space in its absence
I know it's Christmas Eve, but when you work in retail, the 24th of December is just another long-awaited day off. In light of my recently regained zest for life (take that depression!), this day is off is one gained for the furthering of my practice. It's been ages since I was able to view days off for anything other than rotting, so this feels quite nice.
Lately, my commutes to and from work have been time used to mull over what I want to write about here. There’s something about the holidays that pulls you into reflection, forcing you to look back over the year and take stock. Over and over, I find myself returning to one key realisation: I made it through this past year without a studio. I’m still not entirely sure how. Somehow, I managed to produce my first solo exhibition from a tiny desk rammed into the corner of my one-bedroom flat.
Granted, that exhibition leaned heavily on revisiting and re-appropriating existing photographs and objects rather than creating entirely new work. Even so, what I missed most wasn’t the production space but the thinking space.
As a photographer, I’ve noticed there’s an assumption that we don’t need studios in the same way painters, sculptors or any other artists do. My BA and MFA reinforced this notion - no studio spaces for photography students, just access hours to rooms filled with screens, scanners, and printers. "Make exhibitions out of that," they’d say. It has always frustrated me.
I first experienced the transformative power of having a dedicated studio space in 2019 during a residency at Arts, Letters & Numbers in New York. From the moment I walked into that space, it became essential for my process. It wasn’t just a space for making - it was a space for thinking, a place for the brain to rid itself of distraction and get to work. Since then, I’ve rarely been without one. Until this past year.
My studio space at Arts, Letters & Numbers, February 2019 / My first studio at home in Ormond Art Studios, Dublin 2019-2020
For me and my practice, the studio isn’t about production. It’s about stepping into a space that signals to my brain: now it's time to pull ideas out, print them out, tape them to the walls, and see what happens. It’s a physical and mental separation from the rest of life that allows for focused creative engagement. This year, I’ve deeply missed that separation.
And yet, here I am - thinking, writing, and creating, even without a studio. It’s proof that the creative side of my brain is still alive and kicking, even if it has felt shut off at times. I don’t know how long it will be before I have a studio of my own again, but in the meantime, I’m hoping this blog can fill some of that void and scratch some of that itch.
My first studio in Belfast at the Emerging Artist Hub @ Flax Art Studios, 2021
Perhaps workingwiththenegatives can become a sort of digital studio space - a place to stick ideas, experiment, and reflect. A studio doesn’t have to be four walls and a door, maybe it can exist in the form of this blank page, a collection of words, the blinking text cursor on the 'new post' page. For now, this blog feels like the closest thing I have to a space where I can engage with my creative self in a focused, intentional way.
That is really exciting. There’s no rent to pay, no commute to make, and no pressure to create something immediately tangible (especially when that has been my MO for so, so long). Instead, it’s just a space where I can show up as I am, whenever I can, and let the work evolve. Maybe it’s just the start of something, or maybe it’s a necessary pause in my practice - a way to give myself permission to reflect, take chances, and forge new paths forward.
If nothing else, I hope this space can keep me tethered to the parts of myself that I want to explore, question, and create. I’m not sure where it will lead, but that’s kind of the whole point, isn't it? The not-knowing. That willingness, and ability to work simply with what’s in front of you, or even what's not, and trust that the act of doing so will take you somewhere worth going.
My favourite studio I have had so far, and the one I miss the most, in the North Street building of the Emerging Artist Hub @ Flax Art Studios, Belfast
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