Any ideas for photo exhibit on women's alienation from society?

Question

I have to make a photo exhibit for my honors english class on the main theme of the book "Surfacing" by Margaret Atwood, which is women's alienation from society. I need to capture this theme in a series of photos, I think. I have never made a photo exhibit before so any hints on that would be welcome too. I am trying to think of interesting things I could take pictures of to include in my exhibit. ANY help would be highly appreciated.

Answer 1

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The invisibility of women beyond a certain age.
Sexism AND ageism.

I just read a synopsis of the novel (first published waaaay back in 1972). Good luck with Margaret Atwood, her writing is very complex. Re: the stuff about animals not communicating with language... has been found to be false. We know much more about animal cognition than we did in 1972 so I suggest you not go there. The narrator appears to suffer symptoms of PTSD, including repressed memory and false memory. She goes from unbalanced to psychotic in the course of the novel. So you could do black and white photography using women's images against shattered glass... almost like Cubism or Surrealism - or films directed by Ingmar Bergman.

Using black and white you can create a chiaroscuro effect, the interplay between dark and light.

-- The technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation.
-- The arrangement of light and dark elements in a pictorial work of art.

Answer 2

you're going to take the photos yourself?

without having read the book. you could take pictures of a man being promoted over a woman, being sexually harrassed at work, being cheated on, just do whatever the book talks about

Answer 3

Well the only legitimate thing I could think of is how society tends to view women as "damsels in distress" and how women isolate themselves from society "women only".

The second part is easy. All you need to do is find women only establishments and take pictures.

Answer 4

What about taking pictures through glass? It would make a handy metaphorical device.

Answer 5

You could do a series showing the juxtaposition of what women *actually* are next to what society *thinks* we are/should be: an actual lesbian by a TV showing a "lesbian" porn intended for men, a female student reading a book in which every pronoun is "he" or "him," etc. Good luck! It sounds like a really fun project.