Present Continuous
Photographic series, 2020
Present Continuous is a personal photographic project made during the first UK lockdown in 2020. At the time, the artist was at home with her family, caring for and homeschooling two daughters while expecting her third child.
About the Work
The photographs emerged from an intensely confined period in which family life, work, care and anticipation unfolded within the same domestic space. Pregnancy was accompanied by memories of a previous traumatic birth and the uncertainty of giving birth during a pandemic.
Against this backdrop, photography became a way of paying close attention to everyday life – to bodies and gestures, light and shadow, and moments of intimacy within the ordinary.
The series moves between the anticipation of a new child and her arrival in June 2020. The unusually beautiful, sunny spring sits in contrast with the uncertainty and difficulty of the circumstances, while the domestic space becomes both the setting for the photographs and the boundaries of the family's world.
The final image in the series records the birth of Milena, the artist's third daughter. Taken by the artist's husband, Oliver, the photograph was shortlisted for Portrait of Humanity and subsequently published in Portrait of Humanity Vol. 3, Hoxton Mini Press in collaboration with 1854 Media/British Journal of Photography.
Exhibition Presentation
For exhibition, the photographs were presented as circular images, arranged to evoke the shape of a keyhole – as though looking through a door into a private interior. The rounded format also softens the images, reinforcing their sense of intimacy while drawing attention to the act of looking into another family's domestic life.
About the Title
The title Present Continuous refers to a grammatical tense describing something happening while it is still in progress. It reflects the experience of living through a moment whose outcome was unknown, and of using photography to hold fragments of a family life unfolding in the present.
Present Continuous was developed as part of Activating Our Archives, organised by Fusion Arts and Modern Art Oxford and curated by Sunil Shah.
