Angel
Photography has always felt the most accessible and immediate of art forms to me.
Over the decades, I have attempted to capture that which is fleeting and transitory by nature - reflections in rainwater, the play of light and shadow as the sun moves across the sky - changing rapidly from one moment to the next; hands full of petals, light streaming through branches, my own image reflected - ephemeral and mutable; and the dance of the seasons, of the planets, of the aeons - all filtering through the camera lens and human eye as the psyche searches for patterns, for symbols: gleaning the beauty of nature and wonder at Life on Earth. I reach for my camera, as the muse takes me, recording that which would otherwise be lost to ephemera.
Many moons ago, when it was all silver paper and darkrooms and analogue techniques, I studied photography as part of a Visual Arts qualification. Over the years, I have captured hundreds of thousands of images - both analogue and digital - using polaroid cameras, digital and analogue SLRs, “point and shoots”, phones and disposables. For me, spontaneity is the golden key; since graduating, the images I capture are rarely staged or contrived. The art of taking photos has played a significant part, not only as a tool but as a medium, emanating through my art praxis.
As a young woman, I dreamt of becoming a Photo Journalist and travelling to wilder places - in search of truth. That spirit spurs me on in my existential pursuit of beauty and spiritual exploration of duality. I loved National Geographic Magazines as a child and had an extensive collection once dating back decades that I would scour in search of knowledge and inspiration. I have a fondness for portraiture and documentary photography and appreciate the work of photographers such as Sally Mann, Diane Arbus, Dorothe Lange, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Man Ray, Robert Doisneau, Robert Mapplethorpe (particularly his altars, Erwin Blumenfeld, the film work of Ana Mendieta and Earth art by Richard Long and Andy Goldsworthy, the theatrical works of Tim Walker and contemporary artist Brooke Shaden, Agnieszka Motyka and Caryn Drexl, and fashion photographers such as Wendy Bevan and Ellen Rogers.
You can view a selection of my photography work here.