The Impossibility of Escapism
sophie molins
Words found in Prisons, on the streets and in toilets call out from anonymous spaces like tiny voices. They speak of strange rules and strange places. They tell of dreams, regret, longing, friendship, aspirations and humour. From funny to sinister, ambitious to poignant they reflect a desire to communicate and the frailties of life and the human condition. The words connect us to the strangers.
Foucault said
‘Through the missive, one opens oneself to the gaze of others and put the correspondent in the place of the inner god. It is a way of giving ourselves to that gaze about which we must tell ourselves that it is plunging into the depths of our heart at the moment we are thinking.’
Through photographs of the written word the viewer is implicated, spoken to, called upon and connected with the subject. After all we are all equal in the eyes of God. Maybe we can see our self through these words of the other.
‘To see and love the other in her or his unguided truth, which is his or her unfamiliarity, one has to be willing to see, without flinching, the stranger in oneself.’ (1)
Sophie Molins lives and works in London. She studied fine art at Central St Martins and has won two arts council awards and the Eddie Adams New York Times award, the Westminster photography bursary and is a South bank photography award winner. She has exhibited widely here and abroad.
More work can be seen at her web sites
sophiemolins.com
photomo.org
deepdowndarkhorse.com
dontforgetthemonkey.com
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