Critical studies

 Politics and identity talk   

After our talk on Politics and identity we were asked to find two artists whose work relates to these themes and discuss, I've decided to look at Lisa Barnard. 

Lisa Barnard is a British Photographer, Ill be looking at her portrait of Margaret Thatcher, this was a found photograph she manipulated. Barnard came across image in 2009 when she was hired to document the refurbishment of the old tory party headquarters, at this point Thatcher and the tory party were no longer leading parliament but instead it was Gordon Brown and the Labour party, despite this Barnard grew up in the Thatcher era of the 80s. Bernard found a stack of photographs in a cupboard, the photos were of Thatcher and others against a white background, something had spilled something onto the photographs causing the chemicals in the paper to react at the bottom. Lisa Barnard manipulated these images by editing out the other people so only the portrait of thatcher remains. The chemical damage on the image has been left visible, and is reminiscent of flames. Depending on personal  political stance the image could be interpreted two ways, The former prime minister being engulfed by the fire or Thatcher rising from it. As a viewer, I personally don't really know anything about Margaret Thatcher's time in power, I know the brief overview but as I wasn't alive then I draw no personal or emotional connection to this image, but to me that's kind of the point. Despite the fact that at the time over a decade had passed since Thatcher's time in power Bernard still used her as a subject, influenced by seeing her in the media as she was growing up.