As the Covid-19 pandemic has swept across the world, all forms of work have come to a standstill. Collaborations, paid work, art festivals and fashion weeks have all been cancelled which has now challenged the way creatives think and work, causing a new wave of anxiety and stepping into an unknown frame of mind.
“I Think I Will Stand In” is a personal response to this domino effect and filling a void when creativity and in particular, the need for human interaction in order to create, is stripped away from you. My thought process throughout this project was to manage my own anxious thoughts and keep my mind active, rather than dwelling on a situation that is out of anyone’s control.
By using black and white film and my land camera 330, I wanted to create an ambiguous, surreal, ghost like story that focused on these feelings that we can’t explain. With social distancing and isolation potentially lasting months, I came up with a solution that could quench my thirst for human interaction.
Selecting a favourite dress of mine, I decided to create the illusion of a human being; using a pair of old tights and a bag of straw I started to create a figure that I could place in my garden as if I was creating an editorial of sorts.
Using my land camera during this time is my way of taking control of my own thoughts and putting my identity to a piece of work that isn’t the norm. Creating this figure has allowed me to stretch my imagination and challenge my knowledge for working in portraiture.
A deconstruction of Doris
