May
I have photographed in care homes and hospices across the country. I always come away feeling positive because of the incredible work of the carers. The emotional relationships they have with residents cannot be underestimated.
The government claims it put a protective ring around such homes from the start and that the majority are coronavirus free. Statistics seem to show differently. The number of deaths attributed to this time along with staff absence because of coronavirus, places a serious question on why there has not been more testing in the care sector? With more testing it would be possible to build a picture of how far and how quickly the virus is spreading, enabling the possibility of being able to prevent it from spreading so rapidly.
On Friday I will be attending the funeral of my uncle who contracted the Coronavirus whilst at a care home. Amongst the restricted number of guests will be his carer.
Every Thursday I am proud to support our key workers, dedicated carers, and staff across the NHS.
Jan
It always amazes me when I look back at a year of photography of how diverse the projects are. From portraits of “survivors of torture” for TASSC, to Microsoft’s program of Quantum computing.
The work took me to ten different countries across three different continents. I photographed everything from annual report brand material, to advertising, editorial and corporate portraits, events and conferences, and charity photography. I also photographed architectural and interior projects from hotels to shopping malls, high end business offices and luxury residential. I picked up numerous awards throughout the year, featured in the “Best of the Best” Oneeyeland book and had my work exhibited in Washington D.C.
I am ready for all your new challenges in 2019 and look forward to working with you.
Jun
This year, TASSC (Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition) is celebrating 20 years as an organization - a huge milestone for the staff, founders, supporters and most importantly - survivors. TASSC is an organization whose mission is to end the practice of torture wherever it occurs and support survivors as they empower themselves, their families and communities wherever they are.
I have collaborated with TASSC to produce a series of portraits of the survivors that will be shown as an exhibition at a very special reception with the Founders and survivors at Open Society Foundations in Washington DC this week.
The exhibit “From Trauma to Resilience: Portraits of Torture Survivors” features 10 portraits of individuals who fled their home countries seeking safety, recovery and political asylum.
The accompanying statements capture the courage and determination that led them to seek assistance through TASSC in Washington.
I wanted to produce a series of portraits that were as powerful as the statements and stories of the individuals, to invite the viewer to see the survivors in the fullest measure of their humanity. I therefore asked the survivors —who come from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East—to choose photos from their past that held special meaning for them which I projected on to them in a studio.
Whether a serene landscape or a vibrant street scene, the projected images show emotionally charged moments which become part of the individual’s skin in the photographs.
Emotionally, the portraits push viewers to look beyond whatever pre-conceived notions they might have about refugees and asylum seekers and see them as individuals with very human connections to place and home.
Most of the survivors were tortured by repressive governments for “reasons” as varied as joining opposition political organizations, criticizing their governments publicly, refusing to join the ruling party, being related to a political dissident or because of their religion or sexual orientation. These courageous men and women were persecuted for standing up for freedom of speech or assembly or for exposing government corruption, fighting against gender-based violence or forced early marriage for girls.
Torture continues to be documented throughout the world. The refugee population statistics sites a large percentage as torture survivors with the current global refugee crisis being expected to explode this number.
For more information go to TASSC
Apr
I have been selected as a Nikon featured photographer on their “Inspirations” section of their Polish website.
This Polish language site was created to assist photographers in raising the quality of their art through education and inspiration. The site consists of three main sections. The first section is a tutorial, where technical information and ideas are presented as a support in educating photographers in the basic mechanics of photography. The second section highlights an “Author of the Month”. This section also employs an educational approach through the author giving concrete and practical assignments to the site’s users.
The third section has links to inspiring and interesting featured photographers from around the world.
I am a great believer that we never stop learning from our fellow photographers however much experience we have. I constantly find inspiration, and learn from, other photographers and hope that my pictures will do the same.
