Journey Home

Photographic installation: Six train journeys comprising of fifteen (6x4”) black & white photographs (90 in total) and two text panels (6x4”) per journey (12 in total) each mounted onto 6mm MDF (Total wall space: 15ft) Artist bookwork: 35 in edition (2003) Each of the six books or ‘journeys’ (1220mm long/39mm wide) are kept in miniature matchbox style black boxes (77x42x12mm deep), within a larger box (134x80x28mm deep). 130gsm matt paper, digital printing ‘Journey Home’ is a visual diary of a series of ritualistic journeys made over a five month period between London Waterloo station and Ryde Pier Head on the Isle of Wight, commissioned for the ‘Cross Currents’ exhibition at Quay Arts, Isle of Wight. Drawing upon Waterman’s experience of living in both urban and rural environments, the tension between these two cross cultures is explored and represented by the transitional time and space of her monthly journey home to visit her family. Whilst the destinations and paths of each journey are similar, each one is a unique, individual experience. Although a sense of routine is omnipresent - with recurring images linking all the journeys together - different exterior elements are constantly changing; the weather, the people around her, her mood, the things she notices out of the carriage window, the book she is reading and the clothes she is wearing. As time passes and the seasons change, the passing scenery beyond the window seems to disappear as autumn approaches. When this occurs the images begin to focus more upon the interior of the train carriage itself, her fellow passengers, the ghostly reflections in the window and the fleeting illuminated station platforms. As a collection of images, each ‘train’ follows a time line, staggered on the wall to illustrate the varying departure and arrival times on an apprehensive journey that is subconsciously subject to delay or diversion. This ritualistic journey effectively communicates the feelings evoked by this activity, such as anxiety, expectation, boredom and frustration, revealing that she is unable to fully relax until she is on board the catamaran and is able to glimpse the reassuring view of the Solent.