EMPTY HOME

I am leading the ‘Empty Home’ project, which features photographic portraits of people who have to leave a place they love. The disappearance of ruins in the contemporary world has inspired me to explore this theme, as it symbolises a flawed relationship with memory and the concept of historicity. 

The physical place to be left behind, in its empty co-presence, allows for a slower farewell and prepares the ground for mourning through on-site portraits, so as to revisit the terms of the final departure in my presence.

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Through a playful engagement with space that becomes a stage, I propose to photograph you during your final visit to this emptied home, using new arrangements and fresh perspectives on your living space, and through exercises inspired by my experiences of the stage (I am also a professional actress) and philosophy (I am due to complete my Master’s degree in 2017 and am exploring the relationship with phenomenology in my dissertation).

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After more than ten years of guiding people through life’s moments and exploring, through images and philosophy, the issues of spatial grief and the emotional attachment to spaces, I have created a unique form of support, combining images and text, which helps people come to terms with an impending departure and to commemorate a ‘pre-move’ using transitional objects – neither mine nor yours – that serve as bridges between the space to be left behind and the new space to be occupied. 

Since creating this artistic project, I have also been taking part in exhibitions, conferences and discussions on topics such as moving house, the poetics of the home, solastalgia, psychogeography and the mourning of places, with the aim of sharing my journey and my deep intuition in this area.

 

If you would like me to take some portrait photographs during your final visit to your empty home or workplace before a move, or in the event of a company reorganisation, please send me a message via the contact form or by email; I’d be delighted to come and meet you to discuss what this space means to you. I will then provide you with details of how I can assist you, along with my rates.

I work with both private individuals and organisations such as RTS, with the primary aim of actively listening and capturing, through our meetings and in images, an indelible record of the connection between the individual and the place.