On the 19th April 2018 Sian Davey came into uni to talk to us about her photographic practice and her many projects she has completed, some of which are on going. One of Sian's most famous projects is 'Looking for Alice' a series of images documenting the life of her daughter Alice who has down's syndrome, and the ways in which that has affected her life as a young girl. Davey went on to explain how she wanted the project to deal with the trauma surrounded by down's syndrome and her feelings as a mother having to deal with this, emphasising the fact that Alice is no different from any other child, only perceived to be by the outside world.
It was incredibly moving hearing Davey talk about the emotional journey she has been on with her daughter, from the detachment she felt after the birth of Alice to the soon ever growing maternal love she gained through empathetic acceptance.
Additionally throughout this project Davey went on to talk about how her other daughter, and muse, Martha became almost jealous of the attention her little sister was getting and would ask 'why don't you photograph me anymore' resulting in Davey deciding to collaborate with Martha, leading onto her next project titled 'Martha' documenting the life of a growing teenage girl and her friends. Davey spoke about how it became a norm for her to hang around with Martha and her friends, catching virtually candid moments of the teens, only counting them in on 3 occasionally. A particularly interesting story Davey recited was about a time when Martha and her group of friends went on a night out and in the early hours of the morning Martha phoned Davey asking 'well aren't you coming' to which Davey rushed to the kebab shop where Martha was and captured the end to their night. This was such an interesting insight into their relationship as it showed a deep connection between them as most teens wouldn't want their mum to come and interfere with their night out, let alone photograph it. Below I have included some of the photos Sian showed us which I feel accurately sum up this project of hers.
In conclusion, it was a highly inspiring talk in which I feel privileged to have been a part of. Sian was very welcoming and made us all feel comfortable when it came to asking her questions ranging from her life to simply what film she uses to take her photos. I would also like to thank Sian for being so emotionally open with her moving and personal life stories, something she did not have to do but as an artist felt it was appropriate to share, which we were all grateful for s it gave us a true insight into her practice. I am looking forward to meeting many other photographers and hearing them share the ins and outs of their photographic careers to help me develop my own style and practice.
*ALL PHOTOS FEATURED ARE OWNED BY SIAN DAVEY AND CAN BE VIEWED ON HER WEBSITE http://www.siandavey.com/ *