Hardijs Gelsons
I am a Latvian born photographer based in Dublin. As an immigrant, I'm passionate in understanding how memories connect us to our past, our culture, and our sense of where we belong. I'm deeply interested in capturing the essence of home and the small details that link disparate worlds. My works are deeply rooted in memory. My biggest photographic influences are the works of Willem Verbeeck and Larry Sultan.
Calldrop
"Calldrop" documents the final moments of the telephone box, its replacement and its demise. "Calldrop" is a photographic exploration that delves into the quiet disappearance of the iconic Eircom telephone boxes. They were not just communication hubs; they were portals connecting me to my homeland, bridging the geographical chasm between Ireland and Latvia. Through the lens of nostalgia and cultural identity, this project is a visual ode to the resilience of human connection in an era of technological upheaval.
They were sanctuaries of connection, tangible manifestations of familial ties transcending borders. Drawing inspiration from the meticulous typological approach pioneered by Bernd and Hilla Becher, "Calldrop" seeks to immortalise these fading symbols of an age long gone.
Dreaming Eyes
This project is a series of landscapes taken in my local area, with the main focus being housing. I was very inspired by my childhood and my life as an immigrant. The timing for this project also seemed fitting, as I recently found out I will have to move out on my own in the next few months. I wanted to create an idealised version of my area as it’s not somewhere I want to leave yet but have to due to an external push.