Petrina Hicks

Simplicity and careful manipulation of photographic tools are aesthetics and skills that Petrina Hicks successfully employs throughout her works. From the point where I started the PSM course up until today, I have continuously tried to narrow down my aesthetic approach after each assessment, which I have finally concluded towards a simplistic and clean aesthetic (like Hicks). Therefore, in saying so, Hick’s works acts as a great influence in progressing my design and photography endeavours. Through the lecture, Hick’s explains the how she consistently tries to remove as much as she can from her photograph and she had explain her dislike towards noisy art. This resonates greatly with my approach in art as this is one of the main focuses I act upon when creating art. By looking through her collection of works, it is easy to say that I applaud her ability to do such justice in what she explains as a ‘classy’ aesthetic. Through the course of creating multiple assessment, it is safe to say that removing as much detail in ones work to create a clean and simplistic aesthetic is not as easy as it seems. Hick’s also point the difficulty in creating such consistent work as she expresses on the importance of understanding ones photographic tools, which is extremely evident through the skills she employs in creating consistent lighting in her work that allows the audience to recognise it being Hick’s work.

Throughout the lecture, Hick’s explains how her shift from the commercial photographic industry towards creating art instead is due to the lack of complexity commercial photography offers. Rebelling against the commercial goal of selling product to the audience which consist to using photography advertisements to tell the audience what they need, Hick’s again successfully ties the two notion together. Although there is no direct meaning in each photographic series Hick’s create, she has done very well in intertwining the way art allows the audience to make up their own narrative through the ambiguous nature of Hick’s has presented, with the aesthetic that is evidently greatly influenced by commercial photography.