Fragile Mind – A Short Interview with Jonathan Stead

PU – Your latest portfolio – Fragile Mind – is a set of very powerful images. They document the last few months of your Grandmother’s life and her struggle with dementia. Why did you decide to record such an emotional and personal experience?

JS – I felt despite the fact that it was not a pleasant period in my Grandmothers life it conveyed her as a person. She was stubborn and defiant whilst at the same time still remaining graceful. Death is always considered a private matter but it is just as relevant if not more so than any other part of life. When you are aware that someone will no longer be here it changes your relationship and perspective of them.

PU – The images are beautifully expressive and also very sad at the same time. Are the images a celebration of your Grandmother’s life or a statement on how sad dementia can be to not only the sufferers but also their families who witness the mental decline in someone they love?

JS – I guess both, they definitely reflect her as a person. I’m not entirely sure how sad dementia is, sure there is a lot of confusion for the sufferer especially if people try to correct them.

Towards the end my Grandmother used to tap along to a beat, and sometimes whisper sentences that reminded me of hearing someone talking in their sleep – she was obviously living her own reality in her mind.

There were also moments when she would play with the end of her dress (she used to be a seamstress) and would hem the dress with her fingers – all with her eyes shut and it just made me think how content she seemed in her own little world.

PU – You are a big advocate of analogue photography. What camera and processes did you use to capture the images in this project?

JS – I would have hated to do this project digitally, the whole approach is different, I shoot manually so I shoot slower. Using film I’m aware that each shot costs money and there is a feel with images shot on film. Everything becomes considered and has to be done right first time. I shot, I developed, I printed the contact sheets, I edited I coated the glass plates, I exposed them, I’m much closer to the work because of the process used to create it. I shot the project using a medium format SLR (Contax 645), I have my own darkroom so develop my own film. The plates were created by an adapted gelatin dry plate technique – so the images are positives on glass.

PU – Are you looking at placing some of this work in an exhibition or maybe a book project?

JS – I would love to do a book and may well create a very limited edition hand-made book myself. The plates have already been exhibited and I’m sure I will find various opportunities to show them over the coming months.

PU – What project are you working on at the moment or have you any projects planned for the future?

JS- This project is by no means finished, I shot around 12 rolls (16 frames per roll) and there are many strong images I have simply not had the time to print as yet, so that is one job. The other is a project exploring memory through photography and is called The Beauty of Confusion… This is ongoing.

Thank you Jonathan for the insightful interview. To check out more work from the Fragile Mind series visit www.jonathanstead.com/fragile_mind.html

Jonathan was also recently interviewed for the Fascinating Photography eMagazine.

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