Elise Simmonds
Nebula, 2022
Photographic Polaroids in Frames
Growing, 2021, 41.9cm x 54.9cm
The Tower, 2022, 8.9cm x 10.8cm
To The One I Love Most, 2022, 8.9cm x 10.8cm
Cyber Girl, 2022, 8.9cm x 10.8cm
Sun’s Muse, 2022, 8.9cm x 10.8cm
Close To Me, 2022, 8.9cm x 10.8cm
Untitled, 2021, 5.4cm x 8.5cm
Foggy, 2022, 5.4cm x 8.5cm
Bank, 2022, 5.4cm x 8.5cm
A New Wind, 2022, 8.9cm x 10.8cm
7:40am Sunrise / Little City, 2021, 8.5cm x 5.4cm
Final Window Of Light, 2021, 8.5cm x 5.4cm
Bed Rest, 2022, 8.5cm x 5.4cm
Self Portrait, 2021, 8.5cm x 5.4cm
Elise and Brianna, 2022, 8.9cm x 10.8cm
The roots of my work revolve around my inner monologue. This series highlights a conflict with myself and coming to terms with being in my 20s, having moved past my childhood and facing the intimidating promise of a new clean slate.
Nebula is a visual exploration of the daunting, relatable nature of the constant passing of time; the growth of thoughts about achieving one's dreams, nurturing your legacy, shifting tides, and facing mortality, an internal battle for peace that bears a heavy weight, while simultaneously feeling a content closeness with myself I have not felt before.
Built of considered images shot on film, polaroid and digital media throughout my time in London, I pin down my internal cosmic cluster that is constantly changing, to see the morph of human experience. Documenting obsessions, feelings of elation, and crushing self-doubt, I seek to ultimately accept and understand my inner workings and the uncontrollable nature of existence. I want you to feel a sense of company when you look across my work, a notion that we are connected through our understanding — or lack thereof, of the world's (and our own) absurdity.
