Exploration of Loneliness and Belonging

The project originated from my propensity to photograph the unseen in plain sight from green walkways in the heart of the city, to abandoned shoes and neglected bikes. I feel that these were the symbolic embodiment of my feelings about my place in the world, stemming from a real sense of not belonging in many or any spaces I inhabit invoking a sense of loneliness within me. Furthermore, I see loneliness as a psychological reaction to a lack of meaningful social connection, in the same way as hunger and thirst are physiological responses to lack of food and water. I feel that the mask I wear in the various arenas of my life affects my ability to make and maintain those meaningful connections. Loneliness is considered an unpleasant emotional response rather than a regulatory trigger for social connection, working on this project forced me to speak about my feelings of belonging and loneliness when I would not have otherwise chosen to do so. However in doing so I came to realise that feelings of loneliness are universal, most people I have spoken to about the project can relate to it in some aspect of their life. But may not necessarily have used the term loneliness to describe their feelings until our conversation. Part of my loneliness comes from feeling unseen and unheard my mask invites the viewer to see and hear me. Whilst masks are primarily seen as a tool for concealment, I have chosen to use a mask as an act of revelation asserting my identity, my sense of belonging. A