VIRTUAL SENIOR SHOW: Lacey Smith
”Changing Tides"
Where this project started out is not where it has come to today. I think it started as a way for me to make myself feel better. I was feeling sad and lonely from covid quarantine and having been broken up with. Feeling anxious and worried about all the unknowns I had going on in my life at the time. I learned loneliness is a universal feeling, but it is also a temporary feeling. This project made me feel better, it has improved my mental struggles more than I thought it would. I feel less lonely by going out to take these pictures. Shooting with a polaroid camera that makes loud noises definitely brings attention from the people nearby. Even during times of covid they still came up and were interested in what I was doing. Having support and kind words from people I didn’t know felt strange but refreshing in a time when staying six feet apart and only seeing the top half of a face is normal.
My daily walks and drives became a meditative, calming part of my art practice. I didn’t know where I’d go but it quickly became the coast. The healing aspects of the ocean drew me in even closer. Hearing waves crash as I walked down the path drowned out the challenges I was focusing on too much in my mind.
My attraction to instant film came from the ability to capture an exact moment and have that be a one of one image. I love the dreaminess of double exposure and the unexpected way that the photos merge into one. The hazy aspect of the film adds emotion and a nostalgia that I can’t seem to find in a digital camera.
The ability to share how you are feeling is a very vulnerable experience. I think to have a real connection with someone you have to be vulnerable. It makes you feel relatable. I couldn’t hold on to how I was feeling inside anymore and had to find a way to show it. Out came “Changing Tides” where my emotions are changing as do the tides in the ocean.
(All works below)
“Changing Tides”
Polaroid film scans
2020/2021
