Sophie Gray

In the series: A Comfort Zone is a Beautiful Place, but Nothing ever Grows There, I aim to unravel and confront my conflicting feelings of being away from home. Travel, for the most part, is an enriching and fulfilling experience that can provide great insight into different ways of life, however, there’s an underlying feeling of sadness that accompanies the excitement of being somewhere new. The inability to call home whenever you want; missing the familiarity of the people you love and the place you’ve grown up in. It’s feeling guilty for having those feelings because you’re travelling and you should be making the most of the finite time you have away, but the thoughts are inexplicably still there, permeating through. 

In order to fully understand and unpack those emotions, my images focus on introspection and self reflection through a series of unconventional self portraits and urban landscapes. In doing so, I attempt to explore, in greater depth, how I build a relationship with the unfamiliar. Poignantly worded by American Novelist, Jack Kerouac: “because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.”

Themes of isolation, curiosity, exploration, longing and joy underpin the series to bring together a cohesive narrative. It may be that these feelings never fully dissipate, but I hope in opening myself up to vulnerability, I can begin to accept and find my peace with them.