The project originated from my propensity to photograph the unseen in plain sight from green walkways in the heart of the city, to abandoned shoes and neglected bikes. Once I started looking, I began to see the unobserved everywhere. I was particularly preoccupied by abandoned shoes, not being able to fully comprehend the stories behind their presence. I became aware that the cast adrift nature of the shoes acted as a metaphor for my post Brexit Black British identity. This fascination with the shoes triggered nascent ideas about loss, displacement and identity and invoked a sense of loneliness within me. Given the intimate nature of self-expression and revelation the most appropriate photographic approach seemed to be to turn the camera upon myself.

I see loneliness as a psychological reaction to a lack of meaningful social connection, in the same way as hunger and thirst are physiological responses to lack of food and water. I feel that the mask I wear in the various arenas of my life affects my ability to make and maintain those meaningful connections. Loneliness is considered an unpleasant emotional response rather than a regulatory trigger for social connection, working on this project forced me to speak about my feelings of belonging and loneliness when I would not have otherwise chosen to do so.

However in doing so I came to realise that feelings of loneliness are universal, most people I have spoken to about the project can relate to it in some aspect of their life. But may not necessarily have used the term loneliness to describe their feelings until our conversation. Part of my loneliness comes from feeling unseen and unheard my mask invites the viewer to see and hear me. Whilst masks are primarily seen as a tool for concealment, I have chosen to use a mask as an act of revelation asserting my identity, my sense of belonging. An act to renounce the societal invisibility,  associated with many of the masks I have been given. I cover my face not to hide but to be seen. In addition the opaque and shiny property of the mask acts as both a tool for concealment and as a reason to look more closely.

What follows is a chaptered photo narrative about loneliness and belonging in which I wear a clear plastic, vacuum form mask of my face.