THE PAPER EXERCISE
Based on the concept of ‘the everyday’ and the institutionalisation of the photograph I reflected on my own position as a Research Officer at Thames Valley University and offered a critique on the University’s Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) submission that was submitted to the University to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). This felt appropriate from my position as a student and worker within the education institute. The RAE was the fourth of its kind to take place and was open to all Universities across the UK. The primary purpose of the exercise is to produce quality profiles for each submission of research activity made by institutions, which will determine their grant for research to be funded over a period of time. The framework in which the RAE assesses the submissions is broken down into 15 main panels and 67 sub-panels. Institutions then submit evidence to support their claim and photographs can also be counted as evidence. This has been a highly competitive activity amongst institutions.
Using paper constructions I have taken a ‘snapshot’ of research from the units of assessment, by selecting a title of an output and transferring it into the context of a photograph, with the intention of making a visual pun on the RAE. My selection of titles appears to look quite random, but I selected titles where I could clearly see a visual outcome and I wanted to demonstrate the diversity of research that takes place within the University. I have also worked in an ethical manner and have sought permission from the researchers to use their title. My choice of photographing paper, were its connotations to the institutionalisation of the photograph and ’the everyday’. I also consider the RAE to be a paper exercise, particularly from my own perspective in managing the submission. I decided to use plain paper and shot at a shallow depth of field to create a type of void, demonstrating how researchers from a variety of genres have ultimately blended into one thing; a product designed to fund research and raise the institutions quality profile. I have used grey tones in the images to add weight to this concept. The images were all produced using a Hasselblad 503 cwd digital camera and tungsten lighting.
I have created simple juxtapositions in the paper using shape and form to add depth and meaning to the individual output of research.
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