Five People Thinking the Same Thing I
Photograph
1998 (photographed)
1998 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Frances Kearney was born in Norfolk in 1970 and graduated from the Photography MA course at the Royal College of Art in 1998.
Kearney’s work is concerned with the passing of time and with how one copes with that awareness. Her large-scale photographs seem to be spontaneous snapshots of mundane everyday domestic activity, but they are meticulously staged. Locations, clothes, expressions and posture are all contrived for the photograph, and scenes are re-worked until a sense of stillness is achieved. Kearney’s figures convey a monumental and meditative quality, absorbed in what she has described as ‘lost time’. They are caught at a moment of personal reflection, perhaps waiting for something to happen. With her series 'Five People Thinking the Same Thing' Kearney creates images in which the layers of meaning unfold as one spends time with the work. Her choice of title invites the viewer to embroider the scenarios with their own narrative.
Kearney’s work is concerned with the passing of time and with how one copes with that awareness. Her large-scale photographs seem to be spontaneous snapshots of mundane everyday domestic activity, but they are meticulously staged. Locations, clothes, expressions and posture are all contrived for the photograph, and scenes are re-worked until a sense of stillness is achieved. Kearney’s figures convey a monumental and meditative quality, absorbed in what she has described as ‘lost time’. They are caught at a moment of personal reflection, perhaps waiting for something to happen. With her series 'Five People Thinking the Same Thing' Kearney creates images in which the layers of meaning unfold as one spends time with the work. Her choice of title invites the viewer to embroider the scenarios with their own narrative.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | C-type prints |
| Brief description | One photograph by Frances Kearney from the series 'Five People Thinking the Same Thing I', 1998 |
| Physical description | A colour photograph depicting a woman kneeling on the floor next to a fireplace. She is holding sugar in her hand over a bowl that is placed on the floor next to a mug. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Making It Up: Photographic Fictions (2018)
Kearney’ s images seem to be spontaneous snapshots but are in fact meticulously staged. Clothes, expressions and posture are all contrived for the photograph, and scenes are re-worked until a sense of stillness is achieved. Kearney’s figures convey a monumental and meditative quality, absorbed in what she has described as ‘lost time’. They are caught at a moment of personal reflection, perhaps waiting for something to happen.
Marta Weiss |
| Credit line | Given by Frances Kearney |
| Object history | Acquired directly from the artist |
| Summary | Frances Kearney was born in Norfolk in 1970 and graduated from the Photography MA course at the Royal College of Art in 1998. Kearney’s work is concerned with the passing of time and with how one copes with that awareness. Her large-scale photographs seem to be spontaneous snapshots of mundane everyday domestic activity, but they are meticulously staged. Locations, clothes, expressions and posture are all contrived for the photograph, and scenes are re-worked until a sense of stillness is achieved. Kearney’s figures convey a monumental and meditative quality, absorbed in what she has described as ‘lost time’. They are caught at a moment of personal reflection, perhaps waiting for something to happen. With her series 'Five People Thinking the Same Thing' Kearney creates images in which the layers of meaning unfold as one spends time with the work. Her choice of title invites the viewer to embroider the scenarios with their own narrative. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.646-2016 |
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| Record created | October 1, 2013 |
| Record URL |
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