In Wonderment Series
Experiences of awe, beauty and the sublime are universal to human experience in the real and virtual worlds and are much used in a fine art context. Research from positive psychology is showing that actively cultivating micro moments awe in our daily lives can increase our sense of empathy and can even make us more altruistic. Research from positive psychology is showing that actively cultivating micro moments awe can increase our sense of empathy and can even make us more altruistic. In the words of curator Denise Markonish “Wonder is not passive, we can cultivate it ... treat it like a practice".
Sun Seeking 1
Photographic Print on Fuji Matt.
297mm x 210 mm
Edition of 30 & 1 A/P
Taken on a wintery day while looking through this cafe window at a standard lamp and houseplants I was dreaming of the warmth of summer sunlight on my face. Having a sense of direction, optimism and hope can all contribute to feeling happier. Our mindsets and life experiences might orientate us towards seeing the future more positively or negatively, but research shows us that we can take future focussed practical actions than can contribute to how happy we feel in the present. Researcher Gene Alarcon and colleagues in their paper 'Great Expectations' explain how the positive emotion of hope is related to optimism, but goes beyond simply feeling positive about the future by being more specific about our expectations and including thoughts and beliefs about how we might achieve these.
297mm x 210 mm
Edition of 30 & 1 A/P
Taken on a wintery day while looking through this cafe window at a standard lamp and houseplants I was dreaming of the warmth of summer sunlight on my face. Having a sense of direction, optimism and hope can all contribute to feeling happier. Our mindsets and life experiences might orientate us towards seeing the future more positively or negatively, but research shows us that we can take future focussed practical actions than can contribute to how happy we feel in the present. Researcher Gene Alarcon and colleagues in their paper 'Great Expectations' explain how the positive emotion of hope is related to optimism, but goes beyond simply feeling positive about the future by being more specific about our expectations and including thoughts and beliefs about how we might achieve these.
In Wonderment 1
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Photographic Print on Fuji Matt 420mm x 297mm Edition of 15 & 1 A/P, 2020 Staged in the studio from everyday materials and shot on film, In Wonderment 1 invites contemplation about where we might perceive awe in the here and now. of our everyday lives. |
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Clouds & Swifts (Hackney)
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Photographic Print on Fuji Matt 297mm x 210 mm Edition of 20 & 1 A/P, 2023 This work is all about building interactions with our local ecosystems by using homemade, low tech, camera-less apparatus. This is a photo taken during a micro-adventure attempting to view of the clouds and swifts soaring underneath them above Hackney, East London through camera obscura made from cardboard packaging. The work was made in response to the wonderful‘Working with the Wild’ course run by the Sustainable Darkroom and Oliver Raymond Barker in the Summer of 2023. |
Take Over (Joy)
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Photographic Print on Fuji Matt 297mm x 210 mm Edition of 30 & 1 A/P When Sophie Howarth, author of Mindful Photography, invited us to take one photograph a day to celebrate joy and pleasure as part of her Mindful Photography Course run by the Photographer’s Gallery in 2022, I realised that I rarely did this - I photographed for curiosity, as metaphors for feelings, but not consciously for joy. This work was featured in WerkHaus Zine, Issue 4, Wild Things, WorkHorse Collective, (2023) |
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Beacon (Hope)
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Photographic Print on Fuji Matt 297mm x 210 mm Edition of 30 & 1 A/P This kitchen tent on a campsite felt like a small island of safety and shelter within the surrounding darkness. Up closer, the interior objects reveal themselves through their shadows, which are projected onto the tent walls like a delicate drawing. |