Light on the darkest days

‘Light on the darkest days’ reflects on light, loss and the ritual of commemorating. Inspired by memorial benches, particularly those placed looking out to sea, the piece is an invitation to pause, sit and contemplate. 

Using cyanotype photographic paper, which reacts to sunlight, I began one winter to spend time each day registering the light whilst sitting on a bench looking out at the horizon. Struggling with grief at the time, I found comfort in this daily ritual in the darkest time of year. Neither a scientific nor documentary record, it became an emotional response to a specific time and place, each small cyanotype a record of that individual moment of light and contemplation, put together to form a large collective piece. 

A reminder, a memory. A life, a loss, a loved one. A hope for light, even on the darkest days.