They said the breeze in the night time could kill you stone dead
I searched for form and land, for years and years I roamed
Why's everybody acting funny? Why's everybody look so strange?
Red crosses on wooden doors, and if you float, you burn
Empty homes, plastic cones, stolen rims, are they alloy or chrome?
We're not here to get bored, we are here to disrupt
I feel like dancing on my own, where no one knows me and where I can cause offence just by the way I look
Are you into this? Are you really into this?
Ego and Id, the essential self, you are who you are, and you are someone else
When I try to drown my thoughts in gin, I find my worst ideas know how to swim
Well isn't it a lovely day? I'm feeling all brand new
Simulation, give me something good, God's creation, so misunderstood
You know what to do? You should've gone to school
I know I must be paranoid, but I feel the atmosphere 'round here is growing nastier, people don't smile anymore
Let's seize the day, all hold hands chase the pricks away
Love me more, love me 'til my ego is raw
Keep throwing your fists in slow repetition, most of us manage, what makes you so different?
I want to say everyday is just another mess, when it's gonna change my friend is anyones's guess
Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am fun again
Take a walk across town, whistling the blues, time to stop wearing those banana skin shoes
I don't know what I'm looking for, but I know this for sure, that I'm the only one not having fun
The wolves and the witches are in your bed, as the ghouls and the goblins crawl in my head
It's gonna be easy to get things done, I will relax alone with my loved ones
There's always something left behind
The Loop is a durational photographic project which allowed me to make a personal exploration of my inner being and to connect with the space just beyond my front door that I had become estranged to over recent years.
For 100 days between 19th April to 27th July 2020, I took a daily walk starting and ending at my home. I always went in a circle - one day I went left, the next right, and I usually followed the same route.
It was a strange time - when I started England was in national lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic, with the government directing us only to leave home for a few, specific reasons - one of these being exercise for up to one hour a day. I am not inclined to sport or exercise, but suddenly, and spontaneously, I found myself becoming addicted to the process of walking and recording what I experienced. I used my smart phone to log my progress, distance travelled and as my camera uploading all of the photographs each day to Instagram as evidence of what I had done. I shot anything and everything that caught my eye, usually without much thought - mostly banal scenes but sometimes a moment of beauty like a rainbow or burst of sun between the clouds. I became more attuned to looking and began to notice repeated themes and subtle changes like the way the same landscape appeared at a particular moment. I noticed how much rubbish was discarded and started documenting this like an archaeologist would to build a picture of an unknown people. These fragments of human activity were on one level signs of wastefulness that showed a lack of civic pride that I found unsettling. In other ways, I found them fascinating and felt thrilled when I spotted something unusual or interesting. Other things I saw were indicative of that particularly unprecedented moment in time such as the signs thanking the NHS that suddenly appeared in the windows of most houses. This is not a project about lockdown though, it is about me re-establishing my relationship with my surroundings to which I had become divorced over a long period. I began to realise that I had been existing without giving myself the time to think or to notice what was around me. After feeling at best ambivalent, at worst negative about where I lived, I suddenly I felt lucky to have my home somewhere where I could be in the countryside in a matter of minutes – I realised I had become isolated from my community and felt a strong desire to reconnect.
The whole process became a ritual - I would set my phone, put in my headphones and about an hour later when I arrived home felt my mind and perspective cleared. It was a strange paradox that by spending more time alone I felt more able to connect with the world around me.
The Loop is a selection of the images I took at that time paired with words from a song from my playlist that happened to resonate with me each day. Together, the words and pictures create multiple, imagined narratives that tell a story about my home and where I am from. Mostly though, they are a snapshot of my most personal, subconscious thoughts and feelings, and the beginnings of a concerted effort to be part of my local community.
They said the breeze in the night time would kill you stone dead
Song lyric credits: Roy’s Tune by Fontaines D.C.
I searched for form and land, for years and years I roamed
The Man Who Sold The World by David Bowie
Why's everybody acting funny? Why's everybody look so strange?
Strange by Galaxie 500
Red crosses on wooden doors, and if you float, you burn
Burn The Witch by Radiohead
Empty homes, plastic cones, stolen rims, are they alloy or chrome?
Frontwards by Pavement
We're not here to get bored, we are here to disrupt I feel like dancing on my own, where no one knows me and where I can cause offence just by the way I look Are you into this? are you really into this? Ego and Id, the essential self, you are who you are, and you are someone else When I try to drown my thoughts in gin, I find my worst ideas know how to swim Well isn’t it a lovely day? I'm feeling all brand new Simulation, give me something good, God's creation, so misunderstood You know what to do? You should've gone to school
Heavy Denim by Stereolab
There’s Too Much Love by Belle and Sebastian
Into This by Martha
Gossamer Thin by Conor Oberst
That’s Just The Way That I Feel by Purple Mountains
Patio Song by Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci
We Appreciate Power by Grimes
You Should’ve Gone To School by B.C. Camplight I know I must be paranoid, but I feel the atmosphere 'round here is growing nastier, people don't smile anymore Jogging by Richard Dawson Let's seize the day, all hold hands chase the pricks away Mr. Motivator by Idles Love me more, love me 'til my ego is raw The One by Marika Hackman Keep throwing your fists in slow repetition, most of us manage, what makes you so different? Holy Elixir by Kate Tempest Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am fun again Lovesong by The Cure Take a walk across town, whistling the blues, time to stop wearing those banana skin shoes Banana Skin Shoes by Badly Drawn Boy I don't know what I'm looking for, but I know this for sure, that I'm the only one not having fun Teeth White by The Staves The wolves and the witches are in your bed, as the ghouls and the goblins crawl in my head Alabaster by Emma Pollock It's gonna be easy to get things done, I will relax alone with my loved ones Don’t Worry About The Government by Talking Heads There's always something left behind My Favourite Dress by Wedding Present