Foundism photo blogging website for the lost, found and photographed

www.foundism.co.uk

Foundism is a photo blogging website created by myself and collaborator Alex Peckham where people are encouraged via social media and word of mouth to submit their captioned photographs of the lost and found. The concept originally started life as a game in which we would try to photograph the most unusual or bizarre lost objects we could find before uploading them to Facebook; other friends and acquaintances quickly became involved and soon the game had snowballed into something bigger.

Within weeks of launching the site, pictures had been received from Paris, Finland, the US and even Hong Kong, with subjects including giant ice cream cones, a pair of blood stained slippers and an array of abandoned and forlorn soft toys.

We think a lot of the appeal comes from the narrative, real or imagined, that is associated with each find. Although these are all pictures of inanimate objects each one has a story to tell, there is often an element of sadness and bittersweet humour. Every discovery is a little snapshot of life, a glimpse of emotion. That’s something a lot of people can relate to, it doesn’t really matter what culture or country they are from; it’s all about a visual depiction of empathy that’s easy to engage with.

The project is ongoing and still accepting submissions of lost and found photographs from all over the world. You can submit your photos via the Foundism website.

Foundism the movie

Foundism is a short film that myself and collaborator Alex Peckham created using lost toys that we had found. It was filmed using an iPhone 4S.

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