C.Y. Frankel is a London-based photographer and has recently completed an MA in the subject. Particularly fascinated by the ways in which documentary photographs are used to try to accurately describe the world or tell a ‘truth’, his current work looks at ways in which the medium can be used – somewhat paradoxically – both as a means of subjective expression and as a way of portraying reality. He is intrigued by sequencing and narrative and the editorial possibilities afforded by the photobook. As such he is inspired by the work of Robert Frank, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Rinko Kawauchi and Jason Fulford, among others. His work has been exhibited in the UK and internationally, and has been featured on Photoworks and other platforms. Today we share his series Careful.
Careful
Unplanned and un-staged, the photographs in this series are ostensibly unrelated, taken in a variety of locations over a period of two years.
Sequenced and recontextualized within an extended narrative, however, the images cease to function solely as photographic representations. Meaning can become fluid, slipping between images to evoke a mood and tell a story – the precise nature of which may ultimately rely less on an objective truth than on the imagination or memories pricked from the subjective life experiences of the artist or viewer.
The series is anchored throughout by alternate views of a suburban house. Indeed, it is the old sense of security – symbolized by our walls and our homes – that grows ever redundant as the series develops, giving way to an admission of anxiety fueled by doubt; the tension between fear and reassurance, exile and home, longing and fulfillment – modern life’s cycle of the strange and familiar that ultimately must be accepted even if it remains without satisfying resolution.
To view more of C.Y.’s work, please visit his website.