The Matter of Sifting. (2021) Photo Series, Sound & Text. 

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The work featured emerges from a larger project titled ‘The Matter of Sifting’, a sensory investigation into handling loss through collection, assemblage and internal encounters with found objects. The project exists as an active intergenerational collaboration between myself and my grandfather. Our practices entangle; my practice of handling broken image with his of collecting and reassembling tools transferring his lost fishing practice. Together, we test the haptic possibilities of fragments through deconstructing fragile images, collected matter and rusted tools. Our hidden collective labours are brought up to the grainy surface within sensory images, slippery text and sonic investigations.

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The material work centres on human object connection, collected matter and the affective impact of making labours upon environments. Testing my embodied methodology of filmic swallowing, visual works celebrate image loss in destructive and soothing handling of analogue mediums. I hunt, collect and swallow the reels; hand-developing 35mm negatives with foraged plant matter. Herbs, weeds, fruits and food waste are churned into murky sensory solutions in attempts to reduce pollutants. Heavy grain from unwieldy mixtures of plant developers, fading uncemented images, loose hairs and scratches speak to my handling of newly learned practices. Whilst centring on analogue image loss, the work weaves through the digital sphere and utilize its elasticity for further image abstraction.