For my project (Assign. 1), I want to tell the story of the emotions associated with loss and grief. Initially, I had formulated the idea of expressing a ‘corrosion of the mind’ by being overwhelmed and eventually consumed from the inside out, by obsessions such as arrogance, greed, ambition, etc. This stemmed from the movie Train to Busan, a South Korean zombie horror film I watched recently. For a few days after watching it, I was kept awake and disturbed at the complete domination of the human body by the infection/disease. Figuratively, we are all dominated by one thing or another; I wanted to bring this to light.

However, after deeper consideration of what this topic entailed, I realised that I myself am affected (and possibly in danger of being corroded by my own thoughts). Without going into too much detail, someone important to me is leaving, while not permanently, I will be without their presence. For a long time, I battled the fear of loss and of grief; when I accepted it, it did nothing to ease the burden of this pain. I found myself desperately clawing for an escape; an escape from my own mind. And as a result, I decided to specifically look into the notion of loss to the human mind from one person to another. The lingering effects of someone’s presence stay in unanimated places, a dancing relationship of the living with the non-living tied together in our memories and minds.

While looking for photographers and researching into this topic, I came across a photo-book called Shibuya Is Calling, by Samantha Ann Francis. The images captivated me.

They combine the presence of people with the emotionless places of the world, urban jungles or natural settings. They overlay image above image, telling vast stories in one frame. Francis has opened up the possibility of different photos combined together and I would like to look at this technique and photograph people and places that are significant to me.