Sandra Iov

My name is Sandra Iov, recent photography major graduate and avid portraiture photographer. While my interests lie within the more obscure or creative aspects of portrait photography, I am also very interested in capturing the many cultural and socially accepted and unaccepted groups of our world.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           THE TATTOOED PEOPLE OF SYDNEY                                                                                                                                                                                                             Tattoos today, are one of the most popular expressions of individuality through the physicality of body art, but why is this so? The world of tattoos exists far beyond the local tattoo parlour and in such a society as Sydney, there is every reason for people to want to renew their skin. There is more freedom, more spending money, and the most obvious incentive, to change their appearance, however unfortunately there are also still some who stigmatise against such tattooed people.

This book will open up the minds of anyone who looks at tattoos and has a preconceived idea of tattoos and what they mean to people. Tattoos will serve as personal, artful and permanent reminders of a time, place, feeling or situation for each indiviual. These ideas will be further explored through the process of the book, as I photograph and interview each tattooed individual.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         PROJECT CONCEPT                                                                                                                                                                                                    The project, in its physical form, is a photography tattoo portraiture book. The idea is that the environmental portraiture, along with the subjects' own quotes about tattoos within each page, will help lift some of the prejudices that are still apparent in today's society. As well as that, each image will also reflect upon each individual's own style, background or character.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    PROJECT AIMS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The main focus and aims for my project is to provide anyone that looks at my book with a series of beautiful environmental portraits that focus on the tattoos. As well as that, my book will educate the audience on the social meanings and responses to tattoos, coming straight from the tattooed individuals themselves through the various personal quotes alongside the affiliated portraits. The viewer will be left with an emotional response and a series of reasons as to why people will get tattoos, leaving them to relate with my subjects whether the audience has tattoos or not. I am aiming to kick off the production and sales of this book through various outlets and eventually go global, by selling in bookstores everywhere!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           PROJECT FUNDING                                                                                                                                                                                                          The funds will not only be going towards an awesome project, however also to book and photo printing, exhibition space hire, and any other spends on the way such as equipment hire, and the pledge gifts and exhibition opening night extravaganza.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 PROJECT UPDATING               

Go to my facebook page:

www.facebook.com/SandraIovPhotography                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Pledges and followers of the project will be kept updated with regular 'video diary' style clips of each project shoot, interview, ideas and more, as it happens. For instance: at this point in the project, I am in the process of gathering my fellow tattooed subjects, and have met up and talked to a girl who is a pool life saver and water-obsessed with a pinup style tattoo on her arm, for whom I will attempt to do water photo-shoot (pool, river etc), in a accordance to her personality. This is the kind of info of which I will let everyone know through regular video documentation and updates.