Loneliness

Loneliness is not just about being alone.

What is loneliness and how do we perceive it? Initially, I associated loneliness with someone who is physically alone, having no friends, no one around, and no social life. However, being alone can some- times be a choice and does not necessarily equate to loneliness.

Or does it relate to feelings of loneliness? Contrary to the clichéd image, individuals experiencing feelings of loneliness may not necessarily be objectively lonely.This made it clear to me that it is a complex issue.

Does loneliness then have to do with personality? It is not entirely clear. However, it has been ob- served that individuals with low self-esteem are more likely to believe that they do not deserve atten- tion and friendship.

Is loneliness primarily about the feeling itself? I believe that the feeling is one of the major factors of loneliness. Whether you are alone or not, the feeling of loneliness is independent and is influenced by various other factors, which I will discuss later.

However, loneliness is still often seen through that stereotypical lens.

For myself, I had these questions in mind:
Do you feel lonely, and is it okay to feel that way?
Is it acceptable?
Do you have a valid reason to feel that way?
Is it realistic or justified to feel that way?
Should you do something about it, and can you do something about it?

Now I know that it’s okay to feel that way; you always have a valid reason for what you feel.You don’t have much control over it; emotions are just part of life. But still, I feel this way, and it’s contradictory.

When I think about it, it sounds logical, but my feelings tell me something different.They just don’t align.

I also interviewed my peers about loneliness.
Starting with the question:What is loneliness and how do you perceive it? From there, I engaged in conversations. I still need to talk to more people to draw a proper conclu- sion.
However, I have managed to extract a few insights.
Loneliness might not be solely about your situation (being alone or not). It’s more about the lack of connection with people.That can result from various circumstanc- es.You may find yourself alone in a particular situation, unable to seek support from friends and family because they don’t understand you. As a result, you can’t really discuss it with anyone.

Feeling alone among others happens more often than you think.

Currently, I am exploring analog photography. I have worked with double exposure before, but this time, I’m approaching it differently. First, I will shoot a roll of film in redscale, which means shooting it from the wrong side. On this side, I will photograph groups of people.

Then, I will rewind the film back into its original canister and shoot over it from the correct side. On this side, I will photograph myself.This technique of photography allows for some uncertainty about the resulting image.

I aim to capture on film the sense of missing a connection with the people around you, as if they exist in a different layer or are difficult to reach.

For this, I used the all my photos from this period but especially my last one namely the redscale double ex- posure photos. I was discussing with Petra what was the best place to start. And that was to make a booklet attached to a piece. So I taped together my roll of film printed out and then folded it. The result is really super nice.This week I will also pick up my new roll so I can scan it and then I want to make the same booklet from that.The 2nd booklet I made during the workshop
is a booklet with lots of hidden photos, so they are inaccessible and I am playing with that again.