Edward Honaker is a 21 year old photographer from California. Not long ago he was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. He documented this period of life and his inner struggles that he was going through, through his photography work. He wanted to do this to raise awareness of mental illnesses for those going through the same thing. All of the pictures are in black and white, this portrays the emptiness and dissatisfaction that these illnesses can leave you with. Here are some examples of pictures from that collection:
Skin and bones: This haunting image highlights Edward's spine as he poses next to a wilted flower. I like the way how we can see his bare back, he has put himself in that vulnerable position, to reflect how his mind is very vulnerable to manipulation through depression and anxiety. I think the dying flower could also represent the decay of his mind and freedom as depression is such an overwhelming and consuming mental illness, it drains ones individuality.
Blending into the background: Edward's face is blurred or covered in all of the haunting black and white photos, which are meant to portray the helplessness felt by someone who is battling mental illness.
I am personally very inspired by this picture because it is very powerful, yet easy to achieve simply with a sheer sheet. I like how his hand is pressed up against the sheet, I think that suggests that he is reaching out and he wants to be with everyone else and wants to be free from his own mind, but there is always something in his way.
Where did he go: In Sad Ailment / Mental Disease, the photographer is looking in the mirror, but his reflection is blurred.
I think this picture is quite clever because of how it has the connotations of someone not even recognising themselves anymore. It shows how depression and anxiety can ruin someones personality and change them completely, you slowly won't be able to find yourself anymore. This picture would also be quite simple to re create with a slow F-stop to capture the movement flow of the person.
Looking for help: Edward blurred his face in this powerful photograph, which is entitled Any Exit / Anxiety
Edward's face is blurred or covered in all of the haunting black and white photos, which are meant to portray the helplessness felt by someone who is battling a depressive disorder.
'All I knew is that I became bad at the things I used to be good at, and I didn't know why,' Edward recalled of the time before his diagnosis.
'Your mind is who you are, and when it doesn't work properly, it's scary,' he noted.
No comments:
Post a Comment