This is a series of 36 photographic self-portraits, which tells my story of recovery from dissociative amnesia caused by complex trauma. The bones of sheep symbolise memory in photographs that reimagine remembering, healing, and recovery.
The Bone Collector is also a handmade artist's photobook, layering 32 photographs with poetic text. The design of the book, including the choice of print technique and presentation, further conceptualise the embodied nature of trauma.
The Bone Collector (2026)
The handmade photobook of The Bone Collector adds layers of text to the full series of 32 photographs, and explores the embodied nature of trauma and an emotional excavation 'to the bones' of the past, through printing techniques and bookbinding design elements.
I use hand-made one-off prints which seep through the pages. Photographic prints are tipped in over these prints, and poetic text on vellum lays on top. This visually creates the layers of excavation from amnesia, to the embodied imprint of trauma, to memory and a narrative of recovery. The book layers further symbolism through colour, materiality and construction.
