Photographs are tangible fragments of the past. They allow the viewer to transcend time and space and bear witness to a world that once existed. However, between the moment in which the photograph is taken and the moment it is witnessed there is a temporal gap that the viewer must reconcile. To make an emotional connection the photograph has to be conjured out of the vast void of history and deposited into the viewers own private memory. Within the context of New Zealand society the aim of this research is to explore the notion of man alone as a hybrid of both history and collective memory.



The notion or myth of man alone has primarily been explored through the mediums of literature and film. Drawing inspiration from history, man alone is the glorification (Mythification) of a male figure who has abandoned society for the solitude of nature. Man alone identifies in all of us the desire to abandon the confines of society for the supposed, “freedom” of nature. 



My research intention is to effectively explore the reconstruction and deconstruction of history and memory; creating a photographic experience where by history and memory (myth) are inseparable.