sofobomo2008 a place to call home web

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A place to call Home

Martin Doonan


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byMartin Doonan

A photographic look at how houses become homes


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All text and photographs Martin Doonan, 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this book my bereproduced in any form or by any mechanical orelectronic means, including information storage andretrieval systems, without permission in writingfrom the author, except by a reviewer, who mayquote brief passages in a review.

A pdf version of this book will be available online.This pdf verson may be freely downloaded forpersonal, non-commercial use.


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Living in an urban environment generally means living inneighbourhoods lined with identical houses or in large

apartment blocks. Despite life in such anonymoussurroundings, many people seek to impose their

personality on their own living space, to distinguish theirspace from those around: to turn a house into a home.

This project started as an interesting way to gain

insights into the ways in which the inhabitants turn theirliving spaces into individual homes. It was anopportunity to take a closer look at a city that I merely

know functionally.

Introduction



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Over time, however, I have observed more than themere documentary aspects of this endeavour. For me,this has also turned into something of an exercise insocial observation. It has also led to me learning andthinking deeper about the nature of urban living.

In a city with a large transitory population foreignworkers coming and going for short work assignments

there is a surprising amount of adaptation being appliedto living spaces. This may come from the need to feelattached to something or somewhere whilst experiencinga nomadic lifestyle.


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It is often said that living in close proximity to others

destroys the sense of personal space and yet many

strive to create a sense of separation. Perhaps it is a

craving to be away from the cramped urban

environment, a desire for something more rural. Thereinin lies a dichotomy of urban living: the convenience of

facility versus with the desire for space.

3 Proximity


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Covering a wide area has shown that often individual

touches seen in one area are part of a wider theme, that

patterns repeat. In other ways signs of individuality in

one area are developed into neighbourhood

characteristics in others. There are also other commonthemes that manifest: functional development,

ornaments, window decoration.

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Function


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In some cases objects are placed for personal

pleasure, for the viewing of the inhabitants. In others

such effects are turned outwards for the delight of the

passer-by.

Personal effects become a public display.

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Objects


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In the first instance I was afraid that I would be

constrained into presenting an endless string of

window boxes, passing into limited clichd views. It

quickly became apparent that there was more to show

than that.

The leafy suburbs, full of families and children playing,were also the most barren of subjects. Hedges and

trees become a means to retreat in isolation.

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Flora


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All of the images in this book were made during the course of April

and May 2008. They were taken during a series of walks around

the city of The Hague, Netherlands, where I live and work.


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the city of The Hague, Netherlands, where I live and work.

I have chosen to present this work in a way that reflects both thecontext and detail of a particular individual touch; paired images

that show both the wider view and the close-up details. I hope thatin this way one can gain both a sense of place and person at the

same time.

This project has been part of the international SoFoBoMo 2008, an

idea by Paul Butzi.

Martin Doonan, May 2008http://doonster.blogspot.com

www.sofobomo.org

First Edition


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