Collaborations
I collaborated with Tinna and Rebecca on our micro project this week. We went through a number of different possible projects, relating to our own previous experiences in weddings and documentary, as well as our geographical circumstances, with both myself and Rebecca being based in the Welsh valleys.
The initial image that got us talking was Rebecca image of an abandoned church atop a valley. This immediately felt very familiar to me, and we began talking about the dilapidation of so many churches in the valleys, how they were built by those who believed that religion would be forever and yet now they turn to rubble, unused and uncared for. Being non religious ourselfs, we both were able to discuss the subject quite objectively.
With Tinna on board, we began to discuss more our personal relationships with churches, as we all had a similar but slightly differentiating relationships and experiences with religion. This led to us talking about community within these spaces, and the idea of a community space in general, and how really these places are only relevant so long as people are there to be apart of the community. Hence the churches that started this conversation were falling apart, with no community to care for them, they would eventually fall to dust.
We agreed then, that our project would be go to and photography community spaces as they are now, without the people. A documentary of these empty vessels, devoid of life when theres no one to inhabit them. In a state that we rarely see them, as for most people, we only see these spaces when we our selfs inhabit them. As a photographer, we can create images that may seemly appear as if the photographer was never there, and the space remains completely empty.
We each went to find a different community space. I decided to visit my local art gallery, where many events take place with many people. There's a real community feel among the artists there and as such I would regard it a community space. But without the artists there, it becomes an empty shell adorned with artworks, but what worth are they with no one to see them. Below are my images from this shoot:
There are two main spaces within the gallery. The studio space, with the brightly coloured yellow walls, and the gallery space, in white. I found great interest in that the studio space had been left decorated for a drawing festival with children, remnants of the event still left on the table, and the artwork pinned to the walls. The bright colors the joy and the children's art ephemera contrasted with the emptiness of the room.
The gallery space, bright and clear, is a much bigger spaces, and the sence of emptiness, and the need to fill the space comes over much clearer than in studio photos. The door into the dark kitchen behind the counter where someone should be stood, the large open space where people so often stand and converse together about the work on the walls, almost barren with no sign of life.
As a set of images I was quite happy, and definitely had my favorites, but in the spirit of collaboration, I left it to the others to decide witch of my images would be used as the final to coincide with their own. The final set is as follows with images by Tinna and Rebbeca:
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