Zones of Possibility is a new limited edition photobook by London-based photographer, Helen Rosemier. With a strong narrative and high-quality presentation, it offers a moving, mesmerising and intriguing collection of original and archival photographs.
I found this to be a thought-provoking book, one that I keep picking up again and again.
First some context: Jacques Derrida, the 20th-century French philosopher noted for his Deconstruction and semiotics theories, devised the concept of ‘Hauntology‘ in the early 1990s. Hauntology argues that the ‘ghosts’ of lost futures have the potential to come back from the grave and haunt the present. He originally applied the idea to Marxism through Spectres of Marx (1993) but its themes are universal. In the world of hauntology, the ‘what could have been’ and ‘what was’ both still exert a shadowy influence over the present moment.
Shot during lockdown, when “time was out of joint“, photographer Rosemier trained her camera lens on the everyday objects found within the enforced confines of her small urban garden: Pot-plant root structures; cracked winter ice; discarded feathers. Such objects combine to disorient the mind. I try to make sense of what I am seeing. I know I am looking at something familiar, yet, struggle to contextualise it. Taken close up, some of these items appear as fantastical large galaxies or otherworldly wonders.
Puzzle Zones
But there is so much more to this project than an abstract puzzle book. The first clue is the dedication ‘To Matt’ on the first page, accompanied by an archive image of three children playing in the long summer grass. Then come more images of assumed friends and family. One page is deliberately torn, partially obscuring the two images depicted on the adjacent pages. This simple addition creates a whole interplay and narrative all of their own. Other images have features cropped or obfuscated, leading us to only be able to surmise the nature of these relationships. An ingenious idea of positioning photo-album corner mounts leaves us wondering what the missing photograph would have been of.
I imagine the author probing about her back garden, seeking out interesting items to photograph. But with her attention being hijacked at every turn by stirred-up memories. The act of rooting around can unexpectedly displace ghosts of the past – a punctum among the plant pots.
This is a tactile book in one sense, with its high-quality paper, embossed title and several other physical details thoughtfully deployed. But the high-contrast, brooding monochrome images also heighten the texture and form of the subject matter just as strikingly. If only we could touch our memories so readily as we can feel this.
Accompanying the photography, the book is also enriched with poetry by Julian Dobson. Placed near the start of the book, Dobson opens our minds to what will come next, with sublime lines such as:
“surfaces hold
memories of holding”
I’m also pleased that it isn’t a physically larger book. At about 25cm by 14cm, it strikes a perfect balance. It is large enough to fully appreciate the photographs. But it also retains a sense of intimacy, as though being granted a privileged viewing of a personal photo album.
Possibilities
From the start of this book, I’m led gently to the awareness that I have stumbled upon Rosemier’s personal sadness and grief. I’m peering at pictures of the past that reveal a future that was supposed to be different. By the end of it, I am consumed by the myriad possibilities and lost potential of what was. This is a deeply personal work, yes. Yet Rosemier somehow leaves ample space between all these fragments for our own lost futures to make themselves heard too. And they return to us carrying a much more universal message: Zones of Possibility reaches out to those inner hauntings to remind us that “The past is not fixed, as time transfigures meaning”.
Links
To see more of Helen Rosemier’s work visit https://www.helenrosemier.com
For more about Zones of Possibility: https://crowdfundr.com/zones-of-possibility?ref=ab_2JM71HNZdGz2JM71HNZdGz
Zones of Possibility limited edition prints: https://www.helenrosemier.com/shop/home?token=AcZmwvEU7kCA0YMzgGhWgQ~~
For more about Julian Dobson’s writing and poetry:
Images and videos in this post are copyright Helen Rosemier 2024. Not to be reproduced without permission of the owner.
A very fitting critique of a truly inspirational and moving book. The pain and grief of the author are palpable as one turns the pages and experiences the sensation of the ‘what if’.