by Atticus Head

Photographs have become a very prominent artifact in my and my family’s life. Ever since I was born, countless pictures have been taken, documenting my and my family’s lives. Another artifact for me and my family is the music of Nick Drake, an English singer-songwriter from the 60s and 70s. His music reminds me of my childhood because my family played him so much in my younger years. He has such a soothing, sweet sound and his lyrics are very poetic. His music virtually became my lullabies as a young child.

When creating my multi-modal element I first considered what the core of my writing was in my autoethnography. Much of it was looking back on my own experience as a child growing and developing surrounded by the natural world. In my multi-modal piece, I wanted to show and encapsulate this thought process through the pictures and music from my childhood and by doing so, advocate for children’s exposure to the outdoors.

I first compiled five pictures that had the most impact for me and then paired each one with a song from Nick Drake’s discography. I intentionally paired certain songs with specific pictures based on the message I wanted to convey with each pairing. For example, one of the photos depicts a young me standing in the ruins of the old whey mill that sits on our property. This photo makes me think of my childhood when I had more of a connection with the wilderness around me. Nick Drake’s song “Place To Be” speaks to being younger and greener. I interpreted with song toward the narrative I was trying to tell. That when I was younger I thrived physically, emotionally, and spiritually with the natural world around me. Now that I’ve aged and life has become more complex I am searching once again for the “place to be” in my life. The place I was when I was a child. I titled this pairing of the photograph and music “Younger”.

In another pairing of photography and music I titled “Go Play the Game”, you can see my younger sister, Samantha, smiling on the back of my father. As I’ve grown I’ve admired my little sister more and more for her innate sense of self-awareness, especially when it came to her connection with the natural world. I paired this photo with the song “From The Morning” off of the album of the same. In this song, Nick Drake creates a sense of innocence and reminiscing, singing “go play the game that you learned from the morning”. I interrupted “the morning” in this song as childhood. Back then we played and let our imaginations run wild without the worries of the world. There was so much innocence in those times. This picture of my younger sister brought this idea to me because she was always so good at being who she is without the inhibitions that society tried to lay on her.

I went through the process of making this project reflecting on the pictures in front of me and the songs playing. It became a very rewarding and therapeutic experience. Each picture has a title that is linked to some aspect of the song it is paired with. And I feel I could have stopped there but I wanted to add something. 

So with all the songs by Nick Drake I chose, I created a piece of poetry at the bottom of all the visuals. It incorporates parts and lyrics from each song to create something unique to the message I’m trying to convey. I believe by creating this piece of poetry I told a story of the loss of innocence and wonder and reminiscing on those times. I then pose a question of “what will happen” if we continue to move so fast and neglect the relationship we have with the natural world. I then express hope, stating if we can rekindle our relationships with nature and foster new ones for the future, we can return to playing the “game” that we learned from the morning.

I believe that writing this poem put the important final touch on the experience I created with the whole multi-modal project I entitled “Younger”. I titled it this because that is where this whole journey began for me when I was young and strongly connected with the wilderness. And I believe a young mind is so powerful and with an intentional connection with the natural world, that will create even more powerful mature minds.

Click the link to visit the experience: https://atticuslang120.wp.unca.edu/younger/