I always think of myself as a collector. It’s something that I think most children do instinctively, and I’ve had many phases; fairy statues, fake flowers, dolls (not to play with, just to have), coins, ribbons, candles, dream catchers, newspaper and magazine cuttings, shells.
It began with stones and glass from my parents’ garden. Inspired by Time Team (remember that?) and the prospect of finding treasure - problem being that every stone and shard of glass I discovered felt like treasure. So I kept them all, lined up and then piled up, on my windowsill like little trophies. And this is where my collecting began.
There were plenty more phases to come, sometimes inspired by a hand-me-down of a relative such as a big old tin of coins, sometimes sparked by my personal interests such as a childhood love of fairies.
As I’ve grown older and rented accommodation from place to place year to year, I’ve become more conscious of what I own. Perhaps you settle into the rhythms of who you are instead of tripping from phase to phase. Either way, those collections are mostly gone.
Today, I was walking the streets of East London, as I love to do on a weekend. I kept noticing the buildings. So I took lots of photos. One of those days where you’re constantly looking upwards. On the previous weekend, I set out to notice market stalls, so my photo gallery was full of vegetables and awnings and boxes.
You may know (from Instagram as well as from previous posts here) that I’m frequently collecting photos of fungi, moss, seaweed and lichen. But my collections don’t end there. Seat covers on the underground is one. Handwritten fonts another, cups of coffee with fancy motifs and windows with decorative lintels or adorned windowsills are others.
I’d never thought of photo taking as a form of collecting before - as obvious as it seems. I had considered I was overly concerned with forgetting what things look like, or curious to remember more details than physically possible. But now I’m adding it to my list of things I collect. (And it sure takes up less space than previous collections.)
The one physical item I can’t stop collecting is sea glass, shells and stones. The same objects it began with. Somehow I feel like I’m returning to who I am, and it feels good.
I’d love to know what strange or ordinary collections you have (nothing is boring). Do you collect something rare or something commonplace? And do you consider photo taking to be a form of collecting?
I've just seen this post and I can relate! I am also a collector, mostly of natural history such as birds nests, animal bones, seed pods, pebbles and feathers. I also think that collecting photos counts. It's arguably a much more practical way of collecting because you can digitally take your collection with you wherever you go. Loving the seat covers from the tube too.
I love collecting photos of ‘things’, and I also collect a certain author, one artist, a couple of music bands and odds and sods to put in my printers trays. As a child I collected feathers too.