I went to a talk earlier in the year by Leonie Hampton. Her project ‘In the Shadow of Things’, documents her mum and family as her mum works through her OCD. I thought this would be interesting to look into as I am going to try photograph my families lives and the way Hampton took on the project was intriguing.
The ‘In the Shadow of Things’ project included transcripts from recorded conversations, video, images and a book which is open for a layered experience of discovery.
For Hampton, the experience was important for her personally. It allowed her to change her own perception of the subject, which was her mum. She said in the talk that the camera allows you to get close to the subject but also see it from a distance. She said that when photographing mental illness and other difficult subjects it is important to be aware of what you think you know. This is why it is important that I really research into the subject I am documenting. Although Hampton said, discovering new things you didn’t know can be exciting when learnt through practice.
Her ideas about documenting something already personal to you is interested. When I photograph my family I almost want to try see it as someone who doesn’t them. This could let me photograph in a different way.
Lucy Davis 