Trace

TRACE | Sam Buchanan

MA Photography

PHO720

Informing Contexts

Trace

“This whole record was just me trying to find myself again, after years of being forgotten. When I say forgotten, I mean mostly by myself.”

Statement of Intent

“[O]ur sense of ourselves depends crucially on the subjective experience of remembering our pasts.”

Schacter 1996: 33

Initially inspired by Leona Naess, Trace captures my exploration of memories and self as I seek to rediscovery my sense of identity.

Informed by the science of memory storage and retrieval, the work represents the interplay between those emotional traces of my past which continue to shape me, and the present day. In seeking to share the cues which trigger those earliest memories, Abstract Expressionism has been influential, mostly notably Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb and Helen Frankenthaler. In parallel, contemporary photographers such as Uta Barth and Bill Jacobson have been pivotal in providing the visual language to convey the inherent ambiguity of memory and the concept of perception. The de-focusing of the images and the resulting distilled hues, shifts the focus to the viewer and encourage a meditative and personal encounter with the work.

Historically understood to be a representation of emotions or expression of inner feelings (Bright 2020:8), the therapeutic use of self-portraiture is well-documented (Martin & Spence 1987). Seeking to unburden myself of the quest for an “idealised image” (Sontag 1977: 85), the translucent monochrome self-portraits are part of a series taken daily over a two and a half month period. Produced with an instant camera and unedited, the distortion and movement in each is a metaphor open to multiple interpretations, but in each image I recognise myself.

As a body of work, Trace was always envisaged as a photobook. Influenced by Rinko Kawauchi, it allows for an intimate reading of the work. Printed on art silk paper, the colour images are infused with a subtle texture, returning a little of the physicality of the landscape, whilst the portraits on Japanese paper (washi) mirror the fragility of our memories and self. Each series can stand alone, but read together the images are strengthened and the exploration more complete. Untitled, viewers are encouraged to bring their own narrative to the images.

“It is our function as artists to make the spectator see the world our way--not his way”

So she did.

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Figures

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled cover image.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled self-portrait.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled self-portrait.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled self-portrait.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled self-portrait.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled self-portrait.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled self-portrait.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled self-portrait.

BUCHANAN, Sam. 2023. Untitled.

Bibliography

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