Personal Investigation: Daniel Regan

Daniel Regan

Daniel Regan is a photographer who often focuses his work on themes of recovery, psychology and mental health. He experiments with both portrait photography and landscape. He uses his own life experiences to inspire his photography work. He used his own experience of hospitalisation to to influence his work and in particular a series called 'Abandoned'. He was drawn to the 'Victorian mental asylums' few of which are still standing. Regan attempts to tell the story of those who once lived there as well as posing the question of what happened to them once they were closed down. Daniel Regan has a second series, 'Insula' which was also influenced by his own personal illness, in order to make the public aware of the emotional difficulties that accompany living with a chronic mental health disorder. It was during the time of the making of this illness that Regan began to use photography as a tool for recovery. It is through the making of photographs that addressed his moods, feelings and emotions that allowed him to make sense of the chaos surrounding him.

Objectively this image shows the underside of a grate in the floor with bars and nature covering the opening of the hole. The outside of the image is covered with a black shadow with the centre of the image focusing on the light which is directed through the opening of the hole, directing the viewers focus straight to the middle of the picture. The stone creates a rough texture within the image which is then cut of with use of the of the bars which are constricting the nature from entering and advancing further into the opening. The use of concentrated light in this image has created a contrast between the dark shadows and the bright saturated colour in the image. Subjectively, I think the image creates a feeling of isolation and claustrophobia both which are often felt within people who suffer from a mental illness. The use of concentrated colour in the middle of the image allows it to become more striking and attention grabbing, as well as creating a large contrast within the image.

Objectively this image shows the inside of a window which is covered in a grubby partially opaque curtain. The curtain has fallen part way away from the window, however, the view through the uncovered part of the window is restricted due to the dirt that covers it. Part of the white window frame is in the image, creating leading lines that split up the image into four different sections. There is minimal contrast in the image allowing the true grittiness of the image to come through. Subjectively, I think the use of the dirty window and the torn dirty curtains convey a sense of abandonment and loneliness in the image. The image parallels the feelings of those with mental illness, who are people who also used to occupy the place where this image was taken. I think that the grubbiness and rawness of the image reflect a mental illness. A mental illness is then further reflected through the use of only part of the window, which suggest that we can only partway see through the window, just as someone can only partway see someones mental illness. This image raises questions of what lies beyond the small part of the window that we can see?

This image is a part of Daniel Regan's series 'Abandoned'. It was taken inside an old Victorian asylum that has been abandoned and decaying for a number of years. It features a long corridor with a broken abandoned wheelchair in the middle of the hallway. The Wheelchair is at the centre of the image, drawing the viewer’s attention straight to the centre of the image. There is rubbish as well as overgrown wild nature surrounding the wheelchair and continuing down the corridor. There is a flood of natural light in the corridor, creating a small amount of contrast between the light and dark areas of the image. The leading lines create a strong visual narrative in the composition of the photograph. Subjectively, I think that the broken abandoned wheelchair, invokes feelings of loneliness and despair in the viewer. The image shows the place that large amounts of people who used to suffer from a variety of different mental illnesses lived and how they used to live. Despite not actually featuring anyone who suffers from an illness, this photo has a powerful impact that tells the story of many who used to live there, all trying to deal with and help their mental health.

Responses

For these images I experimented with long exposure in a house that is currently empty and being renovated. I decided to take pictures of this house because it had previously been occupied by residents who had mental illnesses. Therefore I wanted to portray the state in which these people who had mental illnesses had been living in. I used a long exposure to take these images as there is a lack of natural lighting in the house, due to the windows being covered. Therefore, I used a tripod when taking these images so that there wasn't any camera shake when taking the image.

This image shows the front a chair, assumed to be wooden backed against a wall. Underneath the chair is a pair of trainers, not in the best of conditions. The floor has been stripped bare, revealing the multiple stains and dirt suggesting the floor is worse for wear and has been unkempt for a long period of time. Furthermore, the war is covered in black spots and stains, possibly damp and mould further highlighting the fact that the house has been left abandoned for a good amount of time. The image is black and white creating a large amount of contrast further highlighted by the dirt and mould evident on the walls, chair and floor.

I think this image has been extremely successful in incorporating Daniel Regan's style and interweaving it with my own style of photography. The graininess evident within the image is something I like to experiment with a lot in my photography as I feel it adds to the emotional message I am trying to portray. The isolation of the chair and the shoes in the frame create feelings of abandonment and loneliness within the viewer, something that both the house in which these images were taken have experienced and something someone with a mental health condition, such as the people who previously occupied this house, often experience in their everyday lives. It is as if this composition has been frozen in time, creating a narrative within the image as the viewer may then be wondering what happened to the owner of the shoes and the chair, to leave their possessions in such a position. This then creates a further depth within the image.

This image portrays a chair in a corner of a room backed up against the wall. The image is black and white creating a high contrast, something which is further emphasised by the grittiness of the wall and floor, possibly caused by mold.

Personally, I wanted to capture the contrast between the grittiness of the long neglected or abandoned walls against the retro, contemporary chair. This portrays a high contrast between the condition in which the previous owners lived and the furniture they owned. This could be as a result of their mental conditions, as this was shot in a house that was previously occupied by people with various different mental health conditions. This then creates a powerful narrative as it becomes clear that the inhabitants mental health conditions limited them on their quality of life, something it could be argued they should have received help for.

This image shows two windows above a radiator. The image is black and white, creating a high contrast between the light outside and the light inside. The image is very grainy further emphasised by the use of black and white and high contrast. There are a number of leading lines within the image all centered in the middle of the image as a result of the windows and the radiator.
Personally, I think this response has been a successful one as rather than creating a carbon copy of Daniel Regains images I have used his technique and his style and merged it with my style of photography to create a powerful, eerie image. I believe that the graininess of the image as well as the use of black and white further emphasises the loneliness and the sense of abandonment within the house and the picture. The composition of the two windows above the radiator create an interesting image as it stands out. The glaring light through the window, created by the use of natural light, further adds to an almost supernatural, other worldly feel within the image.