UNSTABLE | A Mental Health Journey

For the last few years my mental health has taken a massive hit. Towards the end of 2021 I finally decided to contact my doctor and start addressing the issues that were causing severe anxiety and depression. It was the best decision I ever made.

During a period of particular suffering (long before I sought help), I just needed to get out the house. I ventured to a woodland I had seldom been to. There was no particular aim. Just walk – camera in tow (of course). I had wandered around the forest totally with my own thoughts. Not particularly inspired by anything. To this day, I have no idea what inspired be to start ‘shaking the camera’ but for the next few hours I ‘shook away’ and discovered intentional camera movement (ICM). I have always loved this series of photos but never fully understood what they meant to me until I started recovering.

When I took these images, they were never intended to become a project/collection nor be partly representative of my mental state at the time. They were merely an experimentation with woodland photography and alternative camera techniques. Upon reflection, and better understanding of the different and complex emotions associated with mental health difficulties, they have come to symbolise they stages of suffering, transition and recovery I have been through.

I have have given each of the pieces a title that represents a stage in course of my suffering and path to recovery. I wont explain them but rather leave them to your own intropsection and perspective.

A Mental Health Journey