Essay on "Jetties Philosophy"

Quoted Instructions for "Jetties Philosophy" Assignment:

BACKGROUND ON PROJECT My project focuses on jetties, which are places with many meanings and associations.

As a photographic project my aim is to visually explore jetties within this context, and to create images which reflect my personal involvement with jetties.

Seen from this point of view it is clear that my photographs are autoethnographic.

From this point of view, a photographic project which aims to investigate one’s personal relationship with and response to jetties can be thought of as a visual autoethnography which aims to elucidate one’s memories of a place.

The variety of autoethnography which I am intending to use is the personal narrative in which the author views him or herself as the phenomenon and ‘write evocative narratives specifically focused on their meanings.

In terms of the latter, a jetty is not a fully social space: it is a halfway zone, neither land nor water; it is a human construction that reaches toward the natural nonhuman space and so takes on a multiplicity of possible social and personal meanings. This is the place it has in my experience and thought.

What is at issue are my memories and experiences of being on and around jetties, and the manner in which they affect me in the creation of images which are evocative of my memories and experience.

My personal experience will also be used to reflect on various theories of space and sense of place.

There are many intellectual frameworks within which we can reflect on jetties and their use. Because my interest is based in personal experience, however, I have been led to taking an autoethnological approach, the fulfillment of which depends on the exploration of three areas: memory, identity and place. Each of these areas are intimately bound to the others, and each contributes to a sense of self-identity as it develops in our experience.

In many ways what is at issue is an attempt to answer the question Who am I? The process of investigation involves memory work, the telling of personal stories, the use of old photographs and the creation of new images.

WHERE I NEED HELP I am extremely interested in the offing - ( the space of water -between where the boats are moored and the sea meets the horizon) Standing on a jetty I am transfixed by these spaces. I am drawn into this void. I cant seem to put words to this part of my assignment and would love to engage you help on this part of it. I would love a philosophical approach.