Instantaneous Thoughts ONLINE

Instantaneous Thoughts

Instantaneous Thoughts

A Photographic Journey
Through Life in Lockdown
by Alice Kemp

Introduction
This photobook documents a journey through lockdown using a series of
photographs and accompanying thoughts. The concept of ‘Life through
lockdown’ sheds a light on the struggles around mental health during
Covid-19 Britain. Alongside this pandemic, there is another death rate
to be taken into consideration — the rising number of suicides in the
UK each week. This needs recognising in order to tackle the stigma
of silence attached to mental health.
Most people find it easier to stay silent in their own struggles, making
it difficult to identify who might need the help. A sensitive approach is
adopted via the sharing of a personal experience, where brief annotations
will express the thoughts and emotions within each snapshot of life
through this pandemic. Aloneness and isolation is brought to attention
by sharing the vulnerabilities felt during this time. The photography in
this book holds an authenticity that comes from the instantaneous nature
of Polaroid shooting, allowing an original and honest glimpse into this
new version of everyday life. The moments of beauty within the images
are countered with a thought, sometimes a dark, showing both
the layers of truth and the complexity in our ways of seeing.

St Leonard’s Place, York.

The confusion is setting in

Stanley Street, York.

What day am I on?

Egton Bridge, Whitby.

Home is not where my heart lays

Egton Bridge, Whitby.

My living room feels like a cage

Falling Foss, Whitby.

Will I get over this?

Egton Bridge, Whitby.

I broke down today

Littlebeck, Whitby.

I feel claustrophobic in my own thoughts

City Walls, York.

The days are darkening

National Railway Station, York.

I needed to get away!

Liverpool St Railway Station, London.

Where do I belong?

Castle Baynard, London.

The skin around my fingertip
continues to break

Stanley Street, York.

I am weak, I am selfish

Stanley Street, York.

The intrusive thoughts are flooding me

Stanley Street, York.

I’m trapped by my responsibilities

Wigginton Road, York.

The self-doubt increases

Grape Lane, York.

My chest is getting tighter
with every breath

Shambles Market, York.

I am strong for still being here

Unkown Location, UK.

Is this the new normal?

Index
St Leonard’s Place, York.
Stanley Street, York.
Egton Bridge, Whitby.
Egton Bridge, Whitby.
Falling Foss, Whitby.
Egton Bridge, Whitby.
Littlebeck, Whitby.
City Walls, York.
National Railway Station, York.
Liverpool St Railway Station, London.
Castle Baynard, London.
Stanley Street, York.
Stanley Street, York.
Stanley Street, York.
Wigginton Road, York.
Grape Lane, York.
Shambles Market, York.
Unkown Location, UK.

Photography and words by Alice Kemp
Instagram: @photography_alicekemp
Design & curation by Alice Kemp
Printed at Lulu
www.lulu.com
Proof reading, graphic design &
post production by Georgina Estill
Instagram: @georginaestill
Typeset in Bodoni
First Edition, 5 copies
Concept from York St John University
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, including photocopying,
recording or ther electronic or mechanical
methods, without the prior written permission of
the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial
uses permitted by copyright law.
© Alice Kemp, 2020.

A journey through ‘Life in Lockdown’ — documentation of Covid-19 Britain
through Polaroid film and instantaneous thoughts by Alice Kemp.