Sticks and Stones

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Creative Work and Exegesis

Written by: Chloe Jade de Santa-ana

Sugarbabes – Ugly

- Serpentine: ‘When I think to you, the thought, so far as it finds corresponding ideas and suitable words in your mind, is reflected in your mind. My thought clothes itself in words in your mind, which words you seem to hear – and naturally enough in your own language and your habitual phrases. Very probably the members of your party are hearing what I am saying to you, each with his own individual difference of vocabulary and phrasing.’

- Barnstaple: ‘And that is why (…) when you soar into ideas of which we haven’t even a shadow in our minds, we just hear nothing at all.’

- H.G. Wells, Men Like Gods “It is evident that the first set of self-descriptions corresponds as a whole to our concept of social identity; the second set, similarly, we shall equate with and define as personal identity. Thus, social and personal identity are conceptualised as hypothetical, cognitive structures which together account for most of the self-concept’” – Tajfel, Henri. 2010.

Identity is defined as a state of being, the sense one’s self or the underlining characteristic which are consistent throughout your life time and shape you as a person. Many people feel defined by their identity or persona as the public eye recognises them for what they appear to be rather than making the time and effort to get to know and understand their interior motives; commonly judging the book by its cover. I made the decision to develop my creative piece themed around the song “Ugly” by the Sugarbabes which addresses strong messages of identify and the controversy of stereotypes and labels that come attached, placed by the general public. I felt that this piece paired with this song clearly interprets what I am trying to address which is, despite public and exterior appearances we are all the same on the inside, stick and stones break our bones and despite what people say names do hurt us.

“The propensity to speck politically, even in the most rudimentary way, that is, by producing a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’, or putting a cross beside a prefabricated answer, is strictly proportionate to the sense of having the right to speck.” - Bourdieu, Pierre. 1989.

Bourdieu’s and H.G. Well’s quotes both display in one way or another, that despite our freedom of speech it still comes down to the interpretation of the general public and the opposing party members. For example the Sugarbabes song “Ugly” was written after reading through some cutting files sent about the band: “All the rubbish and nasty stuff that’s been written about us, calling us the Sugalumps, that sort of thing,” says Keisha (a member of the Sugarbabes). The name for the album “Taller in More Ways” was specifically chosen from the song lines “I grew taller than them in more ways/ But there’ll always be one who will say/ Something bad to make them feel great” (Jess Cartner-Morley, 2005) shows despite how hard people try to be resilient and strong there will always going to be that one person standing in the way of happiness, attempting to keep you down at their level. This is just one of the many examples that depicts the public for just how harsh and brutal they can be without any reservations for the outcomes that may transpire from their critical remarks.

With this in mind I developed my creative piece around the identity of individuals and what there are to me as a whole. I spent a month in April taking and collecting numerous images of people and the different parts of their faces. Once I had enough images I uploaded them onto my computer and begin work. I cropped images, manipulated colour, tone and contrast until I had adapted a backing collage of numerous individuals for the final stages of development. With some time spent arranging the pictures, adjusting saturation and opacity I created three variations of mosaic photo collages that represents my close knit community from friends and family to partners and colleagues. I specifically developed this series of images to display that even though we are all a little different, with our own individual qualities and traits, on the inside we are all one and the same. A community, a family and whole.

People are all the same

And we only get judged by what we do

Personality reflects name

And if I’m ugly then

So are you

- Sugarbabes

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” - Oscar Wilde

Identity is merely in the eye of the beholder. Though the community likes to put labels on people, trying control and judge their actions, at the end of the day it’s all about who you as an individual and how you feel about yourself. After all your identity is what shapes you as a person, defines you as unique. If you don’t like who you are how can you expect anyone else to? It’s a personal chocie to act the way you do and be the way you are. So don’t ever let someone tell you who you are, be who you want to be, because in the end you will always remember how you lived your life.

“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, Love like you’ll never be hurt, Sing like there’s nobody listening, And live like it’s heaven on earth.” - William W. Purkey.

…

Groove: The groove is in the harmony of the acoustic guitar and piano melding together creating a lovely and unique sound as the drums and tambourine come in throughout the chorus making a relaxing but upbeat and positive vibe allowing the listener to meld with the song.

Hook: The hook is in the chorus as the message behind the song comes to life sharing a positive but confrontational point which not everyone has come to terms with. However paired with the repetitive catchy lines that is the chorus it takes root getting the message behind the lyrics stuck in the back of your mind.

Sound: The sound is relaxed, positive and free flowing but at the same time sad and depressing as the lyrics tell the story of judgement of identity and how people who are ugly on the inside make beautiful souls feel as ugly as them on the outside because not everyone has accepted equality.

References:

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1989. Distinction: A Social Critique Of The Judgment Of Taste.

Translated by: Richard Nice. London: Routledge.

Bourdieu, Pierre, Passeron. Jean Claude, 1990. Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture.

n.p.: SAGE.

Tajfel, Henri, 2010. Social Identity and Intergroup Relations. n.p.: Cambridge University Press.

Cartner-Morley, J. (2005, September 16). Mean girls. The Guardian. Accessed: May 25, 2014.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/sep/16/fashion.shopping

Goodreads Inc. 2014. “Quotes About Identity”. Accessed: May 25, 2014.

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/identity

Goodreads Inc. 2014. “Quotes About Life”. Accessed: May 25, 2014.

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/life