Olive Froman

Can you introduce us to your series The Bunny Song? How and why is it important to you to include the element of human connection?

This series is entitled The Bunny Song. It is a documentation of myself, my parents, safe spaces, and the inevitability of aging. My work is motivated by life events, happy or sad I think it is important to capture it all. It is crucial for me to include the theme of human connection in my work because that is all we have as humans- connections. The parallel between aging and human connection is prominent so I do my best to capture that in the most respectful way.

Can you elaborate on how you proceed to photograph your family in a respectful manner? Does this include choosing not to photograph certain moments, where do you draw that line with the people you love? How did you build that trust?

When I photograph my family I have to realize that I am both making them a part of my photographic world and in contrast, entering their space with my camera. The way I respectfully photograph them, always relies on how comfortable they are feeling. I never want to overstep. It is a lot of responsibility capturing people in vulnerable spaces. There isn’t really a line for me; it is just dependent on the situation and how people feel. Sometimes there’s an overwhelming feeling of “oh, maybe I should put my camera away”. My parents have realized that I use photography as a form of processing so they have really opened up in that sense. The trust I build with people I photograph is developed over time, and never rushed.

Is there a story behind using the title The Bunny Song?

The day I was born I was given a stuffed bunny. This bunny has been with me throughout my whole life, like another family member. When I was young my mom used to sing a song to me that went “my bonny lies over the ocean, my bonny lies over the sea…” this song transformed into “my bunny lies over the ocean, my bunny lies over the sea.” This song was sung to me as I fell asleep every night for as long as I can remember as a child. When I was thinking of a title for this series, I was thinking of something that has been constant in my life. This series became, The Bunny Song”.

How has the role of your family and growing up with them made an impact on your work?

I believe the close relationship that I have with my family is the reason that I am able to make such intimate work about them. If we had another type of relationship I’m sure I would still make work about it but in a different form, and it would be another practice of intimacy. I started taking photos of them when I had my first camera; I was young and didn’t realize that it would be a life long project.

Why is it important for you to document your bond with your father?  Can you tell us about how your process has shifted from the first time you photographed him to now?

It is important for me to photograph the bond I have with my dad because I see a lot of myself in him. People have always told us we looked alike and I never really saw it until I took my first self-portrait with him. I can’t exactly remember the first photo I ever took of him but I do remember a project that I worked on before I left for college. The series documented my parents as I was leaving for college and I remember almost every picture of him, his face was obscured. The photographs I have of him now hold heavy eye contact in almost every single one. I think the photographic process has shifted and also there was more trust.

What have you learned from this experience? 

I am always learning when I am photographing my family and myself because we are always growing and that is a scary but beautiful thing. I am learning that it is just as important to photograph the ugly things as well as the beautiful things.

You mention that it is important to photograph the 'Ugly' things as well, can you provide an example of this. Does photographing it change your perception of labeling it as ugly?

When I say photographing the ‘ugly’ things I am mainly talking about photographing things that are hard to look at, but still beautiful in their own way. For example, my grandmother just passed away suddenly and I had the option of going to see her body. When I was given the chance, I went and brought my camera without even thinking. I photographed her because I knew I was never going to be able to see her again, and because I felt I needed to do so. It felt important. Photographing something like that 100% changes my perception of labeling it as ‘ugly’. I’ve realized that these images that I have given that label, are so much more important even though I can’t look at them sometimes.

What advice would you give someone who is hesitant to document those they are closest to? Did you encounter any “walls” that you had to work through. Please describe your creative process including the struggle within it

If I were to give someone advice who is hesitant to photograph those they are closest to, wait for a good moment and don’t rush it. I experienced some deaths in my family, which was difficult to process. I hit a wall then had realized that I was able to process these times through photographing these events.

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Website https://www.olivefroman.com/