A Psychological Journey With The Invisible Flatmate

Edge of Humanity Magazine

1 month ago

Photographer Peter Waters is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this photo essay. From the project ‘Hollow Man’. To see Peter ’s body of work, click on any photograph.

It caught my eye as I passed the doorway, my wetsuit, sprawling on the bathroom floor like a shed skin or the headless body of a crime scene. Its anatomical correctness startled and unnerved me. The encounter began what I thought would be a humorous photographic take on the “invisible man”, but it ultimately led me on a journey of self-revelation, exposing my fears of identity loss, isolation and irrelevance.

Hollow Man was produced in a Melbourne apartment where I lived in 2019. Having been recently separated, I was living alone for the first time in my life. As part of my therapy for dealing with the smaller living quarters and isolation, I swam as often as I could in nearby Port Phillip Bay. My wetsuit was designed specifically for swimming – sculpted and tight-fitting to keep the water out. It was so human in its form that I would arrive home after work, see it hanging over my bath, and wonder, amused, at what it might have gotten up to in my absence.

The series started with my recording of “Tony” going about his daily life as my invisible flatmate. I often feel a loss of control at some point in the creative process – when certain images become so persistent that I can think of no others. The only way to move on is to exorcise them by bringing them to “life”. The issue was that these persistent images held a dark sadness I hadn’t expected and went in a direction I was reluctant to take.

In reviewing the series with my mentor, I emphatically denied they related to me. Her retort was incisive. “He has no identity; he could be anybody; and there’s a little bit of him in all of us”. Only then did I recognize the thread of personal fears I had subconsciously woven into the frames. This lonely, trapped and isolated figure – searching for love, meaning and relevance – wasn’t me – yet, but could have been me, and might be me in years to come.

Peter Waters is a Melbourne based photographer. His work spans portraiture, documentary, conceptual and travel. Peter has completed his 2nd year of an Advanced Diploma at the Photographic Studies College.

All images and text © Peter Waters