Autumn Exploration – Sarah Louise Lewis

My work is aimed at the people who find autumn a time of reflection and of peacefulness. My images do not have people in them because I’d like to portray autumn as a mellow and reflective season, in which people have time to ponder and relax. My images are meant to portray the memories of autumn from being a child; picking up leaves, collecting conkers, looking at the berries and watching the wildlife. My work is set out as an exhibition piece, but is also an interactive piece. Viewers are welcome to touch the objects around the table, whilst flicking through the book and looking at the prints on the wall. I’d hope that people can find that they are transported to the places in the images, like they are standing at that place themselves, rather than a room inside a building. Essentially, I am bringing the outdoors inside. This project is aimed at people who are possible unable to see autumn in full bloom; people who are from the city, live in the city or simply people who just don’t have the time.

In regards to my practice, my work is focussed mainly on details and the negative space. I believe that all aspects of the image are important and even though I use a shallow depth of field within my images, the blurred space within the images are allowed to bring a whole new attribute to the visual experience. My work is not intended as a conceptual piece although this does not mean the viewer is not able to express their opinions and their experiences with my photographs as a base. The images serve their purpose as a purely aesthetical body and are there purely as art pieces for people to look at and portray as their own memories. Together with the objects I’d like to provoke memories of childhood by using sight, smell and touch to stir something which allows the viewer to be taken by to what can be a recent memory or a memory from a long time ago.

Contextually, my work refers to Andy Goldsworthy and the sculptures that he makes. His work inspires my practice in the way that he builds his work, leaves it to decay whilst photographing it. This echoes my work in the way that I am finding beauty in the decaying attributes of the season of autumn. My work lies in an area that is mainly a result of technological advances. The editing process is something I came across on in the online world, and at this present moment, it’s a great side of photography to become involved with. Inspiration for my images was drawn from the online world, such as photo sharing or social networking websites. Using the book in my work relates to another side of photography of which has again been founded in this generation; with the advances of book making software, it is now more accessible for people to create bookstore quality images. I took advantage of this not only for the professional feel of the books and the context it could provide for my work but for the interactive feel it can give to the viewers in the way that they are touching the images and are able to pick up the book and do whatever they’d like with it. Contextually also, I see my work lying along with the online sharing communities and the photographers which use these sites to make a living. My audience is online based and the internet is a powerful tool in which I should utilise to get my work noticed and appreciated.