P R E S E N C E O F
A B S E N C E \ 2024
Presence of Absence is a mixed-media documentary art work about loss, memory and renewal. Following the death of my brother in 2021, I moved to Lapland in
Finland. I met Finnish and Sámi artists, photographers, teachers, reindeer herders, doctors, farmers, academics and film makers. Their recurring memories of loss are snagged on experiences of
domestic murder, suicide, addiction, mental illness and the unforgiving terrain of Lapland. Yet, these people persist through a constant process of renewal.
We explored uncanny entanglements between human and non-human entities through the unstable temporalities of photography and film. I utilised empathetic listening and silence through a series of
documentary encounters to recall transitory emotional truths and ineffable experiences.
Outputs include a film, a book and a photography exhibition. Supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and a Kone Arts Fellowship at the Helsinki Collegium of Advanced Studies.
Selected and exhibited by the Royal Photographic Society International Photography Exhibition 166 (2025).