Throughout this shoot I recorded interviews with each subject, I asked each person multiple questions about how they felt they belong, what emotions they feel, what memories they have made hear and why they feel they belong here the most….
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Where is your chosen location?
Ballaglass Glenn
What is your first memory here?
Coming here as a child with my family, my sister and I used to climb trees and pick bluebells
Why does this place make you feel like you belong to the Isle of Man?
Coming here connects me with my inner child, and I owe a lot of my childhood to the Isle of Man and the freedom it provided me with, always space to explore and play
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What emotion does this place evoke when you visit?
Nostalgia, comfort
Do you share this place with anyone special in your life?
My family, my grandparents and now my friends, my boyfriend
What does belonging mean to you?
It’s a sense of place and a place where you want to be and if I’m feeling lonely I think of this place and I feel that is where I must go, a place I am drawn to.
Do you feel a belonging feeling towards the Isle of Man?
I think you always feel a sense of belonging towards the place you grew up. I owe a lot of my self to the Isle of Man, I love nature and I think that is because of growing up around so much natural beauty. When I’m away from the Isle of Man whilst I embrace new experiences and places, at times I feel a strong desire to go back home somewhere where I can relax and a place I know well
I asked Maeve to choose a piece of text or poem that best describes their feelings about their personal journey of belonging…
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When Lost in The Forrest
Stand still.
The trees ahead and bushes beside you are not lost.
Wherever you are is called Here.
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must you ask permission to know it and be known.
The forests breathes.
Listen.
It answers.
I have made this place around you,
And if you leave it
You may come back again
Saying...
"Here"
No two trees are the same to raven
No two branches are the same to wren
If what a tree or branch
Does is lost on you,
Then you are surely lost.
Stand still
The forest knows where you are.
You must let it find you.
-David Wagner
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