Conversational photographs

Abstract

Imagine for a moment you are a photograph. You would have a pretty interesting social life for an object. You will be conceived instantaneously in an environment of ambient sound and activity. You will be born into a family with at least one parent, either at hospital (the photo processing lab) or at home (the home photo printer). Your family will fuss over you at birth, passing you around and talking about your resemblance to people and things in the past. Then you will get proudly shown off to family and friends who will comment on your charm and good looks. Eventually your novelty will wear off, and you will be put to bed for a while, possibly in your own space (album), until such time as one of your parents decides to wheel you out with your brothers and sisters to see how you are getting on, or to show you off again at social gatherings. If you are really lucky, you will get to stay out forever (frame) to attract the comments of visitors. Granted this is something of a shallow life, which revolves around appearances and gives you very little scope for initiative. But hey, you don’t have to go to school or work, and you still get to meet a lot of interesting people and make a variety of friends for life.

“Had I showed for example all my wedding photos – I’d have had a summary of the day from my perspective which in years to come would be a nice memory for me or an interesting story for our daughter” (Brid, Storytelling photograph study)