity. 

Emma Campbell - Photographer Research

Emma Campbell is a photographer born in Belfast, Northern Ireland but based in London, England. Within her photographic work, Emma explores gendered themes, closely linked with the feminist movement. Two examples of her work include Dawn - a series based on female adolescence, and Fashion - a photographic project portraying the lives of women working in UK garment manufacture. Whilst she explores many different themes such as political issues and identity, it is always focussed on how they directly effect women.

Emma's work has influenced my own as it has made me realise that there are many different ways that feminism can be expressed within photography, and that it is not always shown obviously but instead tied in with another topic. Looking at how most of her images are in natural settings and how she subtly shows how women are effected by specific things, I have been inspired to try out new settings for my photographs as the majority of my ideas are set to be shot in the studio and I would like to see how my images would turn out in a natural, documentary styled theme.

Overall, after studying the work of Emma Campbell, I have found that not all work based on the feminist movement needs to have a clear link to it and does not need to be dramatic or staged in a studio. Instead, simply documenting the lives of women in different scenarios can show how women are effected by patriarchy on an everyday basis. Also, I have found that using feminism as an underlying theme can almost be as effective as using it as the main theme as it enables the photographer to show exactly what is effecting the woman and how it is effecting them.



This image is of Dawn from the series that Emma created of her. Dawn is stood at a bus stop wearing layers of thick clothing and no make up. This is a first instance of subtle feminism as she is not conforming to the stereotype of feminine beauty but is dressing how she wishes. Dawn appears to be quite young and has an eyebrow piercing, which could be a symbol of adolescent rebellion as she has got a facial piercing which, again, goes against the female stereotypical beauty.

In this photograph from the Dawn series, we can see two people writing out mathematic sums. We can only see a small snapshot of their faces, but from that we can tell that they are young adults and above the age of regular schooling. This could connote female empowerment and success as Dawn is appearing to be taking control of her life and getting lessons in order to gain qualifications, which in future will lead to a career.



This photo is from the Fashion series, focussing on women working in the clothing manufacture industry. The use of depth of field in this image brings the viewers focus to the woman in the centre so that we can see her facial expression. The woman appears to be bored or worn out, which connotes the exhausting and repetitive nature of the work that she does.



The woman in this image is framed by a piece of machinery both in front and behind her. This could connote how she is trapped by her work and how her work is all around her. In the picture, she appears to be simply standing at her work station and looking around, possibly waiting to be given work to do. Like the picture above, this could connote how tiresome the work is as without others doing work she cannot do anything.

Laura Noel - Photographer Research

Laura Noel is a photographer based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.  Laura's most famous project, 'Smoke Break', focuses on ordinary people taking a smoke break. On this project, Laura Noel says 'my pictures concern the attitudes – defiance, enjoyment, resignation, and contentment – of those who continue to smoke cigarettes in the face of public disapproval. More importantly, these portraits reveal that for some smokers, cigarettes are a way to enter into a state of contemplation. This introspective pause in a hectic world is more valuable to smokers than non-smokers would imagine'. Laura says that Smoke Break does not condone or support smoking but is a way of portraying those united by this habit.

The way that the woman is holding up the veil to the back of her head implies that it is her wedding day and that she is preparing for the day. The use of smoking in this image may be used as a form of stress relief as weddings are a stressful event, and her face looks quite relaxed in the photo. It may also show that the woman does not see her habit as a bad or horrible thing as she is doing it on, what is supposedly, the happiest day of a woman's life.

Due to the array of instruments surrounding the man and the macbook sat in front of him, we can assume that he is recording and editing music. Therefore, because of this assumption, the man may be using smoking as a way of simply having a break from working and perhaps so that he can have a break to think about what to do next.

This woman is sitting in her bed whilst smoking - a habit that most people disagree with as they don't want the smoke in their house. Therefore we can tell that this woman is relaxed about the habit and is likely to have been smoking for years. Smoking may be a way for her to relax as she is doing it in relaxing environment.

This photo is different to the others as instead of focusing on the woman's face, it focuses on the tattoo on her wrist. The tattoo says 'deliver me' - a phrase from the Lord's Prayer. The focus on this tattoo in the image can somehow imply that smoking is an escape for this woman and allows her to enter her own world where she can clear her thoughts.

Jessica Ledwich - Photographer Research

Jessica Ledwich is a feminist photographer based in Melbourne, Australia who explores very controversial topics in her work. The explorations of such topics allow her to unfold the workings of human behaviour and to analyse how society works. Jessica's most popular series, Monstrous Feminine, explores the value that society places on vanity and youth and how this can result in women going to extreme measures to seek eternal youth and perfection. Not only does this change the way women act and feel, but it shapes their identity as a whole as they begin 'acting young' in order to stay in touch with their youth. 

I have decided that I would like to use Jessica Ledwich as a main artist in my research as she her Monstrous Feminine piece is based on the topic of feminism - a topic that I wished to focus on myself. The use of exaggeration and surrealism in her images create a great impact on the viewer and puts across her intended message perfectly, as it is hard to misinterpret such a clear picture. This technique will come to influence my work, as I want the message that I am putting across to be very clear. Also, I am inspired by the feminist element of her work and so may take mine in this direction.

Throughout researching Jessica Ledwich's work, I have learnt that extreme images can sometimes be the best way to express a serious message about a very controversial topic. This is because sometimes the best way to really make someone think about such a topic is to be brutal in what is put across. In this case, Jessica has created some intense and perhaps gory pictures to show how serious the search for perfection has become.

From all of Jessica's work, this image has a more subtle point to it. Whilst at first it looks like a woman brushing her hair, in the background we can see her face in the mirror is red raw. Then, to her left, is a mask. This could connote how everyday women put on a 'mask' when they put on their make up and style their hair, hiding their true identities from the world. It could also connote how some women do not feel comfortable being their true selves and so hide behind a mask to be accepted.

This image shows a woman who has removed her fingers and replaced them with beauty tools. This is one of Jessica's more gory images. This image is extremely exaggerated, but connotes how women are willing to go through pain and lose themselves - physically or mentally - for beauty. The red colour of her nails could connote love in contrast to the red of the blood, and suggest that perhaps the woman is going through this to seek love.

This image shows the woman inserting a bio-hazard into an egg. When looking closely, you can see a pot in the background labelled 'XY Chromosome'. Due to this small detail, we can get a very strong message from this image. This image connotes self-fertilisation as the woman is inserting the XY chromosome into her egg. In this very unromantic portrayal of the 'road to motherhood', it represents the physical demands that society has on women's bodies.

In today's society, it is considered 'attractive' to have a tanned body. In the image above, we see a woman who has gone to extreme length to be tanned and instead has severely burned and damaged her skin. This connotes the physical toll that some beauty standards have on a body. The woman's skin is raw from the rays used in an attempt to tan her, showing how damaging the beauty ideals of society can be when they control how somebody see's themselves.

This image shows a woman standing in a Chanel coffin. This image implies how women seek to be eternally youthful, beautiful and classy as even though the woman is supposedly 'dead', she is still completely made up and has a coffin from the brand Chanel. Although, this image could also have a deeper and darker connotation of the death of the woman. It could suggest that women no longer exist but are purely a product of man and society. 

Phebe Schmidt - Photographer Research

Phebe Schmidt is a photographer based in Melbourne, Australia. Whilst many have classed her work as linked with the feminist movement, Phebe herself has referred to the theme as 'plasticity'. The photographer explores society's obsession with generic beauty that conforms to gender, social and cultural ideals. Although, this is not to say that her work is not linked with feminism as she has said that the more it is said, the more she sees it herself. In her work, Phebe uses bright, pastel colours in order to contrast against the negative undertone in her images and to support the theory of crafting unnatural perceptions. 

I have decided to include Phebe as one of my main photographic inspirations as her work is so unique and intriguing. I feel that this is because she focuses on the beauty standards of society for both genders and so does not purely focus her work on feminism but instead society as a whole. I find that her images are quite simplistic yet create such a strong message, an aspect that will influence my work as I do not believe that you need to create over the top images in order to send a message out. Also, I feel that simplistic images create more feeling as it shows how the smallest thing can be so effective - this is the direction in which I want to take my work.

From researching the work of Phebe Schmidt, I have found that creating a piece of work on the theme of beauty standards is not limited to just shooting pictures of different models - this is what I was planning on doing before. I have found that looking at the simplest things can create an impact on the societal ideology of beauty and how objects can be used to express the result of pressures to be 'beautiful', not just expressions by the model and the styling of their hair and make-up.

This image signifies how women in society are objectified and sexualised in many different forms. The woman on the mousepad has padding on the area where her chest is and so is being sexualised in the form of a mousepad. This image could symbolise how women are being seen as objects for pleasure in almost any way imaginable today despite movements that have been made to prevent situations such as this.

In this image, we a see close up of a girl with extremely messy and bright make up. This contrasts against the beauty standard that women should have perfect but natural looking make up. This image connotes how society has created the norm of women wearing make-up and only being seen as 'beautiful' with it, and so the vibrant colours an the excessive amounts of make up on her face could be expressing the desperation that some women feel to be 'beautiful' as a result of society's expectations.

This image is from Phebe Schmidt's 'Surgical Series'. The use of only mint green in this image makes the black false eyelashes pop and draws your focus towards them so that you realise what they are. This helps the message of the image come across much stronger. The image connotes how the use of make-up and accessories such as false eyelashes is almost like surgery, transforming the way you look. As Phebe's photographic movement is about the generic beauty of society, it could connote how it transforms you and changes you into meeting society's expectations.

This image is an example of how Phebe's work is not primarily influenced by feminism, as she shows how men too are manipulated into being products of society. This is a clear example of her theme of 'plasticity', as the man within the image is covered with a film of plastic, almost like a new product ready to go on the shelves. It could also connote that he is like a piece of meat, as men are also objectified by women in society and viewed like 'a piece of meat'.

When looking at the deadpan facial expression and body language of the woman, she seems to appear almost like a doll as there is not expression of feeling or emotion from her. In the right of the image, we see a hand running a big, plastic, pink comb through her hair. This could also lead us to interpret that the woman is supposed to be a doll as someone else is styling her hair. There could be connotations that the hand belongs to society as they are styling her hair to the way they believe it should look.

Research Log

Faye Godwin

http://www.djclark.com/godwin/

Faye Godwin has used high contest and a black and white effect on this image in order to make the footprints and the tracks in the mud stand out more as it sharpens the smaller details in the floor. It connotes a dark and dismal feeling due to the dark tones and because of the fact that we can see the lots of clouds in the puddle. It relates to the stereotype that British weather and atmosphere is miserable.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53ZMYN

This image by Henri-Cartier Bresson depicts young boys in a street covered in rubble and broken walls. This image makes you realise how some young people are growing up in terrible poverty and dangerous areas. But, we see one boy climbing through the wall and others in the background playing, implying they have only seen this way of life and so are accustomed to living this way. 

Phebe Schmidt

http://phebeschmidt.com

Phebe Schmidt's work focuses mainly on feminism and the beauty standards of women in society. This image could relate to the objectification of women as the woman in the picture is wrapped in plastic, connoting that she is a product or an 'object'. The use of the deadpan expression and the fact that her arms are laid straight by her side make her look like a doll, relating to the objectification of women as they are expected to be perfect and doll-like.

Keegan Gibbs

http://keegangibbs.com

This image is of a street artist. The main focus is not of the artist himself but of the height at which he is at, as the man has been captured to the side and is slightly cut off whereas we can see the full street below him. This shows us the extreme lengths that a street artist will do in order to get their work on a wall and that many take their work seriously. It also could connote that they are very secretive and mysterious artists as they work in high places during the night, hidden away from everyone else.

Aziz and Cucher

http://www.azizcucher.net

 Aziz and Cucher have used Photoshop in order to remove any features from this woman's face. This image could portray how a persons appearance hold so much of their identity as without their facial features, clothes and with their hair pushed back out of the way, we do not know anything about this person. It connotes how people use their appearance in order to express themselves and show who they truly are.

Jessica Ledwich

http://www.jessicaledwich.com

Jessica Ledwich is a feminist photographer who uses photography to exaggerate the lengths that women will go to in order to look attractive and live up to the expectations of men. This image relates to the expectation that women should have no hair on their legs, and so in order to get this the woman uses a tool to shave her legs raw. It connotes how women can be effected by these expectations and how damaging they can be.

Barbora Pivonkova

http://www.contretype.org/barbora_pivonkova_english.html

This picture shows a homeless person in the street, begging for money. The use of levels in this picture connote how society typically looks down on homeless people and would stare at them as they walk past. The use of this angle also allows us to see the persons surroundings and belongings. In this case, the person has a dog with them but no personal belongings, and they are sat on a dirty step surrounded by graffiti and chewing gum stained streets.

Yasumasa Morimura

http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/yasumasa_morimura.htm

Yasumasa Morimura has used make up, costumes and hair styles in order to create a series of pictures where she recreates iconic images of stars throughout the past. This is an image of Marilyn Monroe. Whilst the model does not look like Marilyn, the way the make-up and hair has been styled is iconic of Marilyn and so we know it is supposed to be her. Also, the use of black and white makes the image seem as though it was taken in the 50s as most images were in black and white during this decade.

Fatimah Tugger

http://signsjournal.org/fatimah-tuggar/

I like how Fatimah Tugger has used image manipulation in order to places different kinds of people into the same photograph as it shows all different ways of life and different societies in terms of class. In the centre we see a business man and woman, who are both wearing suits/smart clothing and are well presented. In contrast to these two people, we have a man to the left dressed down in casual clothing running a fruit juice stand. Also, to the right, we see a young child and a man in a wheelchair. All of the 'lower class' people in this image are people of colour whereas the 'upper class' are caucasian, which would connote the divide in classes due to race.

Sally Mann

http://sallymann.com

Sally Mann uses her own children as the subjects of her images so that the images are more personal to her. This image could imply that children today are growing up too fast, as the girl in this picture seems to be around ten years old and has a cigarette in her hand. The use of depth of field really brings your focus to the girl as she is in focus, and we can see that the burn and dodge tool has been used to make her appear brighter to bring more focus here. Without this, the cigarette aspect of the image may not have been more obvious.

Jason Salavon

http://www.salavon.com

This image is likely to have been created through long exposure and use of a blur effect as you can slightly see movement in the image but not enough to create such a dramatic blur. This image could connote a hidden identity and mystery as we can slightly make out features but not enough to truly see what the person looks like and so we cannot completely get a feel of her identity.

Krista Wortendyke

http://www.kristawortendyke.com

This image has clear denotations of war due to the smoke rising in the centre of an image in an empty piece of land. Although, the use of the photo joiner technique uses many different pictures of explosions to create one. This could connote how most people in privileged countries will only experience war through platforms such as the media and video games and only see the violence and not the impact of war on the countries involved.

Laura Noel

http://lauranoel.com

This image is quite simple, but has a subtle connotation when you notice the cigarette in the woman's hand. The woman is dressed quite smart and so could possibly be taking a break from her job in order to smoke. This could therefore connote how smoking can be used as an escape from the real world as it allows you to take time out and be alone.

Sarah Hobbs

http://sarahhobbs.net/home.html

This image hold connotations of indecisiveness and stress as instead of painting the walls, they have instead been covered with sample sheets of different colours which could imply that the owner of the room cannot decide on a colour and through stress decided that this was the best option. Also, with the use of only a chair in the centre, it could also imply that the person was indecisive on their furniture.

Tobias Zielony

http://www.kow-berlin.info/artists/tobias_zielony

This image could relate to youth subcultures and how, through style, they have created something completely different and against the norms of society. It could connote a feeling of belonging as although they are different from the rest of society, together they are all similar and may find comfort there.

Emma Campbell

http://emmacampbell.co.uk

Within this image, we see the subject of Emma Campbell's project - Dawn - and another woman at a table. We see that Dawn - sitting to the left of the picture - is a young woman. The fact that there is cigarettes and alcohol on the table implies that she perhaps has an addiction, and being quite young suggests that this started at a young age. Therefore, this image could connote teenage delinquency and rebellion.

Sarah Maple

http://www.sarahmaple.com

In this image, we see a woman dressed as Snow White in the setting of a science lab.  The composition of this image connotes how women can be successful and have strong careers in which you would typically see a man. It also connotes that perhaps Disney Princesses are not good stereotypes and so the photographer has taken them and placed them in positions such as this to portray them in an aspirational way.

Liora k

http://www.liorakphotography.com

Liona K has created a photo series in which she paints powerful messages onto the bodies of women of varying ethnicities and sizes. The quote written on the back of this woman links very well with the fact that she is wearing no clothing. This image connotes how women should be allowed to wear as little as they wish and act as promiscuous as they wish without people judging them for doing so.

Yung Cheng Lin

https://www.flickr.com/photos/3cm/

In this image, Yung Cheng Lin has used red thread to create the effect that it is being used to pull on and tighten the women's collar bones. This connotes how there are expectations on women to be so thin to the point that their collar bones are completely sticking out. This also connotes that women will go to extreme lengths in order to physically manipulate their bodies so that they fit societies expectations of beauty.

George Lois

http://www.georgelois.com

This image shows a woman using a razor and shaving foam in order to shave her face free from hair. This is an exaggeration of the stereotype and expectation that women's bodies should almost be hair free, and that any hair on a woman's face - other than her eyebrows - is 'unnatural' and should be removed. The woman in this picture looks very glamorous, but the use of shaving could connote that she does not feel that way and wishes to change her image.

Faye Godwin - Personal Opinions Research

Fay Godwin

Born: 17th February 1931

Died: 7th May 2005

Fay Godwin was a British photographer who was well known for her black and white pictures of the British countryside. Although, before moving her photographic work in this direction, she took portraiture pictures of famous literary figures such as in the 1970s and 1980s. 

In 1985, she released her book 'Land', which was described as the 'book she will be remembered for'. It featured black and white images of many different landscapes in Britain. It was used to encourage environmental change and was informed by the sense of ecological crisis in 1970s and 1980s Britain.

 Then, in the 1990s, she started photographing colourful urban landscapes. Fay Godwin was pushed towards this direction after being offered a Fellowship at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television. 

The use of black and white in Fay's images take away anything that could make the images look fun or vibrant and so make the viewer of the image focus on and take in the actual landscape. The use of dark tones in the image make it look dismal and depressing, whilst the knocked down fences make it look unkempt and abandoned. This image could connote an isolated journey as there is nothing around and the road in the centre leads off to somewhere unknown.

The dark tones in this image make a place that would normally be associated with happiness and vibrance seem lonely and dull. It could connote how people no longer go out and spend time together but instead spend their time inside being anti-social. This would tie in with her ecological movement as it shows how people no longer care about the scenery outside and places that were once busy are now abandoned.

This image connotes isolation as for as far as you can see it is empty fields. It contrasts with the busy and manic life in cities such as London and Manchester, and could be related to how the industrial revolution has left England's countrysides deserted and bleak.

Discussion - Personal Opinions

When first researching and thinking about the topic of personal opinions, I was quite stuck with what direction to take my work in as there are so many options available within this topic. Through creating a mind map, I was able to narrow my ideas down to focussing on beauty standards, feminism and social media/technology as many of my previous ideas were quite unrealistic. I want my work to send a message but I would like to do this in a subtle way rather than writing statements or making my message obvious as I believe that subtlety can often create a greater effect. Over the next few weeks, I hope to narrow down my ideas to one theme and then eventually to one photo series.

This image follows the theme of feminism and shows how the tools women use everyday for beauty are almost surgical tools. A photo series such as this would need to be shot entirely in the studio due to the composition of the images. I could develop the topic of feminism in this way as I could portray the everyday rituals of different women and see whether or not they follow the stereotype of a female. 

This image expresses how dolls targeted for young children can already set unrealistic beauty standards. This shows a clear comparison between unrealistic and realistic beauty, as the photographer has combined two images of a Barbie doll and a real person. If I were to do this, I would create this image through Photoshop and I would need to ensure that the features of the face lined up perfectly.

This image portrays how attached we have become to technology and how, when we don't have it, we almost feel lost and unnatural without it. The way that the woman and young girl are both sitting shows that they are almost stuck in a position where they are holding their devices where they are constantly attached to them. They are also both ignoring each other, implying that the improvements in technology have lead to a fall in the quality of interactions between people.

The three images above are all from the three themes I mentioned that I would like to explore. Looking into example images has given me inspiration and helped me decide in what direction I would like to take my work. It had also shown me how to portray a message or opinion in a subtle way but still make an impact with my work.

Definitions

Opinion: the Oxford dictionary definition of opinion is 'a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on face or knowledge'.

Describing words: belief, judgement, thinking, outlook, attitude, stance.

Personal: the Oxford dictionary definition of personal is 'belonging to or affecting a particular person rather than anyone else'.

Describing words: characteristic, unique, individual, private. 

Real example: not liking a particular music artist.

Personal definition of 'personal opinions': a judgement or belief that an individual holds that is specific and personal to themselves.

This photograph represents the feminist movement, and how feminists believe that it is your own choice as to what you do with your body and nobody else's. The image connotes freedom and empowerment as the woman is appearing to take control of her body and is making this statement in a very obvious and clear way. The use of showing skin and the lack of colour makes you focus solely on the quote, making the impact of it greater.

We can tell that this image is making a statement about environmental crisis. The use of the sentence "nature was here" implies that we are ruining and killing nature by replacing it with manmade buildings. The impact this image is trying to make is that we should leave nature alone and make our own communities and build our own buildings in places that will not damage the natural surroundings.

This image has a subtle but powerful message about the beauty standards in society that are placed on women. The woman in the picture appears to be crying, but instead of tears they have been replaced by blue glitter. This connotes how women must be seen as beautiful and glamorous no matter the situation and is trying to convey the stress and sadness that women feel when they do not meet societies beauty expectations.

The photographer of this image has taken this picture in order to show how technology - specifically smart phones - are taking over our lives and alienating us from the world around us. Two out of three of the women in this picture are sitting on their phones with their heads down, not taking in whats around them or talking to anybody. This shows how people are now attached to their phones and almost live behind them rather than in the real world.