"Physical Absence"

Happy new year to all my followers, I for one know this is going to be a very busy year! I wanted to take the time to update you all with my latest project which has taken weeks of hard work but is going to be worth every effort. I've been privileged to be asked to document a story and a half cottage that is due to be demolished for a new build early this year.

The first day we made the journey and opened the front door in early October the house was cluttered with thousands of readers digest boxes stacked floor to ceiling. Even though it was messy we could see on shelves and in cupboards that the history in this country cottage was something to get VERY excited about! On that first visit we found WW1 binoculars, a newspaper dating from 1912 with the headline reading about the Titanic sinking. We also found Victorian era clothing in the wardrobe, war journals and bags of old coins dating from the 1800's.

We have since uncovered generations of history dating back to the late 1800's, remnants of the lives who lived here documented through letters, certificates, photographs, clothing and jewellery. At this point we have removed all the rubbish and have started to photograph and document everything through photography and building a time line of the families before. All important documents and items of historical interest will be donated to museums and any societies relevant.

Once all the photographs have been shot and history recorded I will be show casing this series of images "Physical Absence" in an exhibition with a talk on the opening evening given by me detailing the families that lived their lives in this home, there will also be some historical artefacts on display on the night.

I am also looking for a gallery to hold the exhibtion, or a commercial premises that would be suitable for the event - if you think you have something that could be suitable please get in touch.

I can't wait to share this with you all as it's what Abandoned Ni has become, a documentation on social history through the medium of photography.

Here are some taster images, once the exhibition date is confirmed I will update you on the page.

Happy New Year! www.abandonedni.com