Apophenia
The tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things, such as objects or ideas.
I’ve spent many an hour walking the streets of London. It’s only been in the last few years that I’ve done so with a camera. It has been a way of satisfying my curiosity about where I live and trying to form a connection with it. Wondering around alone gets my imagination firing. It channels the natural yearning for connection with the people around me into fuel for the creative imagination.
Nadezhda
What does home mean to you?
Home is a place where I am culturally understood and can find individuals who relate to me and share some sort of similar heritage and vision with me. It is also a place where I learn about the world and the people in it.
Where is home?
I happened to find a home in a country I went to without knowing the language or anybody there before I went. And there I met many others like myself, with whom we made this place (Porto, Portugal) our home. Ever since, I have learned how to make myself at home even in the most unexpected circumstances. [On a much more sentimental note, my truest home is my grandfather's house when I was growing up and no place will ever give me that sense of being at home again]
What makes it home?
I feel like the most aspect of making a place my home is the fact that it is my achievement. Ever since I left the home I was born in, I have been striving to make a home of my own. I know I have found one when I can experience a sense of belonging and fit in but at the same time am provided with cultural provocations. Such provocations are much needed because a home isn't just a safety blanket - it needs to provide some sort of stimulus for change and growth.