For Dad
I have struggled with depression and anxiety throughout my teenage years and while at university. Photographing both my father as well as the coast of Sandy Point, ‘For Dad’, is a personal body of work that explores outlets which have helped me with these feelings. The relationship between my father and I is extremely special to me. Often when I was younger he referred to me as ‘his shadow’ because I would follow him almost anywhere. We share similar interests including music, shows, styles and more. He is someone who would always make me forget about my inner turmoil, even when I couldn’t think of anything else. However, while being at university, this contact was limited to texts and video calls. Because of this, I tried to find an alternate outlet to subdue these emotions, eventually finding that being by the ocean calmed my often overwhelmed mind.
I photographed the entire project on a film camera which my dad had gifted to me. The same camera he had when he was younger to encapsulate his teenage years. By using this camera I began to find similarities between the rural landscape and the documentation of my father, whom I followed around like a shadow. I never appear within the work, symbolising the physical and metaphorical distance I feel from the relationship I share with my father.
I photographed the entire project on a film camera which my dad had gifted to me. The same camera he had when he was younger to encapsulate his teenage years. By using this camera I began to find similarities between the rural landscape and the documentation of my father, whom I followed around like a shadow. I never appear within the work, symbolising the physical and metaphorical distance I feel from the relationship I share with my father.