PROJECTS

WHERE WORDS FAIL US

Whilst adjusting to an overwhelming feeling of loss, I found myself returning to a downward spiral.

I have created a personal photographic narrative based on the experience of losing love, pain and loneliness. It enacts an intimate moment of adjustment that is photographed in isolation.

Exposed; I use my body as a metaphor.

By leaving myself so open, I invite you to consider what is so often overlooked, discussed in hushed whispers, experienced in private.

UNTITLED

Depression is different from feeling down or sad. A person suffering from depression will experience intense emotions of anxiety, hopelessness, negativity, and helplessness. These feelings stay with them instead of going away. The length of time it takes to recover ranges from around six months to a year or more and sometimes there may be no clear reason for your depression. This body of work reflects the repetitive motion of depression and the way in which I deal and work with it. Whilst adjusting to single life and travel blues I found myself returning to a downward spiral with my depression, I started to photograph my actions and emotions during my day-to-day life creating a photographic narrative based on my experiences with depression.

By exposing myself I am using my body as a metaphor for my exposure of my mental illness. By leaving myself open and exposed I am referring to my emotional state, in the sense that most people wouldn’t want to discuss the problems with depression, whereas in my work I want people to question it and think about it. Also the knowledge of people viewing these images and myself shows my acceptance of people viewing the exposure of myself as well as my depression.

DIFFIDENCE

being photographed in a forced model-like fashion did make me feel quite self-concious in ways far more prominent than being photographed in a normal social situation

knowing that strangers will be viewing and judging pictures of me plays on every insecurity I have about my body and the way that I present it

that certainly made me feel more closed off and detached during the pictures, which prevents any personality shining through

this makes these photographs more of a blank outline of me, than the person I am

KEVIN

In groups of 6 we had to create a storyboard followed by a whole set made by hand. Every last little detail was vital to making our shot look normal and realistic: the pictures pinned on the walls and cork board, the labels on the shelves as well as walls, the newspaper titles needed to match or link to our story, the dust and damp in the corner, the circles on the map on the desk. Every little detail.

Our story is about a man named Kevin. This is a private room in Kevin's house. Taken from the story of the Shoe Rapist, James Lloyd, who kept shoes as trophies, and often stole jewellery from the women he raped.

KATIE

Katie, our pet cat, was part of our family for as long as I can remember. Sadly at the ages of 15 she passed away.

As well as this project being a source of therapy for my grief, it is also the exploration of the families loss, as well as my own.

01.05.1999 - 24.04.2014

ESCAPE

I have been fascinated and moved by the way a minor medical illness can turn into something very serious and devastating that effects all, drawn from a personal experience.

Different depiction's have evolved from these emotional intriguing images by representing the subject showing the inner emotion and those who support. By experimenting with mood, the landscape , the world around us, I explore the parallel world of anxiety and escapism, capturing my emotion and his through the subject.