Initially this photograph interested me because I found the slight blur of the photograph eye catching, but upon looking at the photo further and thinking about what the darkness of his photographs represents I found a much deeper meaning to not only this photograph but the others in his series also. This particular photograph is part of his landscape series and so it is very desolate and empty, it creates a sense of sadness and emptiness with the overall dark tones and contrast between the black trees and the white/grey clouded sky. Hido’s photographs are very conceptual, he uses dark colours and isolated locations to represent emotions of loneliness and isolation. A common theme among Hido’s work is the weather, he tends to photograph foggy, misty, rainy or cloudy scenes, and they’re often out of focus – I think this could be to represent the confusion and uncertainty of the mind, creating a very dismal image. I like that Hido’s work is very conceptual rather than direct, I find it thought provoking and think that it is interesting that different people can interpret the emotions behind the image very differently. Hido’s work inspired me to take on a conceptual project of my own to depict the loneliness and isolation of those with mental illness which I would like to develop further.
Ashleigh Mote
L1 Photography, University of the West of England
UWE Bristol Photography Research Group 