Review of Twiggy, A Life In Photographs By AJ Scott

                                             

 Twiggy A Life In Photographs, Chronology

 By AJ Scott

Twiggy, Dailey Express (1966)

A Life In Photographs is a documented recreation of the life of Lesley Hornby (Twiggy) The book itself reflects on past experiences that have helped Lesley grow into the super model she is now with the help of influential photographers.

Whilst reading the book and looking at the images featured it becomes clear that the book creates a timeline for us to follow just like how we would read a story. Twiggy documents her experiences with images clearly referenced with the story behind the making of the images. The beginning images look as though they were kept in a photo album which leads me to the question that conventional means of documenting life has changed from a single image on each page with the experience written on the back to now having several images to a page and text beside the images for justification. Is this because its easier to view or has our understanding of visual imagery changed? I feel that we read an image from left to write so instead of reading the images and flipping the page we are drawn in with the story promptly placed next to the image.

Twiggy A Life In Photographs is just like our old family albums it feels private yet at the same time public. It makes us follow a story of development and growth. Our photo albums act as an archive of our life created by a family member and that is whats so special about A Life In Photographs Lesley refers to several people in the book as a friend, best friend or family.

Reference Material:
Terence Pepper, Robyn Muir, Melvin Sokolsky. (18 September 2009). Chronology. In: Twiggy A Life In Photographs. London: National Portrait Gallery Publications. p112-139.