Souviens toi de moi: The end of second year and my latest photography project

We have finally reached the end of second year at University and it sure was a challenging one. Not only dealing with the leap from first year to second year workload, but navigating the entire year in the midst of a pandemic and more lockdowns I can remember, was extremely taxing on the old mental health.

Nevertheless, we made it to the other side! Today I will be sharing with you the final project I produced for second year ‘Souviens toi de moi’. The inability to photograph others for this project due to, you guessed it, covid, meant putting my new-found self portrait skills to use. I set up a tiny space to work within my already tiny room and made it work the best I can. Personally, I feel it’s one of the strongest series I have created and I found working with restrictions forced me to think outside the box and work differently.

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Onto the project! ‘Souviens toi de moi’ explored grief in relation to evocative objects. Evocative objects are objects that hold significance due to the circumstances in which they enter our lives. I chose objects that are often viewed as ‘signs’ that loved ones' past are still here, which bring comfort to the grieving. Using self-portraiture as a means of communicating allowed me to become fully aware of my own grief for the first time since the passing of my nana in 2015. The process was, as corny as it sounds, healing for me; and I knew that so many people would relate to the project, particularly during the pandemic.

I predominantly worked with feathers, butterflies and lily’s for the project, pulling in stories from Irish folklore (in case it wasn’t obvious by my appearance, I am part Irish!), but I also used this time to experiment with poetry and writing. Alongside each image, I came up with a small piece of writing relating to the image. I love writing, which is handy when writing a blog, and I wanted the poems to enhance the feeling you get when viewing the images.

Souviens toi de moi, The Butterfly

I created both a virtual exhibition and a physical book for this project, and it was well received by the public. I included resources that are accessible for those struggling with grief and endeavoured to make it as inclusive as possible. While the book is no longer available for purchase, I have created a digital version which you can view below!

Souviens toi de moi, The Book

This project will eventually be available again when I stop procrastinating the creation of my prints shop. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy viewing the project and can find some comfort if you need it. Everyone will suffer loss in some way during their lives, it’s time we started talking more about it, and I hope this project can help break the stigma surrounding grief.

Souviens toi de Moi is available to view on the projects page of my website. Alternatively, you click to walk through the virtual exhibition or read the digital copy of the book.