This project started out as an attempt to document my hometown. While I was studying photography at college I borrowed a large format camera on a regular basis to go out and shoot landscapes on black and white film. I then switched to digital and started shooting colour when I graduated in order to streamline my workflow. I made this switch somewhat coincidently around the same time I was diagnosed with bipolar after having a nervous breakdown. It was not my original plan to show these two very different approaches together in one project. However once I  realised I made the switch at such a pivotal moment in my life, I noticed the photographs could speak more about my self than the place that I was raised. I began to see my shadow, no matter how invisible it may seem, was hanging over every single image. During the editing process certain themes began to emerge. Things that had broken, falling apart or even discarded had became an ever present feature. I have a connection to such weaknesses’ because of an ever present depression and anxiety that I have to combat on a daily basis. These photograph’s are also met by their antidote and we see things that have been mended, improved or adjusted. Often we see things repaired in a make shift manner capturing a human battle against the elements. I see these battles akin to me reaching for help and attempting different methods to counteract my illness. Some of these attempts more successful than others. Photographs of pathways lead us to barriers in the form of doors, walls, windows and fences. Sometimes my bipolar spirals out of control and I can become paranoid of the world and I start to question these types obstacles. We find moments of experimental mark making throughout the series, some intentional and others by accident. With paranoia my thoughts can become confused and deranged which leads me to read in to messages that were not intended for me or anyone for that matter. Photographs of things being tethered or strung together also reoccur throughout the work. I have an affinity to this theme which have come to represent the times that I have to show restraint against intrusive thoughts. I now see the change from shooting film to digital had inadvertently documented the before and after of my diagnosis. The ups and downs of my mental health are weaved through this archive of images. These photographs capture a physical place that has influenced my state of mind as well as exposing how me mental health directs my gaze. Nature and nurture became tangled up and walking around my hometown had become a trip inside my own head. This photographic exploration made it hard to separate myself from the place. So this project invites you into my subconscious to see the world through the eyes of someone with a mental health condition. You will discover the endless cycle of peaks and troughs that come about when dealing with a psychological problem. It might seem that combining the high and lows is LIKE TRYING TO MIX OIL WITH WATER. This is a task that is perceived as being a impossible to complete but with the right treatment it can be done.