Isabelle Wenzel online portfolio review
February 1, 2022Isabelle Wenzel is a performative photographer who uses her
form in self-portraits to explore the role of the camera and movement by using
the camera as a stage. Wenzel uses the arrangement and size of her images and
their categorisation to make her online portfolio professional whilst also
conveying the concept of performativity.
Wenzel’s images are categorised into ‘selected works’ and ‘in
process’ based on the progression and the time of the project. However, within
their categories, the images are arranged to represent performance and to
appear as if exhibited. Images of different sizes and multiple images collated
together to resemble photo book sequences are used to mimic physical
performance and convey narrative.
Wenzel uses a vertical scroll to transition between her
images. This appealed to me due to the freedom it gave me to navigate through
her portfolio as my own pace and the ability I had to go back through the
portfolio and reflect on previous images. The vertical scroll caters for
different sized and orientated images and allows for larger image sizes.
Wenzel’s site also contains a ‘book’ category which showcases her book specification and a dozen spreads from her ‘counting till
ten’ photobook which differed to other portfolios where only book covers were
showcased.
There were some aspects of the portfolio that I found
difficult to navigate and understand. Wenzel included screengrabs from a video
in her portfolio. However, Including the full video could have been more
beneficial and provided more context to the project. The white theme running
throughout the website resonates with the concept of cleanliness. However, this
contrasts with the lack of organisation and separation present between the
projects and the smaller, more chaotic images which are sometimes difficult to
observe due to size.
Overall, I found Wenzel’s online portfolio intriguing and
resembled the idea of performance through the arrangement of images. However, I
personally would have liked to have seen the moving imagery rather than screen
grabs to understand the context of the project.
Isabelle Wenzel’s online portfolio can be found using the link below.