Jason Travis Analysis

Jason Travis Persona Series Analysis

http://we-are-awesome.com/blog/2010/08/persona-jason-travis/

Jason Travis started taking photographs for his Persona series in 2007.  Originally, he wanted to catch up with old friends which lead to him wanting to learn more about new friends and capture what each individual carried around with them everyday that they considered to be essential.

In this image, on the top half you can see a woman with what could possibly be her bedroom wall or a wall where she lives as there are various images attached to the wall along with a corkboard; suggesting that she has left a personal touch on it. On the bottom half of the image, you can objects taken from the woman’s bag; some of which includes: sunglasses, photographs, a pencil and a camera. Behind all these objects, various images of people can be seen and by the style of the images themselves, it indicates that they are famous in some shape or form.

By looking at this photograph, it is clear that it shows the individual’s relationship with their objects that they carry with them but also allows the viewer of the image to make a connection with the person as some of the objects in the photograph might be in the viewer’s own bag. The objects would seem to present a part of their personality or an aspect of their life that might not always be so obvious by just looking at them. By placing her objects onto an area covered in posters of some kind, it shows a more in depth view at her personality and what she likes compared to other photographs taken in this series where the objects have been placed on a wooden table.

I personally like this photograph as it shows a part of her personality in her true colours without dressing her up and overdoing the whole process. By placing the objects that were in her bag underneath a portrait of her makes this image seem a lot more detailed and personal to her as you can see what she values to carry in her bag.