What Was and What Is, is a project which looks back on old locations from my childhood. In particular it looks at a small rural town in East Clare where I am from. These locations have created a sense of nostalgia for me after having lived away from the location for several years, instead residing in Limerick City. My project explores the relationship I have with these places, the feelings they evoke for me, and the sense of attachment I still have to them despite having left in early 2022. It examines how the feeling of home for me is so deeply tied to a specific location, and my love of my first true home is unfading. My image-making process includes things such as both traditional and digital photography along with suppletory printmaking material. The theme of exploring once established locations was inspired by Gregory Crewdson’s series titled Beneath the Roses which depicts aspects of small-town American life. This was something that I was inspired by due to the similar angle that was forming in the works such as in the moody ethereal landscapes that are a part of a selection of the work.
