In July 2025 I spoke at the Symposium on Darkness at Nottingham Trent University, where I shared my ideas about the photographic darkroom as an uncanny space. I argued that the home darkroom in particular can be a site of revelation - both good and bad - where that which was previously hidden reveals itself.
From “People Make Things,” (2017).
The talk was deliberately wide-ranging; taking in photographic history, concepts of the uncanny and my own experiences with setting up a home darkroom. I finished by sharing some images from People Make Things to argue that working in and with the darkness can be a way to reclaim space and renegotiate a sense of personal power. It was a fantastic opportunity to revisit this work, which I’m only really beginning to fully understand now, eight years on.