MTU Crawford College of Art & Design

BACK to MAAP 2021

Síomha Callanan

MA:AP 2021

Síomha Callanan

The images I create are direct extracts from the everyday world. The daily places we inhabit often go unnoticed. By moving through spaces and observing everyday details, I consider what may otherwise be seen as mundane as worth capturing. Through the act of walking I engage with the environment in a psychogeographical way, guided by the layout and atmosphere of the city. My methodologies involve exploring my surroundings on foot and photographing elements of the journey I take. I approach each walk as a moment of discovery to find something new within the familiar. I visually document these spaces in an effort to draw attention to the unseen backdrops of quotidian life.

Refined through my process, a heightened visual awareness of my location deepens my connection to that place. By selecting and photographing fragments of my surroundings, I am exploring the everyday as a space of attention. Taking a closer look at the finer details of sceneries enhances my understanding of the world, giving a richer experience. It is a way of slowing down, a way of being present in a space. Capturing the images on film further emphasizes the ideas behind my work, as careful consideration of each frame is a necessary element of working with this medium. I am continually investigating my environment, creating new work to add to my ever-growing archive of images. It is an exercise in observation and documentation; the main objective being to rediscover the very act of looking.