“’How do you feel?’ ‘How do I feel?’ He repeated, and scratched his head. ‘I cannot say I feel ill. But I cannot say I feel well. I cannot say I feel anything at all.’” *
Photographer Hannah Laycock spent ten years living in London and Brighton. Since returning to Scotland, she has taken up Six Foot Gallery’s Artist in Residence Program, in association with Menzies Hotel. Her exhibition will start this month, and feature an experimental new series of photographic works – with which she intends to begin her working life in Glasgow.
Hannah describes her relationship with the photographic medium as such:
“For me, photography is painting with light. I was never really skilled at painting in the traditional sense, nor was I skilled at other creative mediums. Photography has enabled me to skilfully explore my creativity.”
Consequently, Hannah’s refined and intuitive photography skills have allowed her to capture and present her subjects in a way that is both truthful and loving. From ‘Railing at the Enthrallment to the Failing of the Light’ (Parts I – II, 2009-) a touching, multi-media based documentation of her parents’ lives as her father’s health begins to decline; to ‘Fragility’ (also 2009), in which the image of the human body is treated with a rare, uncompromising sensitivity.
Following her diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis, the artist has focused on relaying the associated feelings of “uncertainty, fear, loss and liberation” through her work. We ought to view ‘awakenings’ as an attempt towards: “Dealing with notions of identity and the play on this in relation to [the artist’s] diagnosis”; as well as recognise its intention to raise awareness of MS. Furthermore, the artist aims to convey her personal journey in such a way that it reaches its viewers on a universal level, regardless of their own experiences.
Six Foot Gallery will be exhibiting ‘awakenings’ by Hannah Laycock between 28th August – 14th September (Preview: 27th August).
Our Artist in Residence program is kindly supported by The Menzies Hotel and Street Level Photoworks.
*Oliver Sacks, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat – also referenced by Hannah Laycock in accompanying text to ‘Perceiving Identity’, 2015.