About the Book
Stephens documentary memorialises local events remembered and told by characters living on Grange park. It was started whilst studying a degree. The narrative includes murders of Stephens childhood friends, the photographs acting as a memorial to the lives lost. The symbology and text includes open secrets from Stephens life told in a once upon a time style, decipherable within the work.
The story’s they tell are enhanced using childhood family snapshots from the subjects themselves. The photograph of Craig holding the Ace of spades whose life was later cut short. The image Titled “Behind the black ball” where a young girl is seemingly interacting with the damaged scratched photographic surface as if sensing fate, a moment in the viewers timeline creates an uncanny and eerie response.
Stephen was also influenced by frequent Deja vu which focused his eye, helping him compose using screen images and ideas from dreams. These images present themselves in a Premonistic like manner according to Stephens own life events. Strange grew stranger with an unexpected turn of events involving and affecting Stephens own personal life. All these events are recorded using screenshots, texts and a diary as evidence within journals, as he became aware of a betrayal. This affected his life badly throughout lockdown.
Strange evolved with this strong narrative of Omens and portents aligning with current societal problems, as found in the victims family snapshots. Stephen contrasts film and digital, past and present. Archival and future. Ghosts of the past haunting the present and lingering on into the future, through connections in time.
Shaw hope's to ultimately bring a window of reality to a greater audience so they can see truths they would otherwise be blind too hoping to help others.
Features & Details
- Primary Category: Arts & Photography Books
- Additional Categories Social Justice
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Project Option: Large Format Landscape, 13×11 in, 33×28 cm
# of Pages: 100 -
Isbn
- Hardcover, Dust Jacket: 9781006956423
- Hardcover, ImageWrap: 9781006956416
- Publish Date: May 18, 2021
- Language English
- Keywords crime, Socialcleansing, Documentary, dejavu, omens
About the Creator
Stephen Shaw (born 1976, year of punk) was raised on Grangepark, Blackpool in the North West of England. He is an MA photographer at Central Lancaster University, and has a BA first class honours in photography. Shaw is frequently published and specialises in symbolism, Social Documentary and Portraiture, working within street / documentary. Shaw's images are motivated by pain and memorialism. He has great empathy with a desire to research failed human constructs having lived a darker side of life that he frequently questions and talks about with truth and a deep understanding of the people that inhabit its fabric, hoping to help them. This is his driving force to evolve knowledge through the photographic medium, bringing subjects he cares about to the attention of a wider audience. "Your creation destroyed by an innocent target. You’ve become what you set out to destroy".