PHOTOGRAPHY
I’ve recently returned from a few days in Venice. It was the period of Carnevale, the Venetian Carnival, which culminates on Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras. The first contemporary Venetian Carnival took place in 1979. I studied History of Art at Venice’s Ca’Foscari University in the academic year 1979-1980 so was able to immerse myself in the … Read more
A few weeks ago I visited the Photographers Gallery in London to see the exhibition Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s which runs till the end of January 2017. Some of the images brought to mind work I did on identity and self-portraiture at college in the late 80s and early 90s. The college was called … Read more
In the last few months I’ve been increasingly drawn to looking at the way the sun illuminates objects, noticing light and shade. Maybe this is because I’ve been regularly life drawing and painting, in natural light when possible. There’s also a desire to seize the warmth and colour of sunlight, to balance out the grey, … Read more
I was privileged to go to Japan last November and witness autumn in several cities. That is a hard act to follow! However, London is teeming with beauty and colour at the moment, and I thought I’d show some images of urban nature that have caught my eye in the last few weeks. I’ve always … Read more
A few months ago I read the book Beauty and Sadness by the Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata. The title came to mind again when I was thinking about the essence of the following images. I took these photographs the other day, gravitating towards beauty and nature in a week where the news has been very depressing; full … Read more
Years ago – probably the late 1990s I was working at the BBC and I caught sight of Omara Portundo in the ladies loos at Bush House. I asked if I could take her picture and she kindly obliged. Her grace, glamour and style are evident – almost a surreal juxtaposition with the utilitarian, dull … Read more
I was at a restaurant last night and was struck by the elegance of my waitress, who had floral face paint on one side of her face. Turns out she is a ballet dancer and had been rehearsing for the Notting Hill Carnival before her shift. I also like the interplay of the dots … Read more
Yesterday I noticed the plant on a window sill in a communal hallway was oozing moisture … so pretty! I’ve been craving peace and beauty recently so went to one of my favourite places, the Victoria and Albert Museum. Here are some pictures of flowers I took at their John Madejski Garden the other day: … Read more
This was one of a group of mannequins in a shop window in Brixton market; it was the lashes that made me settle on this one. I like the ambiguity of this image – it could be almost be a pastel or watercolour, or a faded picture of a 60s fashion model:
