The things she left behind

For the past three years, I’ve been privileged to be part of a creativity group led by Jonathan Vaines. This year, he challenged us to undertake an individual project of our own choice, creating a series of images based on something important to us.

My choice was to create images using the vast number of objects left behind by my late aunt, Betty. Each image reflects an aspect of her history, interests or personality. My intention was to create a visual eulogy to her and, in doing so, help me process her death. The project has also given me a welcome creative escape from the enormous task of managing her estate, helping me find meaning in the mountain of work she left behind.

Most of the images are flat lays. I started by creating backgrounds, loosely following a method I’d seen in a talk by Stan Farrow. This was great messy-play fun. Using boards and boxes, I built up layers of texture, crackle paste and paint to create surfaces with their own character.

Next, I grouped the objects into themes including travel, sewing, gardening, love, music, religion, big, bright costume jewellery, books, nature and antique collecting. Most people would probably have thrown these things away, and no one else in the family wanted them. They’re old, dirty and broken, which makes them absolutely perfect for creating my kind of still-life images.

I arranged the objects on my handmade backgrounds, usually near a window, and photographed them in natural light.

I’ve chosen a few images to share here. Love is a pink-toned composition featuring hearts, keys and a tiny red rose. The heart shape in the centre came from an empty chocolate box my aunt had kept.

I’ve used a stack of antique books in several images because I love their texture, shape and detail. In one, I’ve added a pair of binoculars to represent Aunty Betty’s love of reading and birdwatching.

Another image features a bone which, when I first found it, I thought was a skull. I’ve since been assured that it’s actually another part of a skeleton. For me, the image is about nostalgia and remembering those who have passed away. Betty lived to ninety-four and loved telling stories about those who had gone before her and the things they’d got up to together.

I’ve assembled most of the images I’ve made so far into a grid. There are still plenty of objects waiting to be photographed, and I hope to add more images by the end of the year. What began as a way of remembering my aunt has become a creative journey through the things she left behind, and the stories they continue to tell.