CAITLIN BRADY

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Hometown Photography: “Leading Lines to Forgotten Places”

I enrolled in a photography class in 2014 that resulted with this series of photos of places in my hometown that I hung out at as a child/teen. Titled “Leading Lines to Forgotten Places,” I wanted to capture the once vibrant spaces of my childhood- my school, park, movie theater, etc. In my imagination, these spaces were hosts to things and people that had already moved on; devoid of activity in the present day. I captured these spaces in a series of black and white photos, emphasizing the perspectival pull of leading lines.

At our critique, my teacher exclaimed, "Where the heck are all of the people?!" Surprisingly, most of these locations were sparsely populated, similar to how my imagination pictured them. Many of my favorite childhood spaces have changed greatly (or closed altogether) as the suburbs have developed and interests have changed.

In the past months, I can’t help but think how similarly vacant these spots have been during the pandemic’s shelter in place and work from home restrictions. ​

Enjoy browsing through this old project.