Middleton Farm — Daniel Mooney Photography

Middleton Farm was created as a response to the breif of ‘Wonderland’ as part of These Scenes Magazine, a collaborative UAL publication.

‘Wonderland to me is a time gone by. It is the memory of family, joy and a place called home. The work examines this form of wonderland by rediscovering and touching my own subconscious, attempting to recall memories I have of this place through being with family in the space I grew up in and remembering the things I have lost.

Since leaving to live in New Zealand, home and family have exponentially grown in importance to me. Returning has only left a deep yearning for the past. The House and places fundamental to my being are no longer as I once remembered whilst family relationships are fraught with difficulties.

Part of the narrative though is also my process, Wet Plate Collodion method which is chemistry than photography at times. When using this process you don’t know necessarily know what you are going to get or the challenges you will be dealt. They are messy and ugly sometimes but there is something extremely raw about them. The damaged plates show the fading memory of childhood and my finger prints allow the plates to become performers. These imperfections and difficulties are things I embrace - they are symptomatic of family and growing up, serendipitous moments which are entirely unique based upon the place you photograph, the time, temperature and season. Each image leaves individual trace through my own finger prints and the way chemicals react and they present themselves as ghostly views into a dreamlike memory of a world.’