Depart
Depart was made in the wake of my grandmother’s death in 2012, which was almost a year after my grandfather’s. Leading up to his death, he began a process of disposing of his belongings – a task that the family would continue after he died, as well as my grandmother’s possessions when she ‘joined’ him. Before the process of dividing and disposing of their things began in earnest, I used still photography, video and sound recording as a means to come to terms with my loss and contemplate the impact that they, and their home, had upon my life.
This work considers a space that resonated with me on a highly personal level, and documents items that relate to specific memories and more symbolic interpretations of my experience of them as individuals and their life together. Embracing both the vanitas still life tradition and the potential for stillness within the moving image, Depart attempts to reflect upon themes of material wealth; existence and absence; and the inexorable nature of life that confront us at times of bereavement.
Jesse Alexander is the OCA Photography Course Leader and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. This film originally appeared on his website together with a set of still photographs
11 thoughts on “Depart”
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Very evocative Jessie. This may be personal but it is also universal. We have all lost people we love and its hard to come to terms with their passing. This work reminded me of the loss of my parents. It made me very sad and at the same time I smiled as I thought fondly of them. Different people, different places, different habits, different rituals, but absence and loss are binding themes.
This clicked with me. I think the use of sound in the presentation was interesting – not intrusive but adding to the evocation.
Thanks for sharing this work with us, I found it really touching and as Keith says, this personal story has a universal resonance; I found myself transported in my grandparents’ house and my childhood while looking at your images. The use of still images within moving images is so harmonious and seamless, I thought it translated in a very interesting way how we relate to life and death, to time and it is various temporalities, lives reaching an end while others’ continue – how absence and presence blend together and how it is sometimes hard to distinguish them at some point.
‘… how absence and presence blend together and how it is sometimes hard to distinguish them at some point…’
Can’t add much to what is said above, but this part of Stephanie’s comment made me think a little more.
I find it (still) quite difficult to find the right balance and the right place to get, when creating, or trying to express, work that is immensely personal, but to not go overboard, and to create a work that is accessible to the viewer.
Thanks for sharing.
D.
Thank you very much for your comments and the positive reception is very touching, particularly given the highly personal nature of the work. Its relevance to a wider audience (I.e. Beyond the family, friends and neighbours) has certainly been a point of concern for me, so firstly, it comes as a relief to hear that it does have a universality.
Thank you all again.
Touching and inspiring in equal measure. I particularly liked the fades (?) on the table top
A very personal and intimate piece of work that I am sure so many of us can relate to. Thank you for sharing. The video footage at the beginning is particularly effective with the subtle movement drawing our attention.
A personal and moving piece which is very inspiring. How you have used moving image (and sound) is so clever. A beautiful short film which triumphs by its subtlety. I have drawn inspiration from it and have downloaded for future viewing
Thanks for sharing
I was very struck by an air of stillness, despite the sense of slow movement. Something about life having to continue despite the absence of much loved people. Thank you for sharing this Jesse.
Thanks so much for sharing this Jesse – which can’t have been an easy process/decision. After my Dad died in ’06 I had to immediately return to making pictures as I was at the end of my MA. I can’t look at them now without being back at that time feeling very confused and shocked. I found I was spending time staring at the ordinary/everyday, partially noticing life going on in the background, somehow separate, just as your soundscape does.
I know other photographers who have sought closure, solace, or whatever, by making work about a loss, such as Paul Hill (about his wife Angela). I couldn’t spare time to do that then and I’m not sure what I would have done. I can see that working gives a purpose and direction to gain a positive from a negative (no pun intended!), I wish I’d done something on those lines.
I came back from a conference yesterday where I presented on the slippery boundary between still and moving images: this video would have been a good example to show (moving images that are, mostly, still), contrasted against my own project – photographs showing movement in still images, emphasising the static against the flow.
Thanks for sharing Jesse
D
Thank you Jesse. I am currently working on a film relating to my mother’s death this May and I found your work both touching and very interesting in the way you create both a sense of absence and presence.