August 28, 2023

The first Annual PPA Photo Award was granted to Ian Wright for his project

To Be A Dancer - Suselle's story.

Ian Wright is originally from Glasgow, Scotland but has lived in many other countries. Home is now, and probably always will be, California. A scientist and innovator by profession, he has a lifelong love affair with artistic endeavors, mainly in music, art and especially photography. Wright still sits on various biotechnology, educational and arts organization boards and has had his work exhibited in the US and Europe. His love of a good story is the essence of his work.

Ian’s project is featured below, alongside an interview with guest juror Ibarionex Perello.

"To Be A Dancer" tells the imagined tale of a young dancer in Cuba using real photos of real people in a totally made-up life.

The images are often intentionally as blurred and ambiguous as our memories can be and as Cuba’s future may seem.

I wanted to use this first-person voice to try and describe a made-up but believable life in a country I love but which is not my own. Suselle is a character I have grown so fond of but I could never truly know what it is like to be.

Cuba is such a fascinating place with a palpable spirit. Some might attribute that to Santeria but I think it purely belongs to its people. Music is everywhere and creativity abounds. There is such a pride in Cubans but also a real uncertainty and uneasiness about what the future might hold for them.

This story came after the images were taken. It was only when editing and reminiscing that I saw a story develop about what it might be like to dance a mile in Suselle’s ballet points. The dancer is in real life a very elegant and delightful ballerina called Suselle about whose real life I know next to nothing. The part of her father is played by a lovely man who in real life invited me into his home to listen to his wonderful playing and suffered my Scottish/Spanish renditions of Chan Chan. The sister is played by another lovely dancer called Carolina, who for all I know, in real life, is as pure as the driven snow. Young Suselle is played by Andria, an incredible young woman who really does ride her horse Amarillo (played by the real Amarillo) into the front room of her house in Vinales, Cuba. The brother is played by a very nice and polite young boxer from a boxing school in Cuba. The only real character, in character, is played by Suselle’s mother who I know is a loving and supportive mother in this tale.

This story is almost entirely fictional, but it could be true.

[Ibarionex] What led you to move beyond creating singular images and bring them together as a narrative with the inclusion of text?

[Ian]: I have always been interested in stories and song, even before I got seriously into photography. Moving from using singular images to weaving them into a narrative and including text was a way to help create greater artistic expression and further the story. It is now easier given the technical tools we have at our disposal. I find that people react differently to text or visual images, so the combination can enhance the message or further the narrative better than either would have done alone.

[Ibarionex] How much pre-planning and conceptualizing goes into the creation of the images?

Ian]: This can vary depending on the nature of the project, the medium used, and the artistic vision I am attempting to portray. I like to jump straight in and get started, so it becomes a very iterative process, especially with these largely fictitious stories, and it becomes a storyboarding process. That said, I try to put myself into interesting places or with interesting people.

I take many more photos than I could ever use and sometimes the story emerges as I progress. I never devalue “chance” as a contributor.

I feel it is a bit like writing songs; sometimes the music comes first, sometimes the lyrics. They almost always develop and bounce off each other until they settle down- then the editing begins and that can be hard.

I always try and keep some discipline in limiting myself to keep the message, story or song as precise and pure as it needs to be. I am constantly editing myself to remove any text that is descriptive of the image and leave only text that creates or adds a feeling or emotion. Then as the project develops, the ideas of design, color and look become more important.

The process is different if I am doing a more journalistic project. Then the story almost always comes first, and I try to capture photos that add to the narrative.

[Ibarionex] Why is setting the images and story in Cuba such an important element of the work?

[Ian]: This was my first trip to Cuba; however, I had been aware of the people, music and history before I got there. I found myself impressed by the spirit of the Cuban people, a pride in what they had achieved, sometimes a sadness in how things had not progressed as they had hoped, and a deep respect for education and the arts. The culture is so rich in imagery alongside the obvious socio-political aspects of that society. Also, when creating a story which had some chronological aspects to it. Cuba made that easier in providing images that often appear locked in another time. Above all, there is a palpable joy for life that is so strong. This rich tapestry of images, color, mysticism, and a love of the “arts” made it easy for me to wonder what it could be like to pursue a life of a dancer, musician, doctor or sports person in Cuba and so the story emerged.

[Ibarionex] How important is collaboration between you and your subjects?

[Ian]: I am a great believer in the adage of a photograph being a menage a trois; the photographer, the subject and ultimately the viewer all bring something to the party. Therefore, usually the collaboration between subject and me is a crucial aspect of the creative process. Whether it’s as a photographer, writer, filmmaker, or any other type of artist, the level of collaboration can significantly impact the work.

In this case, that was certainly true when I worked with the dancer, and, if I needed a particular shot, that collaboration could be crucial. Some other shots were taken out of context of the story and therefore a different type of collaboration, purely focusing on the image itself, was important.

Coming at this late in life from a non-commercial aspect, I don’t always have the experience and directorial know-how that a commercial photographer must develop. However, I do relate to people, and I am not shy in asking for a particular look or setting. I have also done a good bit of street photography and it is often the opportunistic shot that ends up being the most powerful or apt. I always leave room for those wonderful friends called good fortune and chance.

[Ibarionex] Is this an ongoing project? What are your hopes for it in the near future?

[Ian]: This part of the project is done, although there may, at some point, be song that attaches itself to the project. I see “To Be A Dancer” as the first in a series of photo projects of “created lives” with different people, careers, vocations, and have already started to formulate at least two more. I am sure there will be more after that.

IAN WRIGHT

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