The Ties That Bind Us

In a society lacking clear direction isolation can be a scary. The rise of individualism and divisive cultures create a need for community.

Communities will write things down or tell stories through generations. These are not necessarily linear, they can be destructive as well as healing, and in many cases are untrue. Whatever their purpose people, like countries, need stories to create the cohesion which they seek.

Photography is a way of recording those stories for the future and these  conventions are demonstrated in this project. It’s based around an extended family group - the most iconic community we have - and looks at a range of ideas, notably family, race and nationhood.

The images in this project were based around shots taken in 2013, although some of the portraits go back as far as 2005.