A SENSE OF PLACE
IN THE 1970S, Edward Relph introduced us to the term ‘placelessness’ – the risk of reducing complex destinations and, by default, human beings and circumstances to generic ‘single stories’. Relph explains that in order to comprehend what it means to live on Earth – an experience often beyond our comprehension – we tend to generalise and “casually eradicate the distinction of places and the people in them”.
Placelessness reminds us that when we grow up hearing only one story about a person or a place, we run the risk of limiting our understanding of that space or experience. The world cannot be simplified to a single narrative; our lives are composed from the interconnection of limitless stories, perspectives and journeys.
Relph articulated that concept nearly 50 years ago, but at a time of deepening social divides, his words resonate today more than ever. How we experience the world and understand our place in it matters.
But when it comes to photography –
