Justin Quinnell Analysis

Justin Quinnell

On Quinnell’s website he has a list of his interests, these include: photography, art, music, travel, bird watching and his family. All of these interests could and probably have influenced his work. He is currently a photographer, teacher and lecturer. He has been at many universities (in England, America and Australia), and has made TV and radio appearances.

Breakfast

(Photograph)

Because of Quinnell’s interest in his family it makes sense to have photos that reflect and are stereotypically childlike (bowl of child aimed cereal and a toy monster).

The photo is part of a collection by Quinnell- colour pinhole photography collection. (Doesn’t appear to be created for any exhibition, commission, show, or articles etc.). The subject is of a rather modern idea and therefore suggests that it is recently produced.

The composition of the subject appears to be controlled/designed but the surrounding elements are randomly arranged (the cheerios lay where they fell). The pieces in the piece are all related; the spoon, cheerios and the bowl are obvious, breakfast, but the monster is a little more obscure. The recent set of TV adverts for cheerios includes a ‘family’ of monsters craving the cereal; the subject monster may appear out-of-place but isn’t really.

A pinhole camera was used to capture this image; the artists has revealed his love of his family and as the subject is stereotypically of a child’s cereal; the cereal also creates an nice texture.

The works title is ‘Breakfast.’

I believe that it does affect the way you perceive it; without the title you see a bowl of cheerios, a spoon and a green monster appearing from within. But with the title you can imagine a child eating his/her breakfast and a monster emerged from within to scare the child or crying for help because it was drowning in the milk and cereal.