Statement.
Initially, my intentions focused on the concept of finding an archive in the absence of a narrative. To do this I gathered and processed old film negatives from eBay. This created the basis to my project as it was significant to me to work with the 'random.' Collecting an archive of images in which we don't necessarily know what we are looking at goes against the ordinary expectations in which define 'archive.' The definition expresses 'archive' as 'a collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people. My aim here was to disrupt this, we have no context to who these people are, where they are, and when, specifically, these images were taken. This dysfunctional theory therefore resulted in myself generating a false narrative to accompany the photographs.
Intervening with an archive which belonged to a person other than myself gave me free rein to experiment and manipulate the history and stories in what these photographs convey. Appropriating images in different ways is relevant in keeping our mind active and experimental. For instance, the mystery negatives were a collection of vague photographs meaning that I had the authority to manufacture the truth behind the time, place, and people, all featured in the photographs. This concept of manufacturing a false narrative is significant as it can broaden our perspective to see further than normal and fabricate a story unique to our minds. This idea was important for me to explore as it can be seen as an insight into others' lives. However, it can also be argued that this is anti-social. The ethics behind intervening with the archive of an individual are challenging. If we do not have permission from the source, is it liable for one to use in their own practice?
