Broad Lane by Chris O’Connell
Broad Lane is a series of photos I took in my family home. It was 10 years since my mum had passed away, and although I live not too far away from my dad, he lives day to day on his own. My mum’s death from cancer is not something we’ve ever really talked that much about, and I’m aware that because of it we’ve grown closer and further apart both at the same time.
When I made this series, he was weak with various illnesses and I had a sense that maybe he would pass too (he’s still here btw!). I was compelled to photograph all the rooms of the house. Equally, I wanted to capture memories of growing up there, the colour palette of the house, chosen very much by my mum, and capture her presence, in particular in the back bedroom which was their bedroom, and where they’d always slept, and where some of her artifacts still remain pretty much untouched. Yet these photographs were also to acknowledge my dad’s life, and to capture the loneliness of his life there. It gave me a window into his daily routines, how he now sleeps in the front bedroom, irons his shirts regularly, and maintains his independence whilst living very much in a solitary bubble.
Chris O’Connell is a film photographer based in Coventry, UK