And in love, light and truth. Spiritualism on the edges of London.
And in love, light and truth documents the occurrences of three Spiritualist churches situated on the edges of London and is a study of loss, absence and the need for reassurance that life, as we perceive it, is not the totality of our existence.
Spiritualists believe in the continuation and survival of the soul after the death of the physical. It is considered that death is not the end and the spirit of the deceased live on in the spirit world. Through a medium, an individual with the ability to communicate with those that have passed over, messages are sent from one world to the next. Healing is also an important aspect of church practice. It is accepted that spirits send healing energies through the hands of healers, to people in need of relief from their earthly ailments. Spiritualism is more than a religion for those that believe; many say that it is a way of life. The belief in the spirit world is interwoven in to the fabric of their existence and daily lives, becoming a reassuring mechanism to those that are in mourning or looking for a deeper meaning to life and death. The photographs were taken in a place where people spoke in hushed tones, telling stories of mourning, of energy and of faith and what it is like to look forward to death, but still be afraid of dying.
The photographs have been exhibited as an installation, reinterpreting the space of a Spiritualist church. In a darkened room, images are projected on to three walls, surrounding the viewer. These images are accompanied by an audio composition of collected sound and interviews.
The structure of the installation is determined by the composition of the audio, which is constructed from the recordings of ambient sound during healing sessions and church services, as well as informal interviews, which took a more natural conversational form, rather than journalistic. The photographic process was holistic, with no attention placed on a specific narrative. Over the course of four months, the experience of returning time and again to the churches became repetitive and almost ritualistic. This is mirrored in the photographs and solidified in the application of the images to the audio, which make up the installation.
Often, groups of similar images are shown together to replicate the experience of this repetitive process. The pace of the installation is purposefully slow to reproduce the meditative, almost-silent nature of a Spiritualist church. The work has been structured so that it can be viewed as one film, split in to three screens, or three films shown on separate walls. The audio acts as the tempo and forges the relationship between the image sequences on the split screens.
The work ideally would be shown on three separate walls in a blacked out space, which has a circle of chairs within, recreating and re-imagining the space of a Spiritualist church. The viewer’s experience of the work depends on where they chose to sit in the circle of chairs. This determines which of the three screens or sequence of imagery is seen most predominantly. Potentially, there could be a participatory aspect to the exhibition. This would involve a medium from one of the churches hosting an ‘open circle’ within the exhibition space and would be an opportunity for participants to learn the processes of harnessing their own psychic powers and meeting their spirit guides through meditation. This experience would be filmed using a 360-degree virtual reality camera, set up in the center of the circle. The collaborative aspect of the exhibition is important as it encourages viewers to participate and engage with the subject matter on a first hand basis, rather than just through the experience as I have documented it. One’s feelings toward life and death are intrinsically personal and through this interactive mode of storytelling, I hope to allow for such a space where they can be explored.
Spiritualists believe in the continuation and survival of the soul after the death of the physical. It is considered that death is not the end and the spirit of the deceased live on in the spirit world. Through a medium, an individual with the ability to communicate with those that have passed over, messages are sent from one world to the next. Healing is also an important aspect of church practice. It is accepted that spirits send healing energies through the hands of healers, to people in need of relief from their earthly ailments. Spiritualism is more than a religion for those that believe; many say that it is a way of life. The belief in the spirit world is interwoven in to the fabric of their existence and daily lives, becoming a reassuring mechanism to those that are in mourning or looking for a deeper meaning to life and death. The photographs were taken in a place where people spoke in hushed tones, telling stories of mourning, of energy and of faith and what it is like to look forward to death, but still be afraid of dying.
The photographs have been exhibited as an installation, reinterpreting the space of a Spiritualist church. In a darkened room, images are projected on to three walls, surrounding the viewer. These images are accompanied by an audio composition of collected sound and interviews.
The structure of the installation is determined by the composition of the audio, which is constructed from the recordings of ambient sound during healing sessions and church services, as well as informal interviews, which took a more natural conversational form, rather than journalistic. The photographic process was holistic, with no attention placed on a specific narrative. Over the course of four months, the experience of returning time and again to the churches became repetitive and almost ritualistic. This is mirrored in the photographs and solidified in the application of the images to the audio, which make up the installation.
Often, groups of similar images are shown together to replicate the experience of this repetitive process. The pace of the installation is purposefully slow to reproduce the meditative, almost-silent nature of a Spiritualist church. The work has been structured so that it can be viewed as one film, split in to three screens, or three films shown on separate walls. The audio acts as the tempo and forges the relationship between the image sequences on the split screens.
The work ideally would be shown on three separate walls in a blacked out space, which has a circle of chairs within, recreating and re-imagining the space of a Spiritualist church. The viewer’s experience of the work depends on where they chose to sit in the circle of chairs. This determines which of the three screens or sequence of imagery is seen most predominantly. Potentially, there could be a participatory aspect to the exhibition. This would involve a medium from one of the churches hosting an ‘open circle’ within the exhibition space and would be an opportunity for participants to learn the processes of harnessing their own psychic powers and meeting their spirit guides through meditation. This experience would be filmed using a 360-degree virtual reality camera, set up in the center of the circle. The collaborative aspect of the exhibition is important as it encourages viewers to participate and engage with the subject matter on a first hand basis, rather than just through the experience as I have documented it. One’s feelings toward life and death are intrinsically personal and through this interactive mode of storytelling, I hope to allow for such a space where they can be explored.
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