BILLY OSBORN
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clay pigeons
hold still, darling
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A small selection from Clay Pigeons (2019-2024).
Clay Pigeons was made to alleviate and express my agoraphobia, to reflect one experience of an anxiety disorder, and to reimagine the tradition of expeditionist photography.
After periods of prolonged isolation, this project created a purpose for leaving the house: the act of making photographs. It eventually took me all around Britain; there are pictures from the south coast of Cornwall, a smallholding in Ceredigion, and the peak of Ben Nevis. Through varying landscapes and chance encounters, the perpetual feelings of fear and isolation, the fantasies born from seclusion, and sometimes the joy of realised exploration, were reflected back at the camera.
Over time, Clay Pigeons also became a reimagining of expeditionist photography. Despite often visiting unfamiliar places with a view camera, the ground glass was intended to mediate between my own discomfort and the outside world; the camera was a tool to connect through vulnerability and express a personal relationship with mental health, rather than a means to conquer.
Showing as a work-in-progress at Ffotogallery, Cardiff. 2022.