BILLY OSBORN


selected works
        castle of memories
        heaven’s floor

info


“I spent much of my early 20s trapped inside a room. Having developed agoraphobia shortly after leaving home, it was increasingly difficult to face the panic and fear I felt whenever I left my flat; living in cities and feeling that busy spaces were impenetrable, I found ways to avoid going outside for weeks at a time. But books and fantasies were an escape from the isolation. Reading Frankenstein or Butcher’s Crossing, I dreamed of fleeing to explore quiet mountains and moors.

Making pictures for Castle of Memories gave me respite. Driving extensively through Britain, forming a bubble of safety inside my little car, I sought to use photography to express my experience with agoraphobia. The view camera became a tool that allowed me to connect to the people and places I found – it mediated between my own discomfort and the outside world, which often reflected my fear, isolation and fantasies back at me.”

Castle of Memories has been exhibited as a work-in-progress at the Arnolfini, Ffotogallery, Open Eye Gallery, and The Island. It has also been published online by L'Œil de la Photographie, F-Stop Magazine, and Positive Magazine.

Right: On Being at The Island, Bristol. 2025.