Critical Practice
Critical Practice is a 60-credit module focused on the creation of a body of practical work, underpinned and informed by scholarly research. You will therefore be expected to produce a body of practice that is informed and underpinned by sustained research.
Daniel Aldred - “Be a man”
The project ‘Be a man’ is an exploration of gender subversion through fashion and beauty, focusing on challenging ideas based around masculinity, aiming to transform this through creative practices such as makeup and fashion to distort the idea of ‘what it is to be a man’ in the queer community. ‘Be a man’ stands up for all those who have been pigeonholed into supressing their self-expression. The images that I captured showcase individuals who aren’t afraid of showing the world who they truly are – showing everyone there is more than one way to be a man.
©2019 Daniel Aldred
Amanda Holdom - “B14”
Amanda Holdom (b.1996) is a Birmingham-based photographer, currently completing her BA in photography at Birmingham City University. Each project of Amanda’s contains fragments of her own identity and upbringing, but wholly focuses on engagement with people, and relationships between people and their surroundings. B14 is an ongoing documentary project, between residents and the photographer. Together they explore and document the relationship between the people and the landscape of the Druids Heath Estate, in South Birmingham.
Let me introduce you to my community, Druids Heath.
Druids Heath, to me, represents community.
Common unity.
Common, not necessarily the degrading label that others may put on us but common as in connection.
As I am writing this I am sitting with a group of friends, all passionate about this estate, where we witness people, residents from all walks of life - walk in, drop their labels, draw their chairs, sip, sit, laugh and exit, but most importantly share.
Sharing is a secret of the heart which fuels connection.
It leaves a little part of us with another.
Although Druids Heath is situated at the edge of Birmingham.
At the ‘end of the road’ in terms as the 50 bus goes and what stereotypes may tell you.
It is known as the forgotten estate.
Forgotten perhaps because the world has forgotten the beauty of sharing.
Where wealth is measured on how much is in your bank rather than how much is in your heart.
Lets not forget the beauty hidden behind the derelict looking shops.
The beauty hidden behind the heartbreak and labels.
Lets not forget this forgotten estate.
Poem written by Esther Brown.