Justine Raith

Artist Statement

As an artist I want to feel engaged in deprived sections of the community using social documentary photography as a contemporary art form to convey my findings.  I work mainly in analogue photography which I feel tells the truth more than modern digital technology.  I parallel the notion of obsolescence of materials with my images of abandoned streets and with ordinary people’s lives being hidden, forgotten, neglected, overlooked and discarded.

I use different kinds of vintage cameras to achieve the results that I aim for, and am currently using a constructed pinhole camera. The pinhole takes time to load and unload, and to take the photograph. With this device I am not in control, it takes charge and captures an image directly from the environment; every photograph is unique.

My methods are out of kilter with the instant and disposable. Time is taken with memory, place, and the passage of time, mirroring the lack of importance attributed to many people in socially deprived areas.  I work in the darkroom and rescue and use obsolete stock. I am now learning skills to initiate the body of work that I want to develop over the coming years, not only with my array of antiquated cameras, but also to explore the moving image of analogue film. I want people to take notice of the reality out there.