Two weeks in and I am starting to come around to the ideas that are going to dictate my final 6 weeks of work.
Twillingate is a heritage town, that is to say, there are a lot of places, business buildings, dwelling, root cellars, stages and such that can be dated back over 100 years.
The town has done an admirable job over the years of rejuvenating so many of these places. My usual subject, that of the broken down and forgotten structures, is a difficult focus here in Twillingate. I can reach out beyond the borders of the town and find some of these places, and I will, but I want the focus of this work to be within the borders of the municipality, or, at the very least, on the island.
So, I am going to start taking some detail shots of the heritage buildings around, focusing on the geometry of the buildings, the lines of the siding, the character in the windows and doors, the little places that show the age of these places, the sagging window, the peel of paint, the split in the siding. There are stories in these places and I need to tease the details of those plotlines out.
I’ve often said that taking photos of these abandoned and forgotten places were self portraits of a sort. I was feeling pretty broken down and forgotten, given my spinal injury, the subsequent surgeries and mental health struggle that coincided with it all. I saw a lot of me in those places and what’s very interesting to me is that now as I review my work over the past three years my photography and the way in which I addressed these places have changed so much.
Taking that one step further, looking at taking photos of these places that have been restored and given new purpose still feels like a self portrait of sorts. I said back in January that this summer would be one of redemption for, and what are these buildings if not something that has been redeemed.
Interested to see how this develops over the coming weeks.
Spent a little time today with the incomparable Crystal Anstey and took photos of some very nice capelin that she and her friend harvested yesterday and put out to dry. Also a couple of shots around her beautiful property.
Until tomorrow.
Thanks for joining me on this journey!
Don’t forget, if you love the work, think about purchasing a piece or buying a coffee I have lots of klicks to cover this summer, and your support was never more appreciated.
Old Bones Photo 