Finbar Flanagan

Drifting is an intimate yet universally resonant exploration of the aftermath of separational trauma. This installation art piece blends photography and the spoken word to articulate the complex journey of a man finding his way through lone parenthood. Navigating this new life without a partner, he assumes the roles of both mother and father for his three children, all while seeking moments of mourning within the confines of his domestic environment. Taking inspiration from the artists Clare Gallagher and Christian Boltanski, Drifting reveals the domestic space conceptually in both the visual narrative and in the physical object of a photograph.

A year leading up to this project my partner of fourteen years left me. It took me a long time after the separation to find my love for art again because I was so focused on my kids and making sure they were safe and happy. I decided for this last exhibition in my final year of college to create a response to this grief through my photography and other supporting art forms. 

After the separation there were many noticeable quirks happening around the house and one of them was my eldest daughters connection to her teddy bear. Whether is was this sense of separation anxiety due to the situation or just something that was already there and I never noticed. The bear offered comfort, safety, love, allegiance and never left her side. I hoped the same could be said for myself as her father, I offered all these things even to my own detriment as I was exhausted both working and raising kids. This gave me the idea of using photography to create a conceptual narrative of me as the bear and about the depletion of my energy among other things. The following images are what I chose for the exhibition. The large image is 3.6 metres by 1.2 metres and is hanging reminiscent to a washing line.

There is also an audio piece to be heard with the work. It has the dull repetitive sounds that can come with domestic life as a single parent and I can be heard speaking about some exchanges I had with my partner that is now absent. This lawnmower image was shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Portait Prize.