Whispering Reeds

Whispering Reeds is a deeply personal exploration of memory, loss and inheritance. Centred around my father’s old wooden sailing boat, the work revisits the Norfolk Broads, where we spent many years sailing together as a family. The boat became a symbol of freedom, escape and identity, and this project documents the emotional terrain that surrounds it. It considers what it means to lose not only a physical object, but also the time, energy and relationships that it once held together. 

Due to circumstances that led to my father being unable to continue sailing and caring for the boat, it fell into disrepair, leaving it brittle and rotting onshore. Despite this, he is unable to part with it, tied to it through hard work and cherished memories. Whispering Reeds, explores the sentimental value we give to objects, understanding how emotional attachment, often linked to trauma, can replace a sense of lost control.

The work contemplates themes of loss - the loss of youth, the loss of the boat and the liberating experience of sailing. The presence of the boat resonates deeply throughout, though it never appears in its entirety.