An Archived Body

From possessions to my body. I must create an all round image of who I am if I want to produce this archive of myself. I believe that my possessions shape who I am ( however materialistic that may be) they give me a visual personality that friends, family and strangers assign to me. In images without these possessions would and should it be classed as a self portrait. I will be photographing my body parts in the studio with plain white background, in black and white (to take away as much personality as possible) These images on their own would have no meaning, but together with the images of my possessions begin to make sense.

These images are a starting point to the task of cataloguing my body, the tags are a quick starting point on how to visualise the cataloguing of my body parts.

Memories

The overwhelming feeling of nostalgia while photographing my possessions makes me start a self-evaluation of who I am. Which I suppose is the whole point of this 'complete self-portrait' I am trying to create.

Many of the items I am photographing so far are relitively new so having a feeling of nostalgia towards them might seem a bit far fetched, however when I'm in the studio having sole consentration on one item, all memories of how the item came into my possession, why I own it, what was going on in my life when I bought/recieved it.

I should start taking note of the feelings and thoughts that come to me while shooting each item, and note them down. I feel that these moments contemplating each and every item I own should not be forgotten as I may never have this again.

Each scratch and mark on this pair of shoes brings a different memory of the occasions that they have been worn. Would I have thought of these memories if I hadn't had to concentrate on them so much during the shoot?

In the begining...

I have become obsessed with cataloguing and archiving.

Vol. I is a catalogue of myself, an in-depth self portrait. I wonder whether I could be the same person if I lost all of my possessions, would this change who I am. Throughout our lives each of us manage to accumulate large quantities of personal possessions. From the moment we are born we are owners of material things. Instinctively we become attached to these items, which soon become an important part in defining who we are. By removing people’s possessions, it is only fair to say that doing so would consequently take away a large part of our personalities. It is this believe that has led me to photograph and catalogue my own belongings, providing me with the opportunity to examine my own personality.