This week, Emily Ryalls did an online talk through Microsoft
teams at the university. Emily discussed her personal practice, recent
commissions for Wakefield council and her work at the Art House in Wakefield.

Emily’s personal practice documents her personal experience with
chronic illness and investigates her relationship to other women with similar issues
and experience within the women’s healthcare sector. Emily’s performative
documentation of her experiences with chronic illness had a likeness to my own
project ‘Seeking out Euphoria’. The use of medical letters and notes within
photographs encouraged me to think about ways in which I could increase the
level of performativity within my own photographs with archival materials such
as medical documents.

As an emerging photographer, Emily also discussed commission
work and removing the myth of the starving artist. Emily presented her ‘Solar
Dance’ commission for Wakefield council which involved collaborating with a
group of dancers to explore Wakefield’s history and the moon landing. On the
topic of commissions, Emily expressed her disregard of the dying artist myth
that looms over photographers and artists attempting to find work and
commissions.

Overall, I found Emily’s talk very engaging. Her personal
project around women’s healthcare and her experience with chronic illness reminded
me of my own practice and the way in which I attempt to use medical documents
to document my transition. After Emily’s talk, I will continue to think about
how I could make my work more performative, different ways in which I could
photograph documents and archives and how this effects the way that the
photograph Is perceived.