This Word and Image project required making a booklet about a particular subject matter or event that could be illustrated with words and images to create an emotional read and trigger deeper thoughts. I aimed to display a moment of time using the literature written about Christine Keeler and the events that peaked in 1963. The topic itself had a lot of involvement with literature through her immersion with the press. Through my research I discovered a side to Keeler that isn’t as well known, this was her regret. Her words later in life heavily contrast the words she sold to the paper.
This imagery of Christine’s legs became very obvious to me the more I researched. It had become a symbol of who she was and the images of them were often commented on with ‘stunning legs’ and ‘legs that would shame Helen of Troy’. The audience wanted to view her photographs for her body and not for what was written within articles. I wanted a way to express this exposure she gave to the public but also her regret, this was portrayed by covering up the legs. This cuts out this opportunity of viewing her in connection to her figure and promiscuous nature, adding more emphasis to who she is as a person. I began creating bold white shapes to cover the sections where her legs are on show. This provided a space for her quotes to sit and allowed the legibility to be strong.
Although there was a lot of writing about the events through the papers and her books, a significant number of the remembered articles written about Keeler were not available to find. The nature of the article, conveying a negative association with the conservative government meant that they were condemned.
The events of Christine Keeler occurred during the 60s, and at this time black and white photographs were still mostly used, especially in the papers where most of her images appeared. These images were often low resolution due to the technology which is made clear through the close cropping I’ve used. This reveals the time period of the event to the viewer.
My research on this project gave me insight to her early life and helped me to uncover a typeface that was personal to her voice. She started out as a typewriter before she moved to performing, this allowed me to explore fonts heavy in weight that would reflect pressure on the type and importance with what she was saying. The font of the news article is contrasting and cleaner, to reflect the words that most people associate with the event.
The sequence of the document is crucial for telling a compelling narrative. I wanted to begin the document with Keeler’s quote about love and how she feels about men. The image of her in Lewis Morley photoshoot was taken at the peak of her media attention and during the year that the affair came to public attention. Therefore, this was paced in the middle of the document.The middle comprises a spread of a moment where Christine and Mandy were heading into court. Her face indicates distress and panic, it was unusual for her to come across in this way. The text speaks about the Profumo reaction to the accusations and this struggle soon begins to appear in her body language.To ensure the booklet remains in sequence it returns to another quote from Keeler advising secrets to be kept hidden something that she hadn’t been doing. The main image of Keeler spans the reverse side of the cover and back to imitate the notion her being controlled by her body and less about her personality, with her legs being the beginning of her career face being at the end.
The constant critical analysis helped me to explore new techniques and layouts, whilst improving my design thinking. My intrigue into Christine Keeler’s life has helped my motivation to discover more and learn more about what kind of person she was.
