Discussed with K. a man met at the party who went around with a video camera stealing shots of people, well, shots of me anyway. That was invasive. That kind of photography is not about me as a subject, someone he knows, likes or respects, but as an object, how the light happened to fall, or whatever. It objectifies and makes my subjectivity stand in for something, some symbol, for him.
He works for the British Council and discussed how they are encouraging countries to market themselves instead of being marketed by other countries. The British Council's job, it seems, is to find a stereotype of Britain they like and to market it abroad. For context, the BC gives grants to artists, musicians, etc for exhibitions, productions, events overseas.
Problem: what if their vision of Britain is different from my own or anyone else's for that matter? How can a stereotype encompass the full diversity of people / artists who live here? What becomes officially British?