• present enquiry - new works, a sensitive space: a look at personal photographs in the possible public realm

Photos

Consider this idea - a reluctant portrait photographer, who doesn’t even like her photo to be taken, wants to show the world her dying dad, her concerned Mam, her young daughter and herself in a photo she didn’t take yet maybe now is claiming as her own - it’s mine. I’m taking the photo. I overlay it with tracing paper and draw dots on the eyes and lines projecting outward from the dots. It’s a curious space for me - this showing of personal portraits taken by me (and some borrowed) as I am a reluctant portrait photographer enthusiast. I hide. I say ‘No’. I alienate myself in my introverted ways - I know.

Alien

sample exploration 1: around personal space, death

Borrowed photograph - a photo sent to me in what’s app by my sister of dad sitting on a bed in a hotel room - it made me sad.

A very personal photo of my dad taken days before he died. I'm in the photo feeding him a mashed up dinner as my daughter looks up to me and my mam looks on in concern, peering over my shoulder towards dad. On the day in question, a moment before t
I shroud the photo in high transparency tracing paper. I draw dots on the eyes of this very personal portrait and draw lines outwards. I stick the personal photo and tracing paper to a window and let the light shine through, much like how I used to
Extracted lines into a red book

sample exploration 2: around personal space, the home I grew up in

I play with the idea of extracting the dots and lines and transferring them to a little red drawing book. Stripping all of the photo out except the eye contact - see above and right

extract from little red book

sample exploration 3: around personal space, dinner table and fire

sample exploration 4: around personal space, childhood

…dot, dot, dot

Taking ‘dots for eyes, lines of vision’ off in a tangent and around in circles as I scan the Photographs with my eyes from outside

Previous

A look inside
Next

'Cut it out'