Olivia Proto
(she/her)
Through photography, film and design, my work centres around human connection where people lie at the heart of the stories I tell. Although I work with both analogue and digital photography, over the past year I have spent more time developing my analogue skills, specifically working with medium format, as I become more aware of the process of slowing down and taking time and care in image creation.
In a world that can seem negative and dark, I have looked for moments of positivity, and my hope is that my work acts as a reminder that there is joy in the simplest of things.
Strands
Hair is inextricably linked to our identity. For many. it becomes a form of self expression. For others, it is something to cherish or hide behind. It can be the perfect fashion accessory, or simply a quiet part of how we present ourselves to the world. Some days, it seems to complete a look; on others, it can be a reason to stay in bed. When we choose, hair can become the ultimate power statement, with the potential to reinvent how we’re seen. It reveals so much about us.
At the age of just fifteen, my Nonno became a hairdresser in Rome and worked throughout his life in both Italy and England, cutting, styling, living and breathing hair. My Aunty is also a hairdresser, and a fascination with hair has obviously passed down through the genes to myself as I am also besotted by both hair itself and the many stories that surround it.
Throughout this project, I explored the importance of hair through a series of medium format, studio photographs, as well as an accompanying film that explores seven people’s very different takes on hair, filmed across the U.K. This was such a rewarding and enriching project. I have learnt so much from so many inspiring people and my passion for hair has grown even stronger because of it.
All photos were taken on a Mamiya RB67 and the film was shot on a Canon 5D.
Agape
We are surrounded by romantic love. It’s in songs. It’s in movies. It’s in books. It dominates all the other forms of love with its big gestures and grand openings. But there is love in even the most mundane moments of everyday life, and it’s not always loud and brash.
Using Greek mythology as a starting point, I used this project to showcase some of the other forms of lesser celebrated love that I feel are as important, if not more. Using three photographic subjects, my aim was to highlight how love can be experiences in everyday life.
Joanna, one of the own in this project said “love is not just an emotional response or a human connection, it’s also a choice we make everyday” which sums up this project perfectly.
My hope is that project encourages people to love and to laugh just that little bit more, especially when times feel a little darker.
All photos were taken digitally on a Canon 5D.
Across two days, I worked with Susie to capture the different types of love she experiences in her day to day life.
I spent the afternoon with Ver-se, Joanna and their baby, James to explore the love of parenthood, especially with a little one and how important it is to cherish all the small, everyday moments of love.
For this final shoot, I spent the day with Charlie (6) and Henry (3). Not only was I looking to represent the love of brotherhood, but also the innocent playfulness of children. Charlie's biggest love is animals and I wanted to capture this being his whole world.
Finding Olivia
For my Design, History and Theory essay I explored photographic self-portraits across two main themes of ‘performance’ and ‘unfiltered documentation’. Throughout my research, I was moved by the power of self portraits and how they could be used to gain a better understanding of who somebody truly is. A self portrait is a way for photographers to choose how to portray themselves, it is usually completely in their control, which allows them to curate the way they would like to be perceived.
This project used all the research from my essay to create a publication acting as my own self-portrait. It consists of an archive of old letters written as a child, alongside photographs of me at that age. Interweaved amongst these are current self-portraits that slowly reveal more parts of my face as the book goes on.
Excerpt from the essay:
Whether a self-portait is performed or seemingly unfiltered, it can never be completely neutral. Whilst unfiltered documentation can feel honest, ultimately it is still a curated moment, just as performance can be a way for showing parts of the self that aren’t visible in everyday life. Understanding this, has shifted the way I think about self-portraiture within my own practice, it is no longer about representing a single self but more towards defining identity as something constantly evolving.
Identity is not fixed, there isn’t a single, consistent, authentic version of the self. Instead, the self is constantly evolving, shifting with time and self-portraiture provides a space where this can be visually explored.
