The Bench beneath the Tree.

The Bench beneath the Tree.

Stephanie O’Callaghan

The Bench beneath the Tree.

‘How is your Mum doing?’ This is the question I have been asked the most over the last 6 months. Sometimes I could answer, sometimes I cried and sometimes I just wanted to run away. 5.00pm Friday 10th August 2012, the day I found out my Mother had been diagnosed with lung cancer. I can’t describe how I felt, I only remember that my whole world had fallen apart, the ground beneath my feet felt as if it had given way. Dealing with the situation naturally was hard, so I have used this photographic project as an opportunity to release the anxiety inside of me and to help give closure on my emotions.

I am interested in time, whether it is the fleeting, the ominous or the still and the intensity that comes with it. I wanted time to be the narrative of my photographs, a feeling of waiting for something, but never truly knowing what it is that you are waiting for. The ephemeral. My book is not a linear journey of sentiment it is a state of mind, unconscious moments lost in transition. I was lost in myself; I needed something to concentrate on and to ground my thoughts.

I have always been intrigued by the connection between traditional fine art and photography, the way the two mediums fight each other so strongly yet are essentially the same. This connec-tion was essential in making this project, paintings have stronger sense of narrative, they portray a visual poetry- I wanted people to read my poem through my images and feel a connection.

In photographing friends around me they became projections of myself and my emotions, situ-ations I didn’t want to face myself were easier to see through the photographs of other people. Some may call it photographic therapy but for me it was a way of sieving though my thoughts. It’s amazing how lonely a person can be whilst still being surrounded by their closest friends.