I had taken photographs of my parent’s home at the end of their lives. It was clear that they were not going remain for very long and whilst I was alone in their empty rooms, I was motivated to take an enormous amount of pictures. My father died first whilst my mother was in hospital and mum never returned home to live. She moved into a care home near to me in Sheffield. In retrospect, when taking photographs I think I was trying to capture an understanding of my mother that I had never had and couldn’t ask about. When she was widowed it was too late to ask questions as her dementia was too advanced. It was impossible to ask or talk in depth when my father was alive. The house was packed with stuff, sometimes grubby and the aroma could be heady. Minimal help had been reluctantly allowed. The photographs are a historical and personal record of a short period in time in the home of two people who had lived together in a very complex, often difficult relationship for more than 65 years.
I wanted to use the photographs as the primary source of material for my final piece. A completely different departure for me, away from stitching and painting etc. When the photos were taken I thought I’d use them in someway in the future but had not envisaged doing an Art Foundation Course at the time. I had moved from room to room and inside and out gathering stuff of their lives. It was like harvesting but for what purpose?
The photographs are intriguing and full of detail. They are personal, private I guess and not staged. My only interference might have been to open a cupboard door, move an object that might be completely masking a view. I had already cleaned the sink before I ever thought of taking photographs. Other than my mother in nursing uniform I have decided not to use photographs with people in them. There is no harm to be done by sharing the house photographs now but I do need to think about how I will choose particular photographs. Why one and not another?
Sue makes marks 