James Stych

I am working with the theme of the uncanny, focusing on the un-homely and how to construct an image that can cause this feeling to occur. I have explored the power of the unknown associated with darkness and how people react to it instinctively in a negative way. I have used Sigmund Freud’s theories of the uncanny by introducing something unknown into a familiar environment in order to create a feeling of disorientation. I have taken the theory, applied within a home environment, and replaced the uncanny with the un-homely. 

I have also looked into how mediation can change the authenticity of a narrative. Traditional methods may be seen as the most authentic way to visualize an un-homely event, however there are difficulties in documenting events as they occur. Memory isn’t the most accurate way to visualize the environment but can succeed in portraying the raw emotions felt at the time.

Through my work I have found a balance between visualizing raw emotions and emphasizing them through photographic mediation, raising the question of how and why this event has come about, rather than who created it.