In Arrayah Loynd's compelling photo series And Then You Were Gone, she shares her personal journey through life with prosopagnosia—a condition that prevents her from remembering faces.

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Faces remain a mystery, and when confronted with someone who recognises her, she skillfully stalls for time while desperately seeking clues from conversations, visual cues, and vocal nuances. She reveals the intricacies of this condition, emphasising how the frequency of face-to-face encounters heightens the chances of a face imprinting onto her mind. Through Loynd's lens, the series sheds light on the profound impact of prosopagnosia and captures the essence of a unique journey where faces appear and fade, revealing the challenges of recognition in a visually evocative way.

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Arrayah Loynd: "I have never been able to remember faces. I get people mixed up constantly and often walk past people I know.When I encounter someone who knows me, I switch into panic mode and stall for time as I desperately try topick up clues from conversations, visual cues, and vocal mannerisms. The more I see a face, the greater the chance it has of imprinting onto my mind, but only when I see you in front of me and in the right context. I alsoforget that people exist if I can’t see them, even people I am close to and love dearly. I upset people when I don’t call or see them for long periods, but how do I remember you if you have ceased to exist in my mind?

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I didn’t know it had a name. I didn’t realise that it was a genuine neurological condition, likely related to my neurodivergence and not, as I always imagined, some personal defect that I could overcome (if only I would apply myself more)—a life spent with so much shame and embarrassment for something that was beyond my control. I am honest with people now, letting go of the need to hide and replacing it with truth and understanding—prosopagnosia: face blindness or facial agnosia. Object impermanence is an inability to understand that objects (and people) exist when they are out of sight."

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About

Arrayah is a lens-based conceptual artist who explores themes of memory, trauma, neurodivergence, the female experience and otherness. She works with altered/expanded photography, archival imagery and mixed media. Born in the UK and raised in Australia, Arrayah works as a freelance artist and has taught photography at various educational institutions within Australia, specialising in concept development and fine art printing. Her work has been featured in multiple Australian and International publications, art prizes and awards, including LensCulture, Head On Photo Awards, PhotoLucida Critical Mass, and Australian Photography Awards.

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www.arrayahloynd.com