Jennifer Pattison’s project Edward [1] was featured in the Alpha [2] which was a wider exhibition for Men’s Health Day in November 2015. Her father was the subject and collaborator of the project about growing up in the shadow of his acute depression.
The objects she uses are items he made and collected during his times in occupational therapy. Her process involved going into the dark room producing colour contact prints made from tracing paper negatives. Her idea was to create something physical to mirror the item that was made by her father.
Her challenge was to create something artistic from a painful an emotional experience. I like the fact that she has used objects made by her father and also the fact that he was involved in choosing the items and holding them while they were photographed.
The finished images are square format and all include the border and tape of the negatives. Overall the images have a dark background with the object being well lit with strong colours. The images of feathers collected on walks are the least interesting and feel less personal than the objects that her father actually made.
This is an interesting project and the subject is one that I have personal experience of. This is an excellent piece of work and shows how photography can be used to tackle this difficult subject.
References:
- WARNING Contains nudity: Jennifer Pattison.com [accessed 07/11/2017]
- http://www.bjp-online.com/2015/11/alpha-jennifer-pattison/ [accessed 07/11/2017]
Martyn Rainbird 