Artist Statement
Left Behind.
How do we keep memories alive?
How do we keep memories alive?
Personal memory and loss are key concepts in this Body of Work. Exploring personal objects and photographs ‘left behind’, I examine their efficacy as memory triggers, helping us to remember family and friends who are no longer here.
I have always been interested in the relationships people have – whether with other people, belongings or places. Previous work exploring these topics has included the special connection between mothers and daughters, teenage relationships, and how we each relate to our personal place.
With Left Behind I examine the way in which, through precious objects, individuals retain the memory of those who have passed away. By photographing my subjects, their family pictures, and their treasured possessions in their own homes, all the images are connected to a sense of place. As a result, a palpable human presence in all my photographs gives meaning even to the potentially lifeless objects.
My series has been influenced by the work of contemporary photographers such as Phillip Toledano and Miyako Ishiuchi, who photographed the objects belonging to deceased family members as a way to keep them alive. This idea of remembrance is central to their photographs, as it is in my series, “Left Behind”.
My images are intended to have a peaceful, contemplative feel to them; they are reflective and acknowledge both the absence and the presence of those who are gone. My work is inviting the viewers to consider their own loved ones – a reminder of those who are no longer here but yet who they still hold dear.
