Wondering

WONDERING

Christchurch is a very quaint and idyllic village, located above Caerleon. It is thought that this is where the Romans first saw Caerleon, looking down the Usk Valley, reminding them of Rome.  It is easy to imagine how they came to stop and stare. From this peaceful hill Bristol and Newport can be seen amongst the congested stress of city life. 

I spent many hours on the hill, gazing into the distance, wondering what story would ever come of a village so perfect. Spying on the congested life of Newport, drifting into thoughts of my sister and family I would wonder, watching those around me silently, thinking.  Slowly realising that within our silences, many untold secrets must been blowing in the winds of Christchurch.  Intriguing I thought. 

I chose to photograph around this area on the hill, now a graveyard car park which is used by walkers constantly.  Like the Romans, it’s a place we have to stop even for a second, to have a glimpse of the view that allows us that brief luxury of escapism. The majority of people walking were incredibly peaceful and quiet, many alone with their dogs, or couples. I became fascinated with how they were feeling and what they were thinking.  Did they too feel enlightened by this place like me?

I felt this space had a kind of spiritual aura, very much like the old tales of the Healing Stone in Christchurch. However, this place does not heal but gives you time to realise and understand things, giving us the strength to struggle through a situation or become thankful for our blessings.

I constructed questions I felt would give me an idea of peoples feelings towards the area, why they go there and how it makes them feel, elaborating as much or as little as they liked. I approached the wondering public, recording their response to my questions, and analysing their characters from our brief encounter. Some gladly released personal details of what issues they think about, their life situation and the effect this place has on their mood.

Playing back the recorded interviews, I picked out details most fascinating about these strangers, I thought about the people I had met and what they had told me.  Through this I went back to where I had met them on Christchurch hill and found marks in the landscape that reminded me of them and I felt represented what they said.  I photographed at night as its very eerie and creates a sense of confusion, which we all feel when trying to suss out the obstacles of life. Creating a response to this area using inspiration from Micheal Schmidt and John Gossage, I have created a visual representation allowing a subtle glimpse of our invisible relationship with the landscape.