I’ve started to wander about Leicester City centre with my camera and audio recorder, hoping to capture some images and sounds that give a sense of what it is like living in this city at this point in time. I find I can switch into a neutral mode of thinking that is slightly disconcerted from my surroundings as I wander around. It’s almost a meditative state. I’m out of practice with doing media work like this, so it’s been good to reconnect with the process of blending-in as I walk about the streets looking for interesting things, people and noises.
I have a complicated relationship with people which stems from my personality type. I’m INFJ on the Myers-Briggs model, so I can get easily overwhelmed by too much social interaction, especially if it is spontaneous and random. I have a strong preference for calm place, and for order and civility. Which means being in a city centre environment can be challenging at times.
On the one hand I am fascinated by what people do, and how they behave, while on the other hand I often have an intense judgemental reaction when I’m among lots of people. I don’t like crowds and busy places, but I do like watching how people do things, how they behave and what patterns of behaviour are similar and recurring.
We like to think of ourselves as unique and independent, and as individuals we are, but once we are in a group situation, we can’t help but act in accordance with the group norms that are defined and made allowable by the place and its social conventions. I have a fascination for observing the patterns of behaviour that people conform to, or transgress. I like to take a mental note of what is going on around me, and absorb the overall patterns of action and reaction.
I’m interested in those things that we often don’t give any thought to, but which define us and indicate that we are part of a culture in the here and now. I’m aiming to capture some of this in my photographs and the sound recordings I’m developing. I’m at the start of this process, and it’s going to take me some time to learn the skills that will produce interesting images.
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