© Shutter Hub - Shutter Hub Homepage.
I recently reflected on the inspirations behind my latest project ‘Residues’ (2020) in a written piece for the photographic organisation Shutter Hub. This ‘Close Up’ discusses the symbolism of the humble flower and details how this photographic series explores the pain of loss and an obsession with preventing the inevitability of death. The piece reads as follows;
“Residues is a work with sentimentality at the core of its narrative; a not so uncommon story of a family collection turned out by those to whom the preserved memories were entrusted.
Discovered between the contents of a roadside skip was a collection of 35mm negatives; intertwined between a heap of two splintered oak-veneer nesting tables, a dozen milky-glazed ceramic figures and a single size electric blanket. Whilst it had seen better days, the hard backed and red leather photo album pierced the film of mess and held out for attention.
© Sid White-Jones - Stone Vase, Lilies (2020).
© Sid White-Jones - Glass Vase, Carnations (2020).
Stealing the negatives and re-introducing them to the scanner revealed many bygone memories; of windswept couples taking river tours on their travels, suited gentlemen holding new-borns swaddled in cotton; their heads decapitated by the cameras downward lean, of sports days, Christmas days and of picnics in the boot of a Ford Granada Ghia Coupe in the Peak District, England. With all of these stellar memories competing for use, it may appear surprising that the humble flower is the sole visual focal point of this work.
The fleeting beauty of a flower is no doubt what makes it so desirable. When cut from the stem the ageing process of the flower rapidly increases and cannot be stopped, only slowed by placing its stiff green stalks into water and adding a few drops of sustenance in the form of preservative nutrients. It is this undeniable temporality that make the flower most inspiring and like the flower; humans follow this same cycle of growth and decline once cut from the umbilical cord of the mother. The overlapping vased flowers seen here comment metaphorically on our own ageing process. We both share in reproductive systems, have skin prone to hardening and cracking and we both require love and attention in order to thrive.
From a technical perspective, the photographs incorporate found-photography, chemical manipulation and photomontage. However conceptually, they deal with the pain of loss and the human obsession to prevent the inevitability of death.”
© Sid White-Jones - Glass Vase, Roses (2020).
© Sid White-Jones - Glass Vase, Irises (2020).
The full ‘Close up’ on 'Residues’ can be found by visiting the Shutter Hub website here.