Set of photographs #2

Commentary from participant

1. and 2. The photographs show correspondence from the UK Home Office. The first few years of my life here were a nightmare with the Home office. I came in 2012. I was married in Canada. I had done research, but the rules had all changed by the time we came here. That nightmare coloured the first few years. I had a sense of not knowing who to call, I didn’t know if I was allowed to call, for instance, Citizens’ Advice Bureau. I grew up in Ottawa.

3. Here are flowers and paintings of flowers. One was done by my daughter. These flowers represent for me a sense of community and friendship – the orchid was a gift when I arrived (and now I like to keep orchids), the felting project I did with a lovely group of women, my daughter’s painting represents how very much my experience here is tied to her existence in my life.

4. Here you can see ferns and wildflowers. I wanted to capture how nature thrives; even in stone walls, always there is something. This was something that stood out for me here. One of my big impressions over time – what I appreciate is the accessibility of nature, that is very new to me. I learned so much from my mother-in-law talking about flowers.

5. This is a ‘bee hotel’ made from bamboo. I make welcome the bees.

6. Here are some recipe books and other books. [There are some more in photograph 15]. Some have travelled from Canada and from China. Consistency is very important, it can be achieved maybe through food. The books give me a sense of connection to my past. They give me comfort.

7. Here are clothes on a radiator. Drying clothes is not an issue in Canada because we have tumble dryers. But here, it is damp. That is one of the things we had to navigate.

8. and 9. This is the coastal path near where I live. The sea gives me a sense of awe. I’ve never lived near the sea and didn’t realise until living here how much I appreciate being so close to it and having such access to it.

10. This photograph is of blackberries; foraging is a part of my experience here.

11. This mural enables me to appreciate street art. There is a lot of creativity in this little island, artists, writers, musicians. Having artists all around feels very normal.

12. This is an alley way between streets and people have planted flowers – it is like an oasis.

13. This is a picture of sneakers [trainers]. I got them in a charity shop. The shoes symbolise how much I have experienced here on foot, on the same two feet. Again, this is connection to the other places I’ve lived.

14. This is a bay window. There are lovely doors here too.

15. Recipe books [see commentary on photo 6].

16. Again, here is nature, being out in nature and appreciating it, has become a part of my experience here.

17. One of the things that really shocked me here was the over-packaging of food, the amount of waste.

18. A walled garden, another lovely aspect of nature here.

19. This is a house glimpsed through my window. I like what I see from this window – sunrise, sunset.

20. There is graffiti all around. It is sometimes not positive.

21. These are my feet again – here I am doing yoga. That has travelled with me.’

‘ I have since got Irish citizenship. It was the end of a saga. The ceremony gave me a lot to think about – so welcoming and they told us not to forget where we came from. We should tell our story because it becomes part of the story of Ireland.’