Selection of long exposure photography starting from 2014

This series of self-portraits is part of a larger body of work that investigates how long exposure time on film or digital sensors can relate to psychological and mental states. The photographs are drawn from an archive of over 500 images produced over the course of nine years.

I’m interested in the dematerialisation and gradual disappearance of the body in the images and how this process relates to psychology and mental health. Using a timer introduces uncertainty and serendipity into the image-making process, allowing the work to move between haunting, spectral scenes and more fluid states that echo mental episodes and shifts in perception. Central to this work is the idea of merging with and dissolving into the surrounding environment as a perceived way for the brain to process shifting boundaries and a lack of resilience. The work reflects on how social and physical environments can, over time, become sites of both mental challenges and mental survival. I’m interested in the uneasy condition of yearning for freedom and involuntarily being embedded within one’s surroundings; emotionally blending into the present yet still failing to find a balanced stance. The images ruminate on a state of existing without mental and psychological stability and boundaries.