CIRCADIA

Life is a nightmare, that prevents one from sleeping.

Oscar Wilde

Circadia considers the impact of modern life on our health, exploring the science of sleep and our circadian rhythms.

Recognised as a global epidemic by the World Health Organisation, the duration of sleep and when sleep occurs have all been comprehensively distorted by modern life. Insufficient exposure to natural light and a 24/7-world filled with brightly-lit rooms and back-lit screens, overloads us with light throughout the day and night.  And when sleep becomes short or is persistently interrupted, every major system, tissue and organ of our bodies suffers. We are effectively in direct combat with our own physiology. As that battle rages we choose our weapons: stimulants to fight the fatigue, sedatives to induce sleep.

Made using Polaroids, incorporating commonly-used stimulants and sedatives as an integral part of their creation, the unpredictability of the decaying agent produces a unique biological quality to each image.