The word ‘Dreaming’ in the title of this work suggests looking beyond the present, or imagining a different set of possibilities. This strategy of referencing something other than that which is visible in the image, has been and remains a consistent concern in my practice. I often use text or the spoken word within an artwork to evoke a sense of the inherently unstable and unfixed nature of our relationship with place, memory, and identity. The clear horizons, glimpsed in the distance, remain elusive and out of reach.

The landscapes that I photograph are often inscribed by events of the past, terrains where the forces of history and politics collide. These are not neutral spaces, they remain highly contested and retain the power to amplify our fears, and anxieties, and to shape our hopes, and aspirations. My practice is committed to evolving a language to address these complex issues, to synthesise the documentary effect of the photographic image with the uncertainty of fiction. I’m still discovering in my video and photographic works what the potential of this blend of actuality, reportage, narrative, and performance might be. Dreams of the past and of the future.

Willie Doherty