I shoot portraits of naked people. I don't do art nudes. I spent a few years shooting typical graphic designer type photos: the bare light bulb; discarded possessions in the street. And was frankly bored by them, both the digital predictably and the content. I decided to try my hand at Lynchian erotica, realising quite quickly that they were essentially set pieces with little scope to explore. They were however a fertile starting point for my work now. I love a lo-fi approach to work, necessity being the mother of invention. I make most of the props myself, their creation being part of the process. That said the reason I've been concentrating more on photography than writing is I love people. More and more I've started collaborating with make-up artists, and had a friend teach me lighting techniques  (a relationship stretching back to the record sleeve days, thank you Vaughan). I have a female assistant to do any physical handling of the models. I hate the term 'model' for these are people bringing something of themselves to a collaboration with me. But there doesn't seem to be a more apt word: sitee is just as bad. I enjoy working in an ensemble, both my assistant and MUAs are also models. Leading to further possibilities naturally developing rather than starting afresh each time. The desire to take naked portraiture is fairly recent and rapidly evolving. First creating photos about but not of sex, then sexual personas, leading to an interest in what in means to view and been seen naked. Coupled, Lovers #1 One of a series exploring what it is to be seen undressed, how we look at images of nude people, to be naked with someone.

back

next page