WITHIN 5KM — INDYA C PHOTO

WITHIN 5KM

Our home is one of our greatest tools for self-expression. For many of us it is much more than simply an inanimate structure in which we eat and sleep - it is the place where we play out some of the most tender, exhilarating, and intense moments of our lives.

We lovingly refer to it as ‘home-sweet-home’, and adorn it with objects that are meaningful to us. It is often where we find ourselves at our most vulnerable, a place where we can let our guard down and experience the spectrum of emotions without fear of judgment. As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and strict lockdowns we have become hyper-aware of this space and how it functions within our lives; whether we have intentions of creating a narrative or not, these spaces speak volumes to our person.

My daily allocated time for exercise throughout lockdowns was transformed into an exercise in observation - I studied people’s homes from the sidewalk and documented as many of their narratives as I could within my designated 5km boundary. The more I photographed, the more I noticed details that transformed occupants of dwellings, into people of their homes. I saw the unique and individual elements that set us apart from each other, as well as the things that we share.

I watched on as homes became dynamic to suit our rapidly changing needs - desks in front windows, dusted off seating arrangements, shiny new bikes - each change heralded the household’s attempts to adapt to a new way of living. And the newly realised expanses of time were reflected in that which you could see from the sidewalk, the results of activities such as manicuring front gardens, applying fresh coats of paint, and planting vegetable patches.

Despite this spirit, when it seemed there was no end in sight for lockdowns, feelings of claustrophobia and resentfulness crept in as we grew tired of seeing the same things day after day. We drifted through waves of emotions, seemingly connected to the waves of outbreaks, as homes reverted to their original state - perhaps even more disheveled than they were to begin with - reflecting back at us the resignation to the state of the world that we had found ourselves in.

This body of work is as much a love letter to our homes as it is an acknowledgement of the monotony that we collectively experienced in lockdown.