Amy Anna Graham From One to Another

The phrase “Being Human” suggests something that we should all instantly recognise, however; it is hard to define that one connection that is shared universally.

Whilst visiting the online NLS moving image archive I became aware of the linear way we move through life: documentation of experiences have been left behind for us to connect with, crossing paths with past and present. This idea was continued in Trevor Paglens ‘The Last picture project’: I was interested in their aim to visually communicate with those who will come after us, creating this unique connection from one to another.

In research of ‘The public realm, the common’ by Hannah Arendt I came across the interesting development of human communication, especially during the pandemic: living out our social lives online has meant it is harder to distinguish between private and public. I started to develop this sense of “being human” as our innate instinct to communicate and make connections with others. The base influence for my project came from a personal archive of postcards, being aware of the lost art of human contact through letters: illustrated this further through an archive video “Many happy returns”.

I explored physical aspects of the human form to help visually represent “being human”. I was first interested in the complex mapping of the human brain, looking at scientific photography of neurotransmission. Taking this further I found similar forms and purpose in cardiac muscle: both aspects of the unseen human body that create specific connections to allow for us to function.

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