kaya oatley
Kaya is a Bristol based photographer whose practice is rooted in research into sociology, psychology and general social theory. This is currently focused into ‘Bathtime’, a series of images made in her aggressively 70’s bathroom with the people she lives with. The project ponders ‘Bathtime’ as a gateway into the play area it often is for children, and the space of quiet and peace it can be when you are grown. Drawing on writing from Johan Huizinga on Homo Ludens about the ‘magic circle’ which describes play as happening in a space which has its own rules
and rituals that don't apply outside of that arena, that the participants negotiate and agree together. This body of work aims to create some of this space for both photographer and subject to explore these relationships through the childhood lens of play and dress up.
