Inbetween Castles
Inbetween Castles is an exploration of memory, time, and the fleeting nature of human experiences, deeply rooted in my childhood memories spent by the seaside. The project reflects the blurred, indistinct memories I have of building sandcastles—ephemeral creations that, like memories, are subject to the tide’s inevitable erasure. As a child with poor vision, I often left my glasses behind while playing in the sand or swimming, and the resulting blurry vision is mirrored here through the use of pinhole cameras, toy cameras, and nighttime flash photography. Each choice is deliberate, emphasizing the fragility of these moments and the transient nature of memory.
The floodline, where the sea meets the shore, plays a crucial role in the series. This shifting boundary becomes a metaphor for the ever-changing line between what we remember and what is forgotten. The sandcastles, photographed at this liminal space, stand temporarily before being washed away by the tide. The use of negatives further enhances this theme, inverting the visuals much like memories themselves: vivid yet often incomplete and elusive.
The technical processes behind these images are integral to the concept. Developed using seaweed-based developers, these photographs are created through natural, organic processes that reflect the coastal environment. In some cases, I’ve experimented with seawater as a fixer, though its unpredictability adds to the work’s underlying tension—much like the uncertainty of memory’s permanence. The seawater’s inability to fully fix the image mirrors the delicate balance between holding onto a memory and letting it dissolve.
As the project developed, I extended my exploration beyond the sandcastles to the waves and what lies beneath the surface. This shift invites viewers to consider not only the physical erosion of these structures but also the metaphorical erosion of memory. Underwater photographs blur the lines between the seen and the unseen, drawing attention to the elements that have already been washed away, just as certain memories fade with time.
Through Inbetween Castles, I aim to capture the interplay between creation and erosion, permanence and transience. The floodline, constantly shifting, becomes a central metaphor for the boundary between what is held and what is lost, evoking the ephemeral nature of memory as it is shaped and reshaped by time and the forces beyond our control.