Statement:
The main concept I am dealing with in my work is the passage of time in my surroundings, at a personal level by working mainly with vintage family photos and old letters, but on a daily basis I record images that, to me, represent the erosion or passing of time, be it the cracks in a wall, the clouds passing, rust, moss or wrinkles. By dealing with my dad’s side of the family I feel I am learning more about myself. His parents died when he was quite young and as things go I do not know his side of the family very well, unlike my relationship with my Mom’s side, this is so due to geography and the difference in ages.
I do not have any experiences or memories with these people who have died but I feel that by dealing with the vast collection of photographs my Grandfather had, I am working to create my own memories with them through photography. I want to allow photography to help me create a relationship with my family. In this project I wish to look at how photography has the power to create a narrative, tell a story or create a relationship with you and the images. By juxtaposing these familial images and the photographs I have been taking throughout the project, I think when these are collaged together they give the impression of the passage of time. That’s my impression though; these juxtaposed images might create a different narrative to a different viewer. The idea is that these common family photographs could be anyone’s family and that each viewer will take a different perspective on the work, generally relating it back to their own personal experiences. As Christian Boltanski said when referring to ‘L’Album De La Famille D.’;
“When we see the little child on a beach, we already know this photo. We remember our first time on the beach or the photo of our little brother. We learn images very early and thereafter we have plenty of images in our head. When we see reality we always try to match the image that we have with the reality before us. I think we don’t see reality, but we always recognise reality”
The old photos that I am working from have distinct qualities, physically they are rustic, blurred, yellowed with time. These photos are clearly set in a time long ago. They are old, classic and vintage, they have been taken on old manual cameras, we see a contrast with the photos of today that I have been taking, although these images may be of things I feel represent the passing of time, they’re high definition, from a good camera, strong vivid colours and digital. When juxtaposed together these photos depict two different ages. They have distinct qualities that separate them and portray how things change, for example the photography, fashion, technology and pass times
As well as these photos I am dealing with a huge collection of correspondents between my Grandparents from when they first met until late into their marriage. There are hundreds and hundreds of letters, all the same Basildon Bond small pastel blue or champagne envelopes. My grandmother worked in the post office and was so taken by his ornate calligraphy that she contacted the sender address and from this meeting we have a beautiful treasury of love letters between the two. They are a perfect illustration of the passage of time, they record all of their changes of address through the years and they show the gradual change from her name Considine to Slemon. I am going to work more with this after the progress review; I am hoping to order some of the old Basildon Bond envelopes for printing with. I’ve been looking at On Kawara who deals heavily with the passage of time through correspondents.
