Having lost several family members over the past year, I set out to photograph how a house occupied by the family since 1939, and soon to be sold, was organically turned into a home. The recording of this was therapeutic for myself, my family and for others who shared their feedback. The process helped me realise the colossal effort that my father-in-law and mother-in-law had made to contribute materially to the house. This was a 'right to buy' council house, one of many sold off in the 1970s and early 1980s. As owners, the improvements undertaken finally became their responsibility. This new mindset galvanised my parents-in-law and has made the sale of the family home, in common with many families, particularly painful.
The hand of my father-in-law is everywhere in this picture. As a skilled tradesman, he took note of the craft of other trades when working, subsequently installing everything you see in this photograph, right down to the central heating. Sitting in this room on various family occasions since the late 1980s I would feel an enormous sense of security. The fixtures and fittings bore the signs of a perfectionist. This makes it even more difficult to leave behind.
My father-in-law would utilise materials left over from other jobs, bringing home, for example, these surplus commercial specification door handles. The home is a collection of 'make do and mend' spanning decades, all bearing the marks of a couple striving for the best they can achieve with the resources they have available to them. It is unique. The shredder, however, stands ready.
Trying to decant and clear a house that has been in the family since before the War has been challenging. The family were often reliving the past by uncovering an old photograph, a newspaper clipping, or an object from childhood, stopping them in their tracks. Recycling everything to start a new journey elsewhere, has been difficult.
I have photographed this family seat several times. None of the images were perfect. This home deserves a further viewing and a further visit. We need to look again; we are being made to look again.