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Stored in: Projects
Posted On: August 14 2007
By: Brittney Bush
Photo © cooliceblue
This is a personal story of emotions and photography. It is about me and it's not about me. It's about my experience as my youngest son had treatment for cancer and then died and how life goes on.
A story of death isn't just about the person dying. If no man is an island, then none of us dies and affects no one in the process. "hurt, grief, and flickr" is Malcolm Matthews' story of completing the 365 Days project while his son Martin was dying. While Martin is an important character, the figure always in the emotional background, the tale itself is Malcolm's. It's the other side of the story, not the story that happens in the room with all the cards and flowers, but the story of the man sitting pale and quiet in the waiting room, drinking his fifth coffee of the day. It's about the truth that the well have needs too, just like the sick, and that most of the people around are too empty themselves to be able to give to each other.
That's where flickr comes in. The internet is an awfully convenient way to connect with people from Other Places, people who aren't also bogged down with the emotional weight of your situation. And flickr in particular encourages instant and direct communication about emotions and experiences. Post a photo about how you're feeling, and within minutes - seconds maybe - someone else, somewhere else, will say something about it. Boom! Zap! A connection is made. A little thread of giving and understanding reaches out to you.
My day 10 photo was taken before going to the hospital for the next round of chemo. I wrote something to that effect and received a concerned comment from "elladog." Before long I was in a regular comment exchange and occasional flickrmail dialogue with her and a number of 365 Day members.
Slowly Malcom's support network grows. He is surprised and amazed and eventually and most of all grateful. These people - friends - at the other end of another computer somewhere allow him to explore and share his feelings, his fears, his story and also Martin's. And though Martin's story doesn't have a happy ending, at the end of "hurt, grief, and flickr" I didn't feel sad at all. I wasn't laughing or jumping with joy - but I felt okay. It's okay. It's all going to be okay.
4 comments on this Ink
On August 14, 2007, Greg Fallis said ...
This is such a lyrical tribute to another sort of lyrical tribute. If the term "bittersweet" could take physical form, it would be in stories like this.
On August 14, 2007, Bryan Partington said ...
Thanks for pointing out this great entry in The Utatan.
The banjo photo in particular takes on a whole new meaning in context that i wouldn't have expected flipping through random flickr thumbnails.
That's part of what i like about Utata and specifically this photojournalism format, putting things into context in a way rarely seen on flickr.
On August 20, 2007, Saucer Full of Secrets said ...
Nice and powerful perspective towards a situation and Flickr.
On August 26, 2007, Justin Lane said ...
What Bryan said.
Otherwise, in Projects:
- Previously: The Utatan
Utata Ink is a daily publication edited by Bryan Partington (striatic). Photos used on utata.org are stored on flickr.com and obtained via the flickr API unless otherwise noted. To make a contribution to Ink, please visit Ink Me.
