As part of my MA in photography at Falmouth University, I am currently focussing on a research project on the anthropomorphic alter-ego in furry fandom – the “fursona” or simply ‘sona.
My objective is to explore the connection between the persona and the fursona, by creating conventional and woven or collage portraits, as well as documenting wider aspects of the community.
I will explore the themes of: identity, masking, belonging, community, fandom and subculture asking:
“how can I best represent the duality of persona / fursona photographically?”
and, since the community is often misrepresented:
“how can I document the furry fandom and community in a way which is true to the spirit of the community?”
There are three streams to my project, and I am actively looking for participants for all streams.
Stream 1 involves creating a series of collage or woven portraits showing furries and their fursonas in a single picture – the fursona could be represented by a fur suit (full or partial), or by a piece of art such as a patch, sticker, avatar, ref sheet, drawing, digital art, favourite t-shirt or plushie.
Here are some mock-ups of woven portraits so you can get an idea of what this might look like
The woven portraits were sparked by seeing Lou Peralta‘s work, and also pieces by Jason Chen and David Samuel Stern. I’ve also been inspired by more typical collages by Lebohang Kganye, Lorna Simpson and the legendary Hannah Höch and others.
If you would like to participate in this stream, I will invite you to a portrait shooting in a studio, at your home or in another location we agree on. Before the shoot, we will talk about you and your fursona, and talk about how you would like to be represented. I will take digital photographs, which will be digitally edited, printed and then hand cut and woven or used in a collage, creating a one-off piece of physical art.
In stream 2, I will be doing more documentary style photography work to picture furries in their everyday lives and/or at home, or simply photographing their environment.
In stream 3, I would like to collaborate with artists and fur suit makers to document the collaborative practice that goes into creating a suit or a piece of art which represents someone’s fursona.
The work in streams 2 and 3 will be presented on my website and if funds allow, in a physical photobook. If you would like to participate in streams 2 or 3, we will arrange an initial meeting to discuss the further process – it could be a one-off visit or shoot, or a series of shoots over a period of time.
You can find out more about the project and some of it’s academic underpinnings in the document below. If you’d like to participate, you’ll find my contact details in the document.
(Click on the link to the left of the button to view in your browser without downloading).
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