Ryan Harte

THIS IS NOW

My practice emphasises the extremities of modern times. It predominately focuses on the mental health effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and is a documentation of these effects on individuals as they battle through the pandemic. The metaphor being an interpretation of feelings that myself and those close to me have felt whilst being confined and isolated over the last 14 months. I initiated my practice with the seriesTrapped (2020-) which is an experimental photography project influenced by the Velvet Trap AD campaign for Jeffree Star Cosmetics. The studio images resonated with me as I enjoy the idea of being able to manipulate the head and dramatize emotions whilst confined in a tiny space. This idea allowed me to improvise and accentuate the feeling of being confined by photographing myself, family and friends inside cardboard boxes which were very restrictive, lined with fluffy, reflective and velvet materials that were deliberately chose to draw on the theatrical element, perhaps as though I am putting on a show for an audience to watch. The outcome of this project initially allowed me to be creative with portraiture and produce highly emotive images as everyone that I photographed was feeling a different way throughout. It also allowed me to toy with the idea of the “gogglebox” as the stay at home order alongside the gimcrack/shoddily made constructions of the boxes adds a personal yet emotional element to the work. The notion of restriction is very apparent in my practice as I feel it is important to resemble the times we are living in whilst also paying homage and authenticity to own feelings, which are without a doubt very restricted due to the pandemic.