PORTRAITS

 

I approach my portraits as a set of images within a particular 'container' or concepts. For example 'Biographica' was photographed using a special sliding back land camera, manly used for landscapes. i wanted to photograph a series of interiors which also served as a biography of the people who inhabited them. The result is a very detailed exploration of The Home. 

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I began as a photographer after artschool graduation working the streets which eventually led to a more formal approach to portrait work. My series shot over a year in 1984 saw the culmination of two distinct elements - shot on 35mm film and hand coloured which all my work was. By 1986 I was becoming frustrated with the still image and began a series of new works which radical change the way I worked. Firstly I moved over to 6 x 6 format and printed black and white. I also began to experiment with combining this with 8mm film, primarily as a recording of the session. TIme has come full circle as in the work of the Maverick Green Sofa sessions which moved from the still images on the Red Sofa Sessions to film clips.

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The sofa has been a motif since the early days when I did a project photographing Women on Their Sofas. As a concept each lady I photographed introduced me to a friend who had a sofa. I have use the sofa with the Walbersick Swimmers and the participants of the 2016 Aldeburgh Documentary Festival, both using the same plastic green sofa.

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My Dioromas are public constructed imaginary landscapes where people are invited to sit within and react as they wish, often by playing with the available props or bringing their own as in Diorama For Dogs.

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Carnival explores ideas with a mobile canvas studio when I was commissioned to photograph people at a centre in Lowestoft wearing their own mask creations for a parade.