Fears

Fears, whether rational or irrational are difficult to quantify or express. Fears are intangible and hidden; and the shadow can provide a visual manifestation of them. Shadows are an added dimension and representation of our inner selves; our emotions and our soul.

It is a Prime evil instinct to be afraid of the dark, as people often say "you are afraid of your own shadow", yet despite our supposed increasingly sophisticated view of the world we still suffer from basic fears and uncertainties. Genetically, despite the innocence of childhood, fear comes at night even in the most stable of environments; Shadows dancing on bedroom walls like Plato's similies of the cave in "The Republic".

The fears expressed here are personal, but yet they are prevalent in the mainstream consciousness. In looking in my close and immediate world for inspiration, the images, fears and messages that are explored draw the viewer into my personal space, emotions, ideas and viewpoints and maybe their understanding and viewpoints therefore subsequently change.

There is a tension between the confrontation of my body and the shadow. It is myself confronting and exploring my fears.

The constant repetition of myself and the shadow in the images is just like life and the "…absolute and infinitive repeated cycle of all things…"Nietzsche.

The work challenges photography, by looking at the limitations of the images. Text and sound have been used to challenge and deconstruct the role of photography by extending the meaning and offering 2 other dimensions to the image - my thoughts and my inner self. The viewer is persuaded to look into the image and absorb the text and sound and try and understand.

"The photographer is the vampire of light. He steals the souls of the subjects and changes them into eternal shades" Arthur Tress