Shoot from the hip: exploring visual culture through a personal lens

This arts based research aims to facilitate the understanding of visual culture for secondary school students. This research uses a snapshot approach to photography, known as Lomography, as a means to collect primary data. As artist, I engaged in a creative act through editing of images taken at different times and at various locations. This resulted in the creation of visual narratives that reflected my personal experience. Through my artistic process I became aware of the intention of creative process, questioned the issue of power between the artist, the image and the viewer, and examined the significance of the invisible - three important concerns present in critical study of visual culture. Relating these concerns to a subjective experience enhanced my ability to recognize and reflect on their presence in global visual culture. Consequently, I involved my students in the same artistic process, and witnessed how this process enabled the students to engage in critical inquiry and respond to the visual culture that shapes their everyday existence. This thesis demonstrates that in order to successfully engage students in critical inquiry of visual culture, teachers must first help them to become aware of how they, as individuals, relate to, participate in and create visual messages that shape their culture