‘Significant Places’ by Nikita Johnson

Nikita Sarah Johnson (NSJ) is a photographer and designer from Manchester. Earlier this year she graduated from Leeds Art University in Photography. The main genres of photography she works in are Portraiture, Fashion and Travel. This year she set up her own Etsy shop creating colourful travel prints, this has now developed into selling graphic illustrations and commissions for personalised pieces. She loves being creative and designing new products or shooting as often as she can but it’s even more rewarding when you see your work up in someone else’s home.

You can follow Nikita on Instagram @nikitasj_photos on her her website: www.nikitasarahjohnson.com and you can shop and browse Nikita’s prints on her Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/NikitaSJphotos

‘Significant Places’

NSJ: These images are taken from my graduate project ‘Significant Places’. As a project the work centres around the importances a place can impact you as a person. Philosopher Yi Fu Tuan researched the differences between a space and a place. According to Tuan the difference between ‘space’ and ‘place’ can be defined in the extent to which human beings have given meaning to a specific area. ‘Space’ can be described as a location which has no social connections for a human being. ‘Place’ is in contrast more than just a location and can be described as a location created by human experiences.

Due to the outbreak in Covid-19 I had to adapt the project. It became a reflection of my own home and what it signifies to me. I spent a lot time in my garden, being surrounded by nature, something I had missed living away from home. The images reflect moments I reconnected with my home and noticed the small intimate details that make up the environment. The project hopes to capture this unique relationship and echo a person’s memory and moment with their surroundings.