Lost and Found | Vicki Couchman

Vicki Couchman is a photographer based in London. The images in this gallery are a selection from a book she compiled of her dad’s photographs taken between 1960 and 1980, which were discovered after his death. Vicki’s dad fully encouraged her career as a photographer, but she never knew he had a passion himself.

Vicki: “I was unaware that Dad had a medium format camera (the square format); these images introduce us to his story. I don’t think there was ever a device that allowed us to view these images, and I only have faint memories of ever seeing the modern 35mm images. It has been an emotional and happy journey to discover Dad’s passion, which perhaps he played down and passed on to me. There are so many images to choose from, but my goal was and has been for many years to find those hidden treasures and memories we have so long forgotten and revisit those times.

“The most wonderful finds for me were pictures that might seem meaningless to some, but for me, a tiny detail like the carpet, wallpaper, or a toy in the background brought back so many memories. Christmas trees decorated so badly seem so beautiful. A vase of flowers proudly placed outside on a table and photographed as a memory of achievement might seem insignificant, but I gasp in delight as I remember that beautiful table like a prized possession, forgotten but brought back to life by those living flowers placed upon it.

“They are memories of our childhood, which might not have been seen again, lost in a loft or destroyed in time. I have scanned these images in the state that they were found; I have not felt the need to restore them to their glory but felt it more precious to preserve them as they were found in their degrading, mouldy state. These photos, like our own memories, have become worn and obscured by time.”