They Drifted Slowly to Eternity

Abstract

This body of work takes the subject of people who are physically and metaphorically between states, drifting and encountering the unknown. It seeks to give new currency to appropriated photographic images used within the media that may be seen as momentary, then left to float in the boundless parameters of the internet.

The title of this body of work They Drifted Slowly to Eternity is taken from a New York Herald account describing the human tragedy that unfolded after the 1873 sinking of the SS Atlantic that was carrying 800 migrants from Liverpool to New York (‘Passage to the World’ The Emigrant Experience 1807 – 1940. K. Brown, 2013) 560 passengers were lost in that tragedy and although now it is an arguably forgotten memory it is sadly echoed through the continuing loss of lives from current migration.