Everything is Fine and Nothing is Wrong
An Introduction
So here we are, both of us, it’s nice to meet you.
As this is my first post I’ll begin with an introduction then we can crack on with opening up my brain, so I can describe what’s inside.
I’m Dawn Parsonage, an artist and collector of found photography living in the UK. I have an ever-growing collection of photographs, negatives, slides and albums which have lost their original owners. To date I estimate I’m at around 20,000 images and a couple of hundred reels of film, but it’s very hard to actually count. You’ll see them in my studio, all archived and categorised in crisp black boxes, portfolios, folders and tiny drawers, stacked along side the no-mans land of boxes simply and ominously marked ‘To Sort’.
The collection roughly spans between the 1850s and the 1990s and out of the thousands of faces staring out at me, I’ve never actually met a single one of them. Yet in contrast, I hold in my hands the moments which they held most dear, the ones they didn’t want to forget.
I’ve been collecting since I was 12 years old, and here I am 32 years later with my appetite for collecting unquenched. In that time through the complicated journey of life, I have been on a parallel journey with my practical and philosophical relationship with photography. One thing that hasn’t changed though, is that without a doubt photography is my religion.
The Urgent Octopus
So why do I collect? It’s a bit of an unwieldy thing to describe to be honest, I feel like I’m forever wresting The Urgent Octopus of Purpose.
“Look how beautiful and overlooked this image is, let’s give it the time, the space and appreciate it as the fine art it is! Look, there is life, social norms, things so normal they are usually hard to see! Look, we are not so different from the past, they were humans too! Look at the humour in it all! Look at the technology, look at what they experimented with, look at what succeeded! Look at how that affected the images we took and then how we remember the past and who we think we all are! Look who has been left out of the story! Look at why we took so many pictures! Are we all trying to escape death? Look look look!”
This octopus has so many legs and it never leaves my studio. All of these things are important to me and I long for a time I can simply explore my archive and translating all of these thoughts into projects and deep research. That is where you come in. This Substack is the tentacles finally learning to type and express all of these thousands of thoughts and stories, the things I’ve learned and the people I’ve met, into words. So thank you for helping me tame it.
I’m also an artist, and part of my processing of the collecting is via my contemporary photographic work. In short I see themes and truths in the collection and translate them into new projects. I’ve exhibited internationally and have been featured in many international publications. It’s such a satisfying way to vent and express and bring new people into my world. But let’s dive into this more deeply in another post. For now you if you’d like to read more, please visit my website.
Nostalgia is Boring
Nostalgia is a whimsical look at the past and I’m often asked if that’s why I collect. And each time I’m asked this I have a strong visceral reaction, which often to surprises me with it’s intensity. To me nostalgia is a big old full stop on history and soft filter on it all. My collection is not quietly nostalgic but load and overspilling with emotion. I want it to shout so loudly into your eyes, that that you can’t help but be hit with emotions, understanding and realisation.
Everything Is Fine, (no honestly it is)
I will end on a note about one particular fascination which I keep coming back to – in every photo, the camera is always there.
I’m fascinated by the effect the sudden appearance of the camera has as a photograph is taken. Take a moment to think about what happens when someone brings up their phone to take a picture of you in front of a stunning view with your best friend after laughing at an old joke. How do you feel when they take the picture? What do you do? Now think about the same situation, but instead you’ve just scattered your Grans ashes, they are about to take the picture, how do you feel and what do you do?
Is it an interruption? An unwelcome guest coming in shouting ‘Look at me!’, or something you need to be polite around? ‘Oh welcome camera, isn’t it the most charming of evenings, everything is fine and nothing is wrong, I shall smile now’? It’s very being must alter the emotions and purpose of the people being photographed.
So there we have it, a short introduction of my collection, thank you for joining me and look out for more posts about found photography and some show-and-tells from my collection very soon.
Dawn