My venture in photography initially began with an interest of documenting social issues in rural Britain where I grew up. I went to different villages I grew up and explored my own relationship with them as an adolescent with retrospect having moved away and grown with a new identity different to the one, I had growing up. I explored this using medium-format photography and found spending long summer days photographing places I had fond memories of. Photographing these place through a nostalgic lens and spending time back there I also remembered the less fond aspects of growing up in an isolated space as an adolescent. There were social issues in that most people I was forced to socialise with had right-wing views and were like me suffering from serious mental health issues and a lack of social funding in the area to give young people things to do other than turn to substances out of boredom and lack of guidance. Through photographing these places, I found interest in doing portraiture of people as they are just as important as the places they inhabit in term of forming these places identities.

While studying at The University Of Brighton and under the guidance of my tutors I was told to lean into my skill with portraiture. I next made a zine name “Pork & Beans” exploring British masculinity and stereotypes of the British male. I did this by taking images that typically have masculine connotations and contrasted these with softer and more intimate portraits of a wide range of English men varying in age and ethnicity. This was an enjoyable practice as I was able to blend my landscape/documentary work with my portraiture. Making this into a print also gave me a new experience with collating work together for print and changed how I’ll make images going forward.

In my final year of University I’ve been focusing on building a fashion/editorial style portfolio that I can take into the industry with hopes of finding employment freelance or with an agency. I felt I needed to improve my skills with studio lighting so have been focusing on my proficiency in the studio. To do this I put teams of models and stylists together to simulate industry shoots and even made work on commission for local business that sell clothes in Brighton for their websites and social media. By taking these lighting techniques to locations and working with creative directors and other artists I hpe ot develop and nuture my own style as time goes on. Learning from other industry professionals as well as artists of different mediums.

I tried to expand from my work with 35mm and medium-format film as I’m very comfortable with these mediums but have yet to use much digital in my workflow. I have now been incorporating it into every shoot so it can be something I offer to future clients.

Now based in London I hope to use contacts I have there to gain funding for a project exploring the decline of social spaces in the UK. I feel village halls, social clubs, bowls clubs and etc. have been used less by younger people but still have a lot of importance for older generations. In recent visits to such sites I’d noticed an uncanny repetition in features of these places; old horrible curtains, sports leader boards that for no reason stopped being updated in the mid 80s etc and I wish to capture these environments and build a book to be published.

As an artist I hope to gain a foothold in the commercial industry but still allow time for my personal interests in socio-documentary work exploring Britain and it decline and incline in certain cultures and societies. Coming away from Brighton and coming to London has allowed me new opportunity for collaborations I hope to work with a friends collective “Different Gravy” to gain funding and support for my own projects while helping other artists bring there own concepts and idea into fruition. By working with a friend who is a photographer as well as graphic designer/ printer I would love to make my own books and help submit my own for relevant subjects and projects.