My artwork is a combination of digital and analogue film photography to create an installation that has both moving and still images. I have moved from years of digital photography to film these past two years. I was drawn to it as working with things physically allows me to have a deeper connection with the work. This is due to embodying the process not only in capturing the image but also in post-production.

This body of work came about through my love for the development process. While I had a clear idea of how I was to take the image and my development strategy afterwards, for quite some time I struggled with what to actually capture.

As I was already focused on film I decided to lean into it, making film the subject of my work as well. Through experimentation, I created this body of work relating analog, digital, past and present ways of working. Prior to and during the creation of this work, I had many people ask me, Why don’t you create a fully moving image? Why put in all this extra work? To that, I say I’m stubborn and felt that it would take away one of the key elements That I loved so much, Film.

Whilst I could see their point, I chose not to go down that route as so much of what is captured in the film, the scratches and dust as well as the film masters, simply could not be replicated digitally. Digital, for the most part, consists of everything being done with precision and caution, analog feels refreshing and without borders and today's societal restrictions. However, there was still a part of me that wanted to at least explore this option so I combined the still images through scanning sequences of film and stringing them together to create a hybrid moving image. I was able to stay true to myself and practice while branching out.

In the installation, I chose to have both still and moving images included next to each other as I felt without one it was incomplete. The TV in the installation was chosen for its size in relation to the still image print. I chose the print to be large as it allowed the viewer to be able to see all aspects, grain and such, in the image. I wanted to highlight and immerse the viewer. As I became more comfortable with the development process I set up my own station at home. This allowed me to develop in my bed, on the floor or in the bathroom. I had seen the film from all angles, lights and contexts. Whilst looking down at the film and the prints on the floor, I felt fixated on them, almost falling into the image and wanting to bring those connections into the installation.

Previously I have worked with a higher grade paper and a traditional installation style however, earlier in the development of this installation through laying prints on the floor and arranging them again and again while having discussions with one of my peers, I no longer wanted to work in a traditional instillation style as I found it creatively restricting and directed the work in a direction I didn’t relate to. Through exploring all the other printers I found that newsprint brought out the darker shades in the image and gave a similar feeling to film, fragile yet versatile.