Paper Cuts – A portfolio of still life photographs contextualised in a small publication
Due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, this project, like much of my current work, developed through my experiences of living in a limited and restricted space during long periods of physical and emotional isolation throughout lockdown. Initially, using an improvised lighting studio in my room, I playfully explored the materiality of domestic objects and how they related to or contradicted each other. Exploring themes associated with balance, risk and anticipation and using still life with a pared down and reductive but refined visual language, I began to view my photographs as a mirror, representing my own life. Through my assemblages, with the knife – sharp and stiff and the blank sheet of paper – light and soft, further themes of threat and vulnerability became apparent. Through introspection and critical reflection, I saw my images as a metaphor for my recent experiences. Conversely, or even perversely, through the enforced limitations imposed on me, I discovered a new way of making work and a form of creative liberty through the making of this work.
