Interlude
A year later …
Well, 15 months strictly, and sad to report, the project never got off the ground.
There are at least two reasons for this, I think. Firstly, it's been a casualty of Covid; churches were closed for part of the time and, even now they're open normally, inevitably we're tended to favour outdoor activities, away from the 'madding crowd'. And secondly, the decision to start with effigies was, in hindsight, too predictable. Yes, the effigy-images do make my heart sing, do make the invisible stories visible and I know I'll continue with them at every opportunity. But they don't represent the fresh, exciting challenge that a new project deserves (or needs). I've already had the thrill of the chase (aka the problem solving stage – working out the way to photograph the effigies as 'people like us' not just as historical artefacts) and now it's largely about execution. Simply put, it didn't inject enough energy into the beginning of the project.
Hill 60,
Roundhay Park, Leeds
I've returned to the project at least twice in the intervening months without making any significant progress but this time has been different. It's like one of those crisp, clear, blue-sky mornings when you can suddenly see further than ever before – the penny has dropped. I've been trying to create a photographic project out of things which are impossible to photograph – memories, sounds, smells, feelings, the tapestry of our life together.