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You've got to roll with it... - The Open College of the Arts

To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.

You've got to roll with it… thumb

You've got to roll with it…


We have had a lot of discussion about photography recently, both at Format and here on WeAreOCA, so it felt time for a practical project – a competition. Inspired by Joel Meyerowitz’s image of a Manet inspired pastoral scene with a toilet roll, the competition challenges OCA students to come up with an image including a toilet roll.
Your image doesn’t have to be a photograph, it can be a drawing, painting, even a photograph of an installation. Whatever inspires you. My less than notable image of typical OCA office scene, entitled ‘Allergy’ is above. We are sure you can do better. Images are submitted by uploading them to the OCA group on flickr and tagging them ‘rollwithit’. The deadline in midnight on 17 April and the entries will be judged by the photography tutors and course leaders on 20 April.
There is, of course, a prize. It is a copy of the DVD of Lucy Walker’s film of Vik Muniz Waste Land project. The trailer below gives a flavour of project, but probably foces more on the people involved than the project and the art:

Finally, if the name Vik Muniz is familiar to you, but you can’t think why, you are probably thinking of his chocolate Jackson Pollock which is featured in the Charlotte Cotton book The Photograph as ContemporaryArt


Posted by author: Genevieve Sioka

6 thoughts on “You've got to roll with it…

  • I have been staring at this photo above, trying to work out who this is.. it clearly is someone in the OCA office (as the post says), since there is a framed piece of art behind the chair, and what looks like the planning of some sorts on the white board.
    Strangely enough, the roll is not what attracted me first, I know it is an example image only, but to me the large coffee cup combined with the sun glasses (very much The Matrix if I may), just works so well.

    • It’s Dee in the photo Dewald. The photo wasn’t staged, but was a candid shot taken on a day when Dee was suffering from an allergic reaction. Fortunately she was happy for it to be used.
      The artwork stuffed down the side of the filing cabinet isn’t student work – we are rather more careful with that. The planning is for a handout which was taken to the Focus on Imaging trade show.
      The use of toilet rolls rather than tissues and their storage on desks in full view of visitors is a contested topic in OCA HQ!

      • Aaaah! Hi Dee! Hope you’re better!
        Thanks for the explanation Gareth… the framed piece was not so much an idea of student work, but rather something taken off the wall and hidden for the shot… made me wonder, and smile…
        (lol @ Peter)
        I still love the shades… 🙂

  • Just watched the video clip which was just awe-inspiring….art with a conscience. A very clever concept all round.

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