I Wish You Were Here

March 29, 2012

There are many days that my Grandfather sits and reminisces about days gone by when my Grandmother was still with us. I had a vision in my head that I would re-create an image, composed of the past and the present and this is the result. I had used a photograph from The Face Series as part of this image, digitally cutting out my Grandmother and placing her inside a new photograph I have taken.

The lighting is perfect, both photographs were taken on a sunny day at roughly the same time, all I needed to do was to position the bench and my Grandfather accordingly. Out of all the pictures of my Grandfather I took that day, this is by far my favourite because of the content in his face, the loving memories he cherishes of his darling wife take a physical form. Is she looking at the viewer? Does she know we can see her? The close bond is apparent, and that is what I was aiming for.

This is my final image of this series and the end of this project. There are many meanings to it, all of which have been followed up by the other photographs; Memory – a fickle thing, that is sometimes vivid and other times blurry, time – we do not have a lot of it, many would argue that life is too short, family – the ones that matter most, and the sadness when they leave us, sentimentality of things that mean nothing to a stranger, but everything to the holder, longing and the ache of never being able to see that one special person again.

The little box of memories that began my story, has lead me in all sorts of directions. It has made me ask questions about who I am and helped me empathise with the feelings of my Grandfather. It has also made me appreciate this time we have on Earth, and given me hope that one day, one of my Grandchildren may open a box that I have kept and connect themselves to me, as I have done to my own Grandmother.