I’m thrilled to have received an honourable mention in the 2018 International Photography Awards, for the project Form and Void II.
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These images were produced in Iceland and seek to examine the interconnectedness of the forms and voids that exist within the landscape, and how these elements translate to the pictorial (specifically photographic) space.
Parallel to this is a consideration of aspects of cultural geography; humankind’s place within this landscape and its relationship to it.
The Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zhou (born 370 BC), often known as Zhuangzi, proposed the notion that all things and events in the phenomenal world are dependent on one another, summarising existence as,
“This comes from that, and that is caused by this”.
In the same way that certain aspects of eastern philosophy sees the form and the void as one and the same, East Asian depictions of landscape generally intend to show that humankind is an inherent part of the landscape, and of nature, rather than ruling over it. This view is distinct from the more Western attitude of human society being a separate (and typically conflicting) entity in relation to nature.
A significant part of the project was a personal photographic “grounding”. The specific use of relatively traditional photographic equipment and techniques, including the use of a large format camera and black and white film, provides a clearer, more refined photographic language that is better suited to my intentions towards more considered and meditative compositions. The cumbersome nature of the camera is paradoxically beneficial for the production of stronger images. Slowing the process down and taking up to an hour to take an exposure is beneficial for encouraging a more analytical mode of seeing.
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It was a great pleasure to be asked by a favourite client, the Australian lifestyle magazine, Habitus Living to photograph the restaurateur and food writer Bill Granger in his London restaurant Granger & Co in Chelsea.
The commission was to produce a range of portrait and interior photographs for the 40th issue of Habitus Living.
Bill Granger moved from Melbourne to Sydney to study art in the late eighties, and it was whilst working as a waiter that he was inspired to switch his creative interests to food and hospitality. He opened his first restaurant the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst in 1993, followed by “Bills Surry Hills” in 1996. From Australia he took the brand to Japan, opening restaurants in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kamakura, Fukuoka, and Osaka.
Granger & Co in Westbourne Grove, Chelsea was his first London restaurant, followed by Granger & Co in Clerkenwell, London.
It was a real pleasure to meet and photograph Bill and see the results of his ambitious hard work. I was also treated to one of the best meals I’ve ever had! Huge thanks to Holly Cunneen for commissioning the shoot, and to Leanne Amodeo for incorporating my images into her excellent article.
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Throughout the summer of 2018 I was delighted to be asked to produce a variety of images of the new range of mobile phone accessories from nolii. The products were designed by the industrial design studio Layer, owned by Benjamin Hubert.
The project drew on a range of disciplines, including lifestyle, product and portrait photography. I photographed the nolii products at Holborn Studios in London, and carried out a lifestyle shoot in various locations around East London. A team portrait of the nolii team with Benjamin Hubert was also required, which was taken in a cafe in East London.
The images have had a great deal of exposure, having been featured across the nolii website, as well as appearing in magazines including Wallpaper•, Dezeen, Medium, Design Week and Designboom.
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The journalist and editor Joseph Galliano is currently working on a project to create the first LGBT museum in London. Buzzfeed commissioned me to take a portrait of him at the great London restaurant, L’Escargot to accompany a feature about the planned museum.
Galliano told BuzzFeed News that the museum will reflect every race, gender, and orientation under the LGBT umbrella in a bid to preserve histories that have been ignored or destroyed. It was great to meet him and congratulate him on his very exciting project.
Benjamin Bernheim is one of the world’s leading opera singers, and it was an honour to meet him in London. I took portraits of him in and around the Royal Opera House where he was debuting as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Boheme. Benjamin is performing in major operatic roles in London and internationally, as well as being an ambassador for Rolex.
In May 2017 I had the great pleasure to meet the renowned designer Marc Newson CBE, and take portraits of him at his home in London. I was delighted when Vogue, London, commissioned a portrait of the designer for their April 2018 issue.
Marc Newson was included in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, and his work is held by many major museums, including MoMA, New York, the Design Museum in London, the V&A and the Vitra Design Museum. He has set various records at auction, and his work now accounts for almost 25% of the entire contemporary design art market.
The project Six Degrees of Freedom has been included in Volume 4 of the London-based publication Water, a beautiful journal the producers describe as, ‘A quiet exploration of all things water and life, celebrating its undeniable beauty and complexity’.
Six of the seascapes from the project are included, as well as the fantastic essay contributed by theorist and curator Duncan Wooldridge.
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