Playing with minds

26th November 2015

 

I am obsessed with time and memory. I am haunted by the constant fear of time being lost and feel a pang of depression when I realise I cant recall what I’ve done the day before. It’s not about being productive but more about a fear of remaining stagnant, not gaining new experiences or making memories great enough to remember. Luckily I have gotten to know an editor who understands I love to experiment and play. With utter trust and encouragement she allowed me to work with an archive of existing images her magazine needed to use on a piece about dementia.

Dementia is something many of us experience with loved ones and the heart-breaking journey can only be described as a nightmare. Being stripped of your memory is devastating enough but the realisation of the disease is a cruel irony.

I decided to layer repetition of the image behind fragmented polaroids. After disappearing under my bed and swimming in dust and fluff I emerged triumphantly gripping a bag of expired impossible project film. I loaded the SX-70 and played with heat and ice to see what affects it had. I was fortunate that within the archive were some very beautiful images of the subject, offering an easy ingredient to the mix. Playing with other people’s imagery is a sensitive brief, even without the delicate subject matter, but the positive feedback and guidance eased my nerves. It was such a treat to simply play.

OAO x