Our Lockdown Garden Posted On 31st May 2022 To Magazine & Stories

“Were it not for the shadows, there would be no beauty.”- In Praise of Shadows- Junichiro Tanizaki.

Blackbird

A universe at our feet

If there is anything the pandemic has taught us, it is perhaps, that everything we need, can be found right where we are. There is something to be said for focusing down on the small things, the seasonal changes, the birds calling, the nature all around us and the people within our local communities. When we take the time to focus down, we can find a whole universe contained right at our feet.

The UK went into lockdown in March 2020, and as a carer to my 90-year-old father, I found myself, Nikon FM2 and Ilford HP5 plus in hand, cycling daily along deserted cycle routes, to see dad in his garden. A garden, which he shares with 40 other residents, attached to a sheltered living facility, in Milton Keynes.

Gordon

An oasis of tranquility

As days of isolation turned into weeks, we found we could walk safely together in the garden, whilst keeping three metres apart. We noticed the flowers, the trees, and the birds, noting the small things and narrowing down our world helped create a sense of calm amidst the growing anxiety felt all around. The small changes in the garden became big, beautiful events. The view over the distant fields a luxury, the garden an oasis of tranquility.

The Garden

Over time, my regular visits to ‘the garden’ developed into a collaborative photographic document of portraiture and recollection. The garden became our world. We reflected on it and were immersed in it, its energy connected us and sustained us. From Enid growing her courgettes, to Eve reflecting on Victory in Europe (VE) Day surrounded by peace roses. Each person’s personality and recollections were mirrored within the garden and the skies above it. Overall it is a reminder to us all that we are indeed a part of nature.

The dappled light

The dappled light of the late afternoon sun falling through the trees lent itself perfectly to be captured on HP5 film. Sometimes I shot at 400 ISO other times I pushed the film one or two stops. The imagery reflected the words of Tanizaki in his essay on Japanese aesthetics, a book that I was revisiting at the time. The contrast between the light and shadow was for me a constant reminder that just as we can’t grasp a beam of light, we also can’t hold onto the good times forever. For there to be light there must also be shadow, it’s the inevitable ebb and flow of life and nature. In the isolation we were experiencing, this was a ray of hope. Beauty can still be found in the darkest of places.

John_and_Doug

Strength and stoicism of our eldest citizens

The strength and stoicism of our eldest citizens serves as an antidote to some of the misery we were bombarded with in the news. Whereby giving a voice to a segment of British society that is so often marginalised. Our eldest citizens are much more than a faceless statistic. They have so much wisdom to impart and endless stories to tell. Stories that will serve as a window into the past for future generations. The dignity and solace that can be gained in finding beauty despite hardship, and strength in times of weakness, is a timely reminder for us all to pause, absorb the silence, and listen.

Barba_and_David

The book

Our Lockdown Garden is a series of socially distanced portraits and interviews. Showing the passage of time and seasons in an English garden. The book was made in collaboration with octogenarians and nonagenarians in a sheltered retirement community during the first COVID-19 pandemic year.

The project was selected for exhibition at FIX Photo Awards 2020.

Our Lockdown Garden is available for pre-order @the mindful editions. the profits from the book are being donated to Right for Residents (an organisation working to end inhumane restrictions on visiting loved ones in care homes).

www.rightsforresidents.co.uk

summer_meadow