Waiting For Things In A Time When You Rarely Wait For Things
Jocelyn Allen
Waiting For Things In A Time When You Rarely Wait For Things was made between October 2019 and June 2020 in my flat in Liverpool.
When I found out I was pregnant I knew I wanted to document this new phase of my life, and it felt natural to me to photograph myself as I predominantly appear in my personal work. I also wanted to talk honestly about the experience, so each photograph has an accompanying diaristic text of up to 30 hashtags. My husband, Tiago, also appears in the series.
I thought the project title was quite smart when I thought of it in 2019, but I never could have imagined that I would be pregnant during a pandemic. While life as we knew it changed a lot, I was grateful to have something to count down to in uncertain times.
In the end the project became not only a diary for me, but also for family and friends who never saw me heavily pregnant in real life. It also helped give me a focus during lockdown when I realised that my old normal was gone forever.
I am now working on a series about motherhood.
Artist biography
Born in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in 1988, I am an artist who mainly works with photography, video, performance and dance.
I completed my first self-portraiture project in 2010 and have been primarily using myself within my personal work since. The themes that I often explore are hiding & revealing, body image, self-esteem, self-confidence and anxiety, though recently my work has been about pregnancy and motherhood too.
My practice is very therapeutic for me and through it I am learning to accept myself and my body, whilst also building my confidence. It also helps me to process my thoughts and feelings, as well as document my life.
