Curriculum
Nationality: British
Training: I have no formal training, but I was guided by theatre photographer/director Brian Astbury in London.
1993-2000
I worked as a theatre photographer in London. This was an ideal training ground for working with black and white and in the darkroom. In this period I also did alot of work as a portrait photographer.
1997-2000 I began to work on social projects in the community for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Two major projects were ‘Youth in the city’ and ‘Life long learning’. I also began teaching children photography.
2000-2004 I moved to São Paulo to teach young people photography in the favelas for the ONG ‘Meninos do Morumbi. I was the photographer for Meninos do Morumbi and involved in promoting the band internationally. During this time I photographed extensively in the favelas, and these photographs were included in my first exhibit in Lisbon at ‘Braço de Prata’ in 2007.
2004-2007 I returned to London where I did an intense course in journalism and subsequently worked as a free lance writer and photographer for various travel magazines. I photographed for UNICEF documenting their community projects in São Tomé e Principe. During this period I also documented projects for NGO’s in Ethiopia, and South Africa.
2007- 2016
Since moving to Lisbon I have focused on projects collaborating with communities and exhibiting in outdoor spaces which are linked to the people I am photographing or to the local history. To do this has meant learning to print onto different surfaces including wood and stone. I am interested in people, communities and their history. How can we keep a communities history alive? How can we hold onto their memories in rapidly changing environments? I want to bring the past into the present in a way that is visual, creative and accessible to all; especially in historic neighbourhoods and in areas in a process of change. My intention is to find the best materials to challenge the weather and the sun. Most recently this has been limestone. To print on these surfaces I work from my darkroom in Mouraria, Lisbon.