- Can you tell us a bit more about your new project?

The project comes about off the back of a three year project called Quotidian Bodies. This project was about celebrating the body in all its gloriously diverse forms while being as inclusive as possible. I was so privileged to include disabled bodies, mature bodies, bodies of different ethnicities and bodies of different sexualities and non binary genders, and bodies in transition. Each of the people that came to the studio had a different story and I would encourage them to share with myself and my partner (also a photographer that assists me on projects) to put them at ease and to get to know them a little better. On a day to day basis I am not that curious about other people’s lives, but when they are in the studio they become a point of fascination. You have been kind enough to publish some of this project in the past.

I found myself coming to the end of the project and felt I had done about as much as I could with it. And found myself wondering what the next steps were. I have a big performative project that is starting but it felt rather large and unwieldy and after a 3 year commitment to a project I felt I wanted to do something more direct. Something simple.

One of the characteristics of the Quotidian project was anonymity. I wanted the project to entice people forward from all walks of life and felt the best way to do this was to give them a mask to hide behind. A promise of anonymity. And besides the project was all about bodies rather than personalities. But as a result of this I realised that I hadn’t photographed a human head in 3 years.

- So for your next project you wanted to do portraits. How did you decide on photographing people from the LBGTQIA community?

Living in Brighton it seemed obvious to pay some sort of homage to the city I have called home for 25 years, and its thriving LBGTQIA community seemed to be a natural starting point.

I confess I am a complete tourist in such matters and certainly do not consider myself part of the community in any sense other than solidarity. Many members of the community had passed through the studio doors as part of the Quo project so I felt I had access as it were. I simply placed some ads on social media platforms and opened the studio door to anyone who responded.

I was surprised that perhaps the greatest uptake was from members of the trans community who were using the opportunity to explore or document their journeys or cement their identities at a point in time. I am fascinated by their stories, their optimism to undertake such transformations to truly understand who they are. A journey of self discovery is surely all anyone's life is?

I was aware of a certain amount of transphobia and that the community was facing difficulties but not one of my sitters volunteered any ill grace or acknowledgement of such things until pressed.

Since the project has begun, there seems to be an marked increase in Transphobia, fuelled by both politicians and public figures. Those that come to my studio are quietly defiant and seem all the more resolved and stronger for the adversity. I hate the fact that this sort of ignorance shapes opinion and action in our society and am amazed by the resilience of “outsider” communities such as the trans and broader LGBTQIA community at large.

As for the project telling people’s stories, I really do not think that these stories are my place to tell. Rather the project is a celebration of the diversity and resilience of the human spirit. A collection of portraits where I get to play with light, and my sitters get to play with identity in a safe and creative space. If I give members of the community a voice, terrific, if I make these people feel valued and seen by the broader community, even better.

But for the most part as a photographer, it is just a joy to spend some time with these people while making their portraits.

- Thank you for sharing your new project. Last question: which other photographers, artists or creative people are you loving at the moment?

The two photographers that are really getting under my skin creatively are Marcus Schaefer and Jack Davison. They both have wild visions and their images speak unapologetically about photography. Light, shadow, distortion, refraction, drama, all creating intense psychological spaces within the frame of their images. I feel this is more what I am trying to achieve rather than fill any role of a photographer as an agent of social documentary. I just love the magic and wild creativity of the medium as embraced by these guys. It’s the sort of wild vision that inspires me to pick up the camera!