Today I have feeding my soul.

I have been allowing myself to play.

Some years ago as part of my final project for my art degree I obtained, from eBay, various job lots of ephemera, photographs and photographic slides.

It formed the basis on my work at the time. I was looking at how technology would change memories.

Many of us are familiar with the drawer or box of old photographs our parents have or our grandparents have. But I started to question where would our box of memories be? Locked and lost on hard drives?  Of course now, they will be floating out there in the ether on the icloud but still lost to many.

So, I became fascinated with found photography. The photographs of people who are lost in time and space and how, now they live in a box in my home. That thought blows my mind. Who are these people? What are their stories?

One particular collection of black and white images became the focus of my attention as part of my degree work. The subject of the images were mainly one woman but also of her – I assume husband and subsequent babies. They are just fascinating. I invented her story around these images – they were on honeymoon and he was totally in love with her, after all she is absolutely the focus of his attention in every image. I worked out that they were, on the Isle of Wight and it is maybe late 1950’s.

I adopted this woman and she lives in my dining room, as a mounted collection of these photographs, collectively named ‘Portrait of a Woman”. She became part of my family.

Other photographs and slides became incorporated into my art work. I made 2 and 3D work. I became totally absorbed.

Now ten years on, I still have that box of photographs and slides. Other peoples memories. Other peoples lives, and I am still blown away with this fact, that they are here in my home. How is that even possible?

These last few weeks I have opened that pandora’s box and oh my goodness I still can’t get my head around the concept that I have them. I love them. I am totally inspired by them. I want these images, these memories, these people to live on. I intend share some of these with you and to set their spirits free!

Check out Dimension, the Postcard from Muriel and see the Christmas Fairy!