The camera obscura (literally meaning a darkened chamber) is an optical device that has existed in one form or another since at least the time of Aristotle and which had had a profound effect on the way we visualize the world. By creating a space sealed from light except for a single small aperture it is possible to project an image of the scene outside the space. In the ancient world this was a source of fascination from ancient Greece to imperial China.
During the renaissance a portable version of the obscura was used by as a drawing aid by numerous artists including Canaletto, who would trace the image the obscura projected on to paper. Hockney and Falco have gone so far as to argue that optical aids like the camera obscura are key to the emergence of artistic realism from the early modern period onwards. Finally in the mid nineteenth century the obscura provided the basis for the modern photographic cameras, arguably making it one of the most important inventions in human history.
As part of my documentary photography master’s degree I’ve been asked to rethink my photographic practice. As part of this I built a camera obscura, partly out of curiosity because I wanted to return to photography in its very simplest, most fundamental form. However I also did it in reaction to a growing sense of disquiet brought on by the feeling that I take far too many photographs. Before I discovered photography it seemed more likely I would become an artist of some sort as I used to draw and paint obsessively. In some ways I wanted to try and return to that far slower pace of image making.
At the same time I wanted to rethink another area of photography I have a problem with, and that is my inability to deal with confrontations. I don’t like going into situations where I expect to be challenged, I find candid photography incredibly painful for similar reasons. To attempt to address this issue I’ve decided to turn my camera obscura on sites around London where photography is difficult. In recent years photographers have been harassed, intimidated, searched and even arrested for photographing near places perceived to be sensitive. I intend to go to these locations with my camera obscura and draw them, hopefully attracting quite a bit of attention in the process.
When the photographic camera first emerged it was seen as an event, a spectacle, a source of curiosity. To be photographed was something to treasure in itself, almost above and beyond the product of the session. Gradually over time we have become suspicious of the intentions of the photographer, it became harder to photograph people, now even spaces are increasingly protected from photographers by over zealous security guards and sometimes even ill informed police officers. It is these contested spaces which I intend to draw with my camera obscura.
The sites I intend to draw will range from major train stations to corporate headquarters. Assuming I am stopped and questioned I will at that point stop work on that particular drawing for good. How long it takes for each image to be interrupted will hopefully be somewhat apparent from the degree of completion, creating a sort of visual-temporal map of the level of security and paranoia at each site. Equally I have to recognize that I may have no problems doing this project, particularly as I am working with an object which is not obviously a camera. What will happen remains to be seen.
