‘The Whole House is Shaking’
Thomas Duffield’s project ‘The Whole House is Shaking’, consists of details of everyday life in the setting of his picturesque childhood home on a small farm in Leeds. However, whilst seemingly an idyllic childhood, the photos represent a darker underlying family history; his father’s secret addiction to heroin. Whilst the series features portraits of Duffield’s mother, grandfather and sister; the absence of his father in the photos is very powerful. Duffield explains in an article in BJP that he began the project as a way to document the deeper effects drug addiction can have on the family involved and in the hope that it would open up a dialogue between himself and his father.
The consistent colour scheme, composition of the photos and attention to light and shadows make this work hugely visually pleasing. I will continue to think carefully about each of these aspects in my own work as I continue.
In his book, Duffield presents his images alongside short lines of text taken from his sister’s school spelling book; which he explains offers an insight into her experiences of growing up. This is an interesting idea and I feel even more inspired to include text in my own work!
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