Self-defined proposal with supporting research & development work

Approximately 9,000 people per year have a Subarachnoid Haemorrhage in Britain. Up to 30% of people who have a SAH don’t make it to hospital and of those who do make it to hospital 30-40% Die. A Subarachnoid Haemorrhage is a form of Stroke and is caused when an aneurysm in the brain bursts open causing a bleed. My Father had a Subarachnoid Haemorrhage when he was 37 years old on Saturday 27th July 1996.

I have been Photographing my Father for 18 months, and this project has developed out of a reaction to the recent Welfare Reform Bill 2010-2012.The Photographs I have made in the past with my Father have always felt like I have been taking something from him, maybe even exploiting him.

The Photographs I make with him in the future therefore need to address this issue. After talking to other SAH survivors and also members of my family, I realised I need to make sure I collaborate with him and make the process of producing work empowering to him as a subject. I need to reference my Father as the Author of this project in an attempt to do this. I have told my Father to think of me as a Producer for what stories he wants to tell. Together we have come up with an idea of making a journey. We want to travel to significant places which hold importance to the story of my Fathers Brain Haemorrhage. The intention of this is to reflect on what happened to my Dad 17 years ago and how it shaped my Family and upbringing. It will be a perfect opportunity to investigate the relationship between a Father and a Son. I want to convey an emotional journey through Photography, Moving Image and Audio and construct a piece which displays a celebration of life, positivity and optimism.

I envisage this project to reference the work of Jim Mortram and also Phillip Toledano, in particular Toledano’s project ‘Days with my Father’.

Images : Phillip Toledano ‘Days with my Father’

Image : Jim Mortram ‘Market Town, Tilney1’

My proposed project, will however have a strong emphasis on a multimedia narrative when documenting this Journey and these Stories. I also want to reference the importance of the Artefact in regards to the Digital Environment when it comes to exhibiting the work.I continue to work on my weakest areas of practice and have developed a research tool called ‘The Phobus’. I have been recording and filming Interviews with Practitioners. This has given me the perfect opportunity to further develop my skills and confidence with using the equipment and software needed for the completion of my proposed project. It has also provided me with the opportunity to talk to practitioners relevant to the development of my work, for example in a recent interview with Ross Rawlings, I specifically asked him questions on capturing Intimacy and how to bring yourself into the image.

Image : The Phobus Interview with Ross Rawlings

Image : Interview with my Sister, Hayley

This has also made me realise the potential of this idea in regards to making it a reliable, online publishing platform especially in combining ‘The Phobus’ brand with my project to create a travelling and ongoing Storytelling mechanism that I can start with my Father but then open up to other subjects and collaborators.