Meaning of Being Different
By Debbie Todd
Monday 16 February to Saturday 16 May
Debbie Todd is a portrait photographer based in County Durham. Her practise concentrates on telling stories of marginalised people mainly from working class backgrounds in a fine art style. Inspired by old master painters and contemporary photographers, she tries to create images that engage the viewer visually to enable them to understand the story of the subject in their own way.
A mature student, Debbie graduated from the northern school of art with a first class honours degree in photographic practise during the summer of 2022. She is currently studying for her masters at the same institution and is due to graduate September 2023. Prior to her graduation, Debbie won the Anjool Malde Award and was shortlisted for the AOP student awards and the diversity challenge which was part of the photography show in Birmingham. Debbie created a book of fine art style portraits, which were sold through a Kickstarter project. To end the year she won the judges choice for the student section of the Bar-Tur Photo awards which will be part of an exhibition which she is attending in Berlin in 2023.
This series of images is based around proverbs and idioms that affect/surround people with various differences and lifestyles. They have been created to allow people to engage with the subject and consider the use of language and how it affects others, especially those affected by the sayings. The images represent a diverse range of people who are often excluded from mainstream media and fashion images because of prejudices about how they look/act or their lifestyle. The idioms and sayings are connected to that person’s condition which will help to raise awareness and promote inclusiveness and equality and make others feel more represented. They make more sense when accompanied by the sayings and their conditions which is detailed in their title.
