Glen Erler’s work focuses on the time in-between, the moments that without knowing make us who we are. Through photographing his childhood environments and family members, he takes us on a nostalgic journey that makes the audience ask where is their motherland?
Shadows and lighting are fundamental elements to Erler’s work, working like textures across his prints. His images have a yellow haze to them produced by the camera and the daylight that give his work a filmic finish. I want to experiment with this use of natural light and playing around with the contrast of film.
Erler has inspired me to explore areas close to my childhood, retracing my footsteps to the places where I built my own memories and where I shaped my existence.
As a child, I spend time with my grandparents at their home in Seaford, a small costal town in the south of England. The town is deserted, occasionally an old couple will appear or a car will drive past, but those who live there have solitude lives.
My siblings and I would walk across the white chalk cliffs of beachy head, edging towards the drop until an adult would spot us and call us back. The top of the hills were tranquil places where you could go to clear your mind, to escape from reality. In 2010, Beachy Head was the third most common suicide spot in the world. The top is lined with crosses marking grave stones of loved ones lost.
Further along the coast is a playground, melancholic for its dark clouds and intermitting showers. An area reminiscent of tears, broken bones and lessons learnt. Displaced frames scattered the woodchip flooring, occasionally noticing the echo of another child’s laughter from across the park. The area feels completely abandoned, like you are the only person there for miles.
The crystal shop in the town was a highlight of each trip, we would talk to the owner and she would explain their purpose, occasionally we would get to pick one to add to our collections.
As the collections grew, my Grandparents bought us wood and glass cases to store our crystals and glass sculptures in.
In 2008, my grandfather past away suddenly. As this was my first experience of grieving it forced me to consider human mortality and how any single moment can have a significant impact on your future.
Glen Erler has encouraged me to think about where I’m from and the pivotal moments of my adolescence that shaped my understanding. I think that Seaford will be an interesting place to start my research into family life and communities as I have so many associations with the area.
