Mandy Barker‘s direction as an artist has evolved from graphic design to photography, having completed a BA in Graphic Design at Northumbria University and later an MA Photography (Distinction) at De Montfort University in 2011. She has exhibited both in the UK and abroad and also takes on private commissions.

For this Showcase we discuss Mandy’s project SOUP, which takes its name from a term describing “plastic debris suspended in the sea, with particular reference to the mass accumulation that exists in an area of the North Pacific Ocean known as the Garbage Patch.” Images in the series follow a narrative sequence that represents the disastrous environmental impact of dispersed plastics on the world’s oceans, and the consequential death of sea life.

Her photobook by the same title, recently won first runner-up in the student category of Blurb’s annual Photography Book Now competition.

SOUP: Translucent

LIP: What initially drew you to investigate the ‘garbage patch’?

Mandy: I was initially shocked by the images taken by Chris Jordan of albatross chick carcasses, the birds having died from ingesting plastics mistaken for food collected from the ‘garbage patch’, their stomachs full of cigarette lighters and bottle tops. Following further research of how plastics affect marine life and ultimately end up in the human food chain was a subject I felt I could not turn away from.

LIP: On first impression these images are strikingly beautiful; saturated rainbow bits of colour organised into decorative ensembles. Clearly this is a construct to deceive the viewer, was that your original intention setting out? Or how did your ideas evolve?

Mandy: The mass accumulation of plastic in the North Pacific gyre is almost impossible to photograph in reality as the plastic exists at differing sizes, from microscopic fibres in a soup-like consistency, (hence the title of the project) up to larger objects that are mostly submerged. It is because of these constraints that the intention for my project was to create a conceptual representation of the garbage patch based on scientific facts provided by organisations and oceanographers mostly based in the US. All the plastics photographed have been salvaged from beaches around the world and represent a global collection of debris that has existed for varying amounts of time in the world’s oceans. For instance the image SOUP:Turtle is composed from the original bath toys that escaped from a container ship in the mid Pacific in 1992, these particular toys were found in 2008 after having existed for 16 years in the North Pacific.

My intention aesthetically was to visually attract the viewer to the image and for them to question what it represented. I felt by enticing the viewer to discover the meaning in this way would create a more lasting impact and message of awareness.

Plastics never decompose but biodegrade into smaller fragments having a detrimental effect on marine life and ultimately ourselves. Awards and exhibitions have enabled my work to be viewed by a wider and global audience, allowing me to reach my aim of raising awareness through visual interpretation.

SOUP: Turtle

LIP: How does the process of collecting, construction and making the photographs physically play out for you?

Mandy: The plastics have been collected from the east and west coasts of the UK, from Europe, US, and even Alaska. I categorised the plastics by their colour, aesthetic similarities, for example, translucent or pieces that have text printed onto them. The particular area or beach in which the plastics have been found was another concept I used, for example, SOUP:Nurdle was constructed from six layers of nurdles (raw pellets of plastic before manufacture) collected from six different beaches. The intention for this image was to represent the fact that nearly all beaches around the world now have nurdles on them.

Each piece of plastic is photographed on a black background and in a group with other pieces of a similar size. These photographs are combined as layers that depict the smallest up to the largest pieces and combine to create a feeling of depth and suspension in the final image. All the images are created to represent the disturbing statistics of dispersed plastics having 
no boundaries.

The sequence of images in SOUP reveal a 
narrative that begins with the initial attraction of plastics to sea creatures, their
 attempted ingestion, and ending with their ultimate death 
represented by SOUP:Ruinous Remembrance. The final image in the series, SOUP:500+ is in contrast to earlier images and portrays the fatal consequence of ingestion, depicting a more compact arrangement by suggesting how the plastics would have existed in close proximity to each other within the stomach.

SOUP: Nurdle

LIP: You created a ‘sketchbook log’ during the process, can you talk about what is in it and how this facilitated your work?

Mandy: My sketchbook log records the journey and concept behind the project showing the development of my ideas and process behind each image in the series. The compositions are inspired by the thoughts and ideas of other artists and photographers, and at the same time are underpinned by facts, a combination that compliments the final result.

LIP: By introducing a narrative element throughout the series, was this done in particular with your book project in mind, or do you see order and sequence as generally integral factors in your work?

Mandy: The narrative element was loosely planned at the outset but the order did change as other images were created along the way. Producing a book gave me the opportunity to experiment with the order and sequencing of the images, almost as a form of self-curation prior to exhibiting. I do see order and sequencing as a vital part of my work as it creates a storytelling concept and enhances communication.

LIP: How did you envision this project would ultimately be best presented to an audience?

Mandy: The images were created on a large scale and would be presented this way for maximum impact; the smaller objects in the image would then be visible by the audience. It is important that the plastic objects are recognised by the viewer so they can relate to the individual items of what is now presented as plastic debris. To further enhance the overall experience and message the images would be exhibited alongside pages taken from my sketchbook log and presented with selected plastic debris, allowing the viewer to engage at a deeper level.

SOUP: Ruinous Remembrance

LIP: Has working on SOUP impacted your interests as a photographer?

Mandy: This project has challenged my way of thinking and working as I had not previously been particularly interested in the conceptual approach but because of the reasons already mentioned I felt this was the only way I could represent this environmental problem. So essentially the direction was led by the subject itself and photography was just a way of delivering that message. To be able to visually stimulate interest and at the same time make the viewer think or question what the project is about has fulfilled my aspirations and intention for the work.

My future direction as a photographer will continue the same energy and motivation because I think if you feel something for the subject then this will be reflected in your work and hopefully then be of interest to others.

LIP: Will this project continue in some form, or are you on to something new at the moment?

Mandy: At the moment I am continuing to create additional SOUP images which will be exhibited in my solo exhibition in 2013 but at the same time I am planning a new project for next year that will continue to develop my work with plastic oceanic debris.

SOUP: 500+

Mandy’s website

Interview by Tiffany Jones

Richard Baker photographs both personal work and reportage assignments which feature in books, magazines and image collections. He is interested in street photography: themes of the incongruous and the everyday, while also being drawn to the aesthetics of aviation, industry and urban landscape. For this interview we discuss his project Red Arrows, about Britain’s Royal Air Force aerobatic team. Unfortunately the Red Arrows have been in the news recently for tragic reasons, since a pilot died in late August 2011 after his aircraft crashed in a field near Bournemouth.

LIP: Could you tell us how you got into photography, and what your current practice involves?

Richard: My first pictures were taken along the promenades and shingle beaches of the Thames estuary with the influences of Tony Ray-Jones, McCullin and William Klein peering over my shoulder. I subscribed to National Geographic for 30 years after inheriting some early editions from the 60s so the magazine spreads from there as well as from LIFE seemed to stretch and form me as a sort of cub picture reporter. I spent years at the blunt end of a regional airline in Essex: in and out of planes of all shapes and sizes, dealing with angry punters and the egos of aircrew. Colleagues later went into meteorology and commercial piloting and I might have done the same except that I bought an SLR in 1977 (Canon AT-1 £169.99) and have had a camera with me ever since.

I had an epiphany some time in 1982 when we forwarded some press material from the Falklands (during night shifts, the newspaper flights carried glossy prints destined for the European media) and also I chanced across the prospectus for David Hurn’s B-tech Documentary Photography course. There were pictures reproduced by Roger Hutchings and Clive Landen, Sue Packer and Daniel Meadows that simply set me on fire.

So I went off to Wales and studied at Newport College of Art. The aviation genome within me has somehow influenced my photography throughout. Equally, in the years afterwards when I was contributing to the Katz Pictures / IPG agency, there have been happy coincidences where I was offered assignments from magazines and organisations associated with aviation.

Nowadays, I’m working almost all the time on personal work while uploading as much as possible to three main portals: Photoshelter, Corbis and Alamy. I’ve also just bought an iPad so am showing new and existing work to design and publishing clients.

LIP: The Red Arrows project was self-initiated rather than commercial. It seems like such an incredible challenge, how did you go about approaching this subject photographically?

Richard: I’d done a personal series on 6x6cm colour neg about the aesthetics of airports and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers’ first flight. A PR officer in the MoD thought there was promise in my doing something with the RAF which would generate some column inches. “You can use them as a toolbox, if you like,” was one memorable line during a meeting. And yet I didn’t want to just visit a squadron and hang about for something to happen.

Right at the end of their list, as a afterthought it seemed to me, was the idea of spending a week with the Red Arrows in time for their 40th anniversary, so one bleak January I found myself in green overalls on a windswept aerodrome in Lincolnshire where the team were training new pilots for the forthcoming season. I remember thinking I should just hover and take only a few pictures at first, shake as many hands as I could in the first weeks and make a huge effort to remember names, ranks and especially positions in the team. I seemed to gain trust with the hierarchy and slowly built up a body of work that started in dark winters and finished at hot seasides, looking up at the pilots in flight who had become friends. Although I brought back outputs from previous weeks’ work, they never did publicly express doubts about anything I did. I tried to be honest, to muck-in (I had a new coffee machine installed with a flavoursome blend that went a long way) and was asked along on private moments that I found myself having to keep mum about.

Sadly, one of the crew, a dashing young ex-Harrier pilot called Flt Lt. Matt Jarvis was diagnosed with cancer early that winter. It was a very emotional period as the team raised money for Macmillan and I attended his funeral a year later – a very RAF affair – that I can imagine all over again after their recent tragedy.

LIP: What was your personal experience like working with the RAF?

Richard: Well at first it really felt as if I’d walked into the inner sanctum of some sort of elite gentleman’s club – an Upstairs for the pilots and office staff, and Downstairs where the engineers worked – except in the place of deep leather armchairs there was cheap MoD furniture, tea cups, planning boards and very, very busy people in RAF blue. Their corridor conversations were almost like their broadcast radio exchanges at air shows – the clipped exchanges of brilliant minds. Everything is governed by the clock too to the extent that when they’re off-duty, some remove their watches and that enforced slavery to the second which I thought was fascinating.

But all the behind-the-scenes stuff of the iconic institution that I infiltrated was so removed from their public displays and fly-pasts in the blue skies over Bournemouth seafront. I realised the first day that there was a huge project to be done here but that, even with high-ranking clearance, I had to tread very carefully and not be too pushy (there was ample time). It might take me to places that seemingly only exist in the Boys’ Own adventure comics of my youth. And so I stayed a period of 9 months, surviving the most thrilling and often most terrifying moments. Vertigo loops and dives. Adrenalin and exhaustion. Mind-blanking g-forces. Losing my specs in the cockpit. I couldn’t have made it up.

LIP: There is such excitement for audiences surrounding the Red Arrows displays, what part did they play in this project?

Richard: Good question! It occurred to me that books about the Red Arrows focussed predominately on the jets making pretty patterns in blue skies when, in reality there was so many juxtapositions below. After a while I could anticipate which manoeuvres were about to be performed so could place myself where I thought an ironic moment might happen. For example the Heart painted by their smoke though it took a few shows to see what I wanted: A hairy, bald-headed man beneath the Valentine.

LIP: Nine months is a long time to spend immersed in such a situation where I guess you are ‘the outsider’ to start with, though it seems you came to fit right in! Was it difficult to pull yourself away from the adventure in the end?

Richard: Actually no, because I was so tired from all the travelling and ultimately the flying took a lot out of me too. This was stressful and I was starting to make stupid mistakes in the air and even got shouted at for nudging the control column that is positioned between one’s legs in the back seat. The pilot swore at me as we were climbing vertically to go over the top of a loop but apologised on the way down. Nonetheless, it wasn’t a proud moment to have put us both in jeopardy.

But one is always an outsider, no matter how hard you try to embed. There’s only so far I could go. I could never become a Red Arrow, that’s preposterous and anyway, my presence there was always to photograph that milestone in their calendar or that quirky event that reporters hadn’t had bothered attending before.

LIP: Red Arrows culminated in a book for which you worked with a notable designer, can you describe who the book was targeted at, and what the design process involved?

Richard: The irony was that when I started the project, I had an agent but no publisher but my the time I’d staggered to the end of the air show season, I had enough material for a large book – but no-one to represent me. I wrote the whole text from many notebooks then presented my idea to the book designer Stuart Smith whom I knew from Newport where he’d been doing Graphic Design. He agreed to start a dummy long before I found someone to publish it. From the outset, Stu and I came up with a plan to make it more than a book of pictures about the highs and lows of an aerobatic team. We played some visual puns in the layouts and mischievously relegated the best flying pictures to the very back. We used some RAF aptitude tests for wannabe officers to try, and beautiful technical drawings complete with greasy marks from the flying manual pages, regarding them as artwork rather than mere engineering plans. The last touch was to choose a font called Star Trek and put the word Red on the back. And Arrows on the front. The man’s a genius. Ask Elliot Erwitt.

Ultimately though, I wish we’d put in less descriptive and anecdotal text which on reflection dominates the book, categorizing it in Transport rather than Photography. But I had so much I wanted to say about the team, often using more words than pictures as I also felt I owed them to tell their personal stories. Blow a few myths too.

The squadron have their own quirky personality unlike any other in the RAF and I wanted to put across the notion that they were quaintly British. I flew with them on six occasions and made pictures while strapped into an ejection seat, with a sealed helmet breathing through an Oxygen mask. My Mamiya 7II was gaffer taped up so I had only 20 exposures for each 30 minute flight – hence the very careful choice of when to take each frame. Imagine, a separate medical (yep – pee samples, the lot) and ejection seat briefing before every flight, then only 20 pictures to show for it.

LIP: Which pictures came to be your favourites?

Richard: Apart from the print best-sellers that helped me break even two years after the project, I like the quiet landscapes of a Little Britain, at small air shows that you don’t see abroad: Old PAs; donkey rides; an old Naval sign in the shape of a red arrow – one found jokes to play all over the place. But there is one I like very much because it was something I planned for in the air and it made a strong backdrop. The team fly over the top of a loop with smoke curling but we see it from high above them, not below. The airfield is there with its former nuclear silos; the patchwork of England’s fields with the Roman Ermine Street, the A15 as straight as a diagonal ruler.

LIP: You later worked on a book project at Heathrow Airport with Alain de Botton. Clearly this was a continuation of the aviation theme in your work. Have you enjoyed working in collaboration with a writer?

Richard: Yes, very much. I thought of how to maximise the impact of the Red Arrows book that we eventually produced, negotiating a box of free copies in lieu of a royalty. I gave them away to art directors, editors etc. then thought of Alain as I knew he often referred to aviation in his books such as The Art of Travel. He immediately replied asking if I was interested in collaborating on his next book that was to become The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. It lead indirectly to a writer and photographer in-residence commission from BAA at Heathrow. So for three weeks we roamed Terminal 5 collecting stories, portraits and landscapes. On these two projects Alain was effectively my client for whom I researched his visual ideas then we shared thoughts, finding methods of squeezing our storytelling into a small book (sponsored by a corporation yet free to dwell on the more unsavoury aspects of spending time at an airport.)

LIP: What subjects are most interesting for you these days, and how do you decide what to shoot next?

Richard: Well I’ve reverted to type and am really enjoying making street pictures again – having embraced digital after the Red Arrows. I’ve trawled through my transparency archive and recovered some nicely dated moments I’d long forgotten about and have gone out to make more. I’ve been working on a series about recession windows – the victims of the slump often with messages left by the last one out. I’ve also worked on another book with Alain about Religion that is out in January.

Apart from that, I enjoy reacting to the topicality of the day that often adds to the on-going work.

Richard’s website

Interview by Tiffany Jones

As a fairly new member to LIP, Lynne Collins has been keeping busy working on some interesting bodies of work. For this showcase she shares one of her more recent projects with us. The Trespasser is a series inspired by the 17th Century Dutch masters. Having been amazed by the still life paintings of the 17th century, Lynne set out to re-create these scenes and photograph them. Her aim was to create images that looked more like paintings than photographs. These compositions bring together images of decaying interiors shot in abandoned mental asylums and studio shot still life scenes.

The Trespasser 1 (above) was shown at Photo-Open Extra at Rich Mix for last year’s Photomonth. Of this image Tom Jeffrey wrote that Lynne’s image “sets up an opposition between the aspirations of traditional painting on the one hand, and the ‘authenticity’ of photography on the other. That these two styles co-exist within the same (photographic) image suggests perhaps the superiority of photography as a medium, or rather its all-conquering versatility.”

“He made me feel I had achieved my goal,” Lynne says.

As a child Lynne spent much of her time on film sets, with both of her parents being involved in the film and television industry. This provided her with an unconventional upbringing and education, and ultimately laid the foundation for the way she works as an artist, film maker and photographer today.

“I feel that I have been an artist since the age of about 11. I did not go to art college through choice. Being a very rebellious child, institutions were not my thing. From the beginning of my life I was lucky to be surrounded by interesting people, actors, film directors, designers, artists, stage and circus people. My learning came from those amazing characters and it was a very natural process. The kind that works best for me. After leaving school at the age of 17 I worked for a short time in a photographic laboratory. Here I learnt the basics of processing film (no digital cameras in those days), retouching images by hand and colour grading for the final print. At the time I was not really interested in the medium as a career, painting and sculpture was more my thing.”

For 25 years Lynne freelanced as an artist and sculptor in the film and television industry, working on commissions for feature films and BBC art programs. During this period she gained knowledge of film making and photography from industry experts and began to develop a real interest in the photographic medium as another artistic tool. On leaving the film industry she went to college to learn web design but found the teaching too slow and uninspiring so she decided to teach herself all things digital and internet-based.

The Trespasser 2

LIP: What inspired you to use abandoned mental hospitals as the location for these images?

Lynne: I had already used abandoned mental hospitals for an earlier series, The Edge of Perception, and knew they would work well with The Trespasser and allow me to convey a narrative that had been bugging me since my first visits. Originally I chose abandoned mental asylums because they had once been quite elegant buildings. The idea had been to put the insane into interiors that were uplifting, unfortunately it didn’t quite work like that. Anyway, I love the atmospheric decay and nature’s ability to turn every nook and cranny into new and wonderful habitats.

The Trespasser 3

LIP: How do you find your locations and gain access? What difficulties did you experience shooting in these locations?

Lynne: I found the buildings on Google Earth. They were all built to the same architectural designs. The size and shape of them became easy to spot, being as they were, the size of a village. Google earth is great for satellite imagery, it’s even possible to determine the state of the buildings and whether or not they have been abandoned.

Gaining permitted access as far as I could see was going to hold me up. Some of the places I have been in were in an extremely dangerous state of decay. The place that inspired me the most was an asylum called Cane Hill in Coulsdon. It’s gone now, they bulldozed it last year. At first I did try to get permission to go in. I was told the amount of asbestos and structural deterioration was just too dangerous. I was not going to let the high razor wired fences and guards with dog patrols stop me, I knew what I wanted and it was in those buildings. I came back with my partner and a small spade and dug a hole under the fence just big enough to get my head under and slide through on my back. Equipment had to be kept to a minimum, just camera and tripod. There’s very little light in most of the buildings, it’s very creepy. Windows are either boarded up or completely grown over from the inside and out with rambling foliage. I like to use the limited natural light to my own advantage. I like to photograph the dark spaces as much as the light spaces. Dark spaces create mystery.

I made many trips to Cane Hill, though never on my own. A floor or roof collapse would mean you might never be found and no one would ever hear your screams. On one trip some roof beams did fall and partially trap me, luckily I was not alone, the beams were moved and I lived to tell the tale, unhurt, just a little shook up and nervous for a while.

The Trespasser 6

LIP: How did you go about creating the images?

Lynne: The Trespasser is a series of deliberately constructed photographic compositions. The still life was shot in the studio. The harmonising of colours and lighting in each of my images was crucial to reflect the evocative tones of the Dutch paintings. Without controlled studio lighting I would not have achieved that painterly appearance that was, after all, my main objective. All the abandoned building shots had been on a long exposure and the studio shots were no exception. They were shot in a near dark room. I used a black backdrop and modelling light with a soft box to give a gentle Rembrandt type glow of directional light.

LIP: What kit do you work with?

Lynne: I work with a digital camera, the Canon EOS-1 ds Mark 3. Such a fantastic camera, I love it. For this series I used a Canon zoom EF 17-40mm 1:4 lens. I use a Giottos carbon fibre tripod. The lighting equipment is made by Bowens and for the still life studio shot I used a modelling light with a soft box.

The Trespasser 5

LIP: How long have you been working on the project?

Lynne: I worked on this project for about a year but had spent many months before that traveling round the South East looking at locations and working out how to gain access. I also spent a lot of time researching both the hospitals and the style of paintings I wanted to emulate. The series is not just about 17th century Dutch artists. By bringing two scenes together I am offering a narrative that seeks to offer a commentary on modern life as one of over-consumption and wastefulness.

LIP: How much of the project is created using digital manipulation? And how has the digital revolution influence the way you work and approach your subject?

Lynne: I like my images to be of high quality and very atmospheric right from the start, from that very first click of the shutter, but I use Photoshop like another artist tool, to aid the use of composites and layers. Wow! The digital revolution has opened up my life. I love using Photoshop, not to change the actual images, only to combine them. When I first started to work with Photoshop for web and graphic design it amazed me and my imagination took a leap in yet another direction. Digital cameras are so direct, you can see straight away if you’ve got the image you want and it’s there on the computer, no more waiting for it to go through that whole processing procedure before you know how it’s turned out. The quality I get from my digital camera is fantastic. I like to get my images printed really large.

The Trespasser 8

LIP: What or who has been the greatest influence on your photography?

Lynne: I am influenced by everything around me, politics, and the plight of the natural environment, films and drama, the media. I try not to be influenced by other photographers though, as I’m afraid of losing track of my own thoughts and ideas and taking on board those of others.

LIP: What plans do you have for exhibiting the project?

Lynne: I have already had a solo show in a West London gallery where I exhibited both The Trespasser and The Edge of Perception series. The Trespasser images have been shown in the Royal West of England Academy and many London galleries including Rich Mix in Shoreditch, the Spanish Cultural Centre in Belgravia and The Front Room Gallery in Farringdon. The series is also represented by Troika at their gallery in Farringdon and online.

Lynne’s website

A new exhibition titled “Construction Works” featuring The Trespasser series and the work of 3 other photographers runs until 16th September, 2011 at The Front Room (96 Farringdon Road, London, EC1R 3EA). Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 11.00 – 5.00pm

Interview by Corin Ashliegh Brown

I first came across Dan Bachmann’s travel photography at Virgina Khuri’s satellite group about four years ago. The eye-catching clarity, colour vision and strong composition of Dan’s work reminded me of my own passion for travelling with my camera. As I’ve got to know Dan over the past few years I have learnt of his deep love for travel and how it changed the way he lives his life. In essence he is a photographer’s photograper but I think he would like to be defined as a traveller first and foremost. In his latest project Dan shares the remoteness of Troms, Norway and the magical northern lights with us.

LIP: When did you join LIP and what keeps you coming to the meetings?

Dan: I found out about LIP in my second year in London. I was welcomed into the Kensington satellite group, then run by Virginia Khuri who is one of the LIP founders. I thought the people were wonderful, skilled and artistic; however, at the time their artistic vision seemed more advanced than mine. And now, I think I am just starting to see how those early days at LIP challenged me and my approach to photography. It made me ask more questions about evolving my own vision. I would say that the image below reflects this:

In my pursuit of learning more about photography I have joined other photographic groups such as The Camera Club where I have access to a studio, and this is a fun platform for exploring studio photography with other members. I also attend meetings with London Photographic Meetup Group (LPMG) and The London Strobists. All these groups give me a chance to enjoy the process of learning and sharing with other photographers.

LIP: When did your interest in photography begin?

Dan: My mother loved travel at heart and planned some great family holidays for us. I don’t think anyone fully appreciated it at the time and I picked up the camera as something to pass the time. My father was encouraging too, by buying me an SLR for my 15th birthday. It was a Pentax K1000 with Pentax A 50mm f/2.0 lens, a 70-200mm zoom, a small flash and a Kodak pocket guide. For at least eight years there really was nothing else I wanted or needed in a camera.

Ironically when the travel bug first hit, I put photography to the side. At first the bulk of the SLR and the fear of damaging it caused me to leave the camera behind, but now this has changed and I have brought my two passions together. I do travel light, my kit has at times been spared down to a toothbrush, an extra pair of underwear, my SLR with a wide lens and a short telephoto lens. I mainly shoot prime lenses as I love the sharpness they give you. My travel philosophy has always been travel light and to be honest this carries on into my philosophy for life too.

When I left America, I wasn’t very happy. Life was looking very good on the surface, but inside I felt I was dying due to lack of stimulation. All I needed was to see a different viewpoint, to be surrounded by a place that could challenge me. Walking into other people’s everyday lives and surroundings lets the mind wander into different life stories and helps one find alternative realities. I’m all for traveling low to the ground – the cheaper places have their own flavour and characters and they don’t isolate you from the place you are in. Because of that, you talk to people more and come across unique and genuine human experiences.

LIP: Your work seems to focus more on landscapes than people, why is this?

Dan: Images of people are very powerful, but I do have trouble taking them. Sometimes people are a part of the place, and they have their own important stories which puts a context of time into the scenario. One of the main themes I’ve developed in my work is to capture the sense of a place. Landscapes can change over time, but generally many generations would recognize the features we see now. When gazing on a scene one can begin to feel small and insignificant in a world so vast and magical, yet the act of seeing somehow makes us a significant part of history. My first photograph displayed at a LIP exhibit was called “Insignificant Significance” and that was the thought behind this.

LIP: What hints or tips can you give to those wanting to go photograph the northern lights?

Dan: My biggest tip is take it all in. Your photographs will be something special, but not what you see and not what you experience. Photography wise, use a tripod and put heat packs in your boots.

LIP: Working in a cold climate puts a strain on a photographer’s equipment – how did you overcome this?

Dan: The cold can cause film to become so brittle it breaks. With digital cameras, the batteries don’t last very long, the life span shortens in extreme cold so make sure you have extras. I kept a spare battery under my coat in the warmth of my armpit.

LIP: Who has been a great influence on your photography?

Dan: Darren Melrose who is based in Taiwan is a primarily influence and his work is very people-orientated, but it’s his ideal of sinking into the local back streets that inspires me and the way I choose to work. I hope I can meet him someday. For each far away influence, I have a local counterpart. For travel people photography, it’s Jamie Marshal. It’s always inspiring to talk to Jamie and find out how he gets around problems.

For lighting techniques it’s loosely been Joe McNally, David Hobby and the local photographer I know Quoc-Huy. For wildlife, it would be Chris Weston who gets some great shots by doing things that no one else would dare to try.

But when it comes to landscapes, there is no single photographer of significance to me. Perhaps that is because the drive to capture landscapes is in my blood, coming from the paintings of my grandfather and mother who both had a deep connection with the landscapes of Scotland. This is one of the reasons landscapes dominate my travel photography.

LIP: What other things are you working on or exploring photographically?

Dan: My big thing this year is not to worry about the perfect photograph. Technically I can do that and it is not a big deal for me. Now I want to go beyond that. What is the meaning? Is there a message? To say something with a photograph by understandng how the mind reads visuals – I mentioned this whilst driving with a famous wildlife photographer and a psychologist I know. “What do you call that?” I asked. The psychologist said, “cognitive psychology”. Psychology was another interest I’ve never pursued – photography is going to let me explore that in practical way now.

Apart from that I am planning on working with The London Villages Project which has recently launched.

Dan’s website

In 2009 Daniel Bosworth started photographing London Cyclists for the bi-monthly magazine of the London Cycling Campaign, with four of his portrait images featured in the back of each issue. His idea was to create an ongoing archive of the growing number of cyclists in London. The portraits are shot with a 5×4 field camera and for each image Daniel measures out distance to subject, “to create a democracy, with the bicycle being a kind of leveller.”

Daniel graduated with first class honours in Photography at Wolverhampton School of Art and Design, and currently works in London on commissions and self-initiated projects. An exhibition of London Cyclists runs through March 2011 at look mum no hands! Daniel answered a few questions about his project.

LIP: What first attracted you to photographing London cyclists?

Daniel: I was doing some bits and pieces for the London Cyclist Magazine and suggested the idea to the editor and he liked it.

LIP: Are you a cyclist yourself? Do you have any opinions about London’s provisions for cycling?

Daniel: I’ve got a bike, it’s a patched up collection of vintage parts, recycled bmx and ebay purchases. Makes the editor cringe every time he sees it. I mainly use it for riding my daughter around the park and visiting friends. Working from home, I don’t do much commuting. I don’t really notice the provisions for cyclists as I’m out in Greenwich, but I guess any efforts to improve road safety has to be a positive.

LIP: Do you have a method for finding new subjects to photograph?

Daniel: I started off googling and e-mailing. It’s hard to get things going because you haven’t got anything to show people. With e-mails you can consider how you ask carefully and attach other things you’ve done that are relevant. Once I’d got things moving I’d go to bike shops and cafes and ask people, the London Cycling Campaign would give me some contacts and a few times I stopped people on the street, which can be tricky cause even if you get a positive response you then have to say, ‘Right, I’ll just get my field camera out, won’t be a minute.”

LIP: Why do you think it’s interesting to create a visual archive of London cyclists?

Daniel: I guess I like to gather and order things, to try to make democracies, cyclists fitted that well because they’re such a broad range of people with a commonality pulling them together.

LIP: Logistically is it difficult shooting this project with a 5×4 field camera? And are you processing your own film?

Daniel: Yes, it’s much more difficult than charging around with a 35mm but you gain a lot from using it. You have to stop and work slowly through everything so it keeps you on your toes, and the process seems quite disarming for the subject. By the time you’ve set up, measured out distance and focused under the dark cloth people seem to lose their usual inhibitions. Although working digitally is much more functional it’s a tonic to work with something that doesn’t seem so disposable. I use BDI on Old Street for processing and digital c-types, they’re good at what they do and very easy to work with.

LIP: You are exhibiting some of these portraits at look mum no hands – can you tell us a bit about the space and how your exhibition makes a contribution to London’s cycling community?

Daniel: Look mum no hands is a very busy bike mechanics and cafe at the Clerkenwell end of Old Street. They have bike related exhibitions and launches there. I’m not really sure if the project has made a contribution to the cycling community but I really enjoy doing it. It’ll be good seeing some of them up on a wall.

LIP: How long do you plan to continue the project, and do you have other plans for showing the work in future?

Daniel: It would be nice to get up to a hundred (I’ve done 35 so far) but it’s quite a time consuming hobby and I should probably be spending more time making a living. I haven’t got any other plans to show them as yet but obviously I’d like to.

Daniel’s website

Interview by Tiffany Jones

In her latest project, Italian photojournalist Silvia Boarini focuses her camera on the lives of the Bedouins of The Negev. Images from her ongoing body of work ‘Bedouin Land’ were recently exhibited at Amnesty International’s Human Rights Action Centre in Shoreditch, a well deserved result after working for many months to highlight the life and conditions of the Bedouins.

For this event Silvia collaborated closely with the Israeli charity, Negev Coexistence Forum, and thanks to this partnership the exhibition became more than just a photography show. Silvia hung her photographs alongside images taken by Bedouin children from the unrecognized village of Wadi Al Nam. This exhibition was accompanied by talks covering the situation of the Bedouin minority in Israel and the impact that participatory photography workshops can have on communities was also discussed.

Two of the representatives from the unrecognized village, Al Araqib, who feature in Silvia’s documentary, were invited to take part in the first talks held at the exhibition. This gave them the opportunity to represent their community and discuss their struggles to survive in a harsh, unrelenting environment where there is little security, or the resources that we as Londoners have come to expect as our day to day right. Following the event, Amnesty’s officials visited the Bedouin village of Al Araqib and have stepped up their condemnation of Israel’s actions in the Negev.

Silvia first moved to London at the age of 19 and it was during her studies that she became aware of photography’s power to create international awareness of current affairs and social issues. At the time she was studying for a BA in Communications studies at Middlesex University and took up photography as a hobby. Having grown up in a home where political and social ideas were readily discussed, Silvia was encouraged to hold her own views on politics and current affairs. Researching and understanding current social affairs is Silvia’s passion and photography has provided a way to explore this interest and bring attention to unacknowledged peoples and social issues.

A child stands next to the carcass of a sheep slaughtered for the Friday meal. Many of the sheep in the unrecognized village of Al Araqib escaped after the first demolition in July 2010 and have never been recovered. Al Araqib, Israel © Silvia Boarini

LIP: Is Bedouin Land your first major body of work?

Silvia: I have another ongoing body of work called Land of the Prickly Pears in which I explore life in the Occupied Territories and inside Israel. I started that in 2004 while I was studying photojournalism at the LCC. I add chapters to it with every trip to Israel and the occupied West Bank. I think when I first visited, I was overwhelmed by a deceiving sense of normality which you quickly discover is simply a way for people to cope with life under occupation, given, for example, that your husband or your son has been in prison for the past 10 years, or you suffer from depression because you very simply can’t get out of your village. I couldn’t take it all in and make sense of it, so I still tackle it bit by bit. Bedouin Land is an off-shoot from this ongoing work.

Women sit in the midst of the destruction following the fifth demolition. Since the beginning of the year, the landscape has completely changed. The rubble dominates the view and it piles up higher after each raid. Al Araqib, Israel © Silvia Boarini

LIP: What inspired you to explore the plight of the Bedouin community in Negev?

Silvia: It was a lecture I went to at SOAS in London. It was given by an anthropologist who was completing her PhD on Negev Bedouins. I had heard about the situation in the Negev before, but Kathryn Koeller’s lecture really made me want to follow this through.

It’s a story that touches on many different issues: human rights, land rights, indigenous rights but most of all, it turns the spotlight on Israel itself. This is a story unfolding within Israel’s 1948 borders, which are really usually the only internationally recognized borders, and it’s a story that although is a spin-off of the conflict, does not have the ‘security threat’ label attached to it. It is simply about the rights of the citizens of a state, about the concept of equality and about what I think is the only hope for the middle-east: peaceful coexistence. The fact that Israel’s government still hasn’t found a way to deal with its non-Jewish minorities should really open many questions about its commitment to peace.

In a nutshell: Bedouins were forced to move from their ancestral lands in 1951, soon after the establishment of the State of Israel. Since then, Israel’s government has tried to group them in seven townships, all the while making the evacuated areas available for Jewish settlement and afforestation (usually carried out by the Jewish National Fund). About half of the total Bedouin population of the Negev, around 90,000, lives in one of the seven state-planned townships while the other half continues to claim their right to live in the lands owned by their forefathers and to demand that their rights as Israeli citizens be honoured. This latter half lives in forty villages that are unrecognized by the government and are routinely demolished by the authorities. These villages lack running water and electricity and don’t exist on any maps. Al Araqib is one such village. It has been demolished seven times since July 2010. With each demolition life becomes harder but the residents are in for the long term and continue to rebuild their houses with the help of local and international volunteers.

After each demolition, villagers, relatives and activists help rebuild family homes. The Al Turi tribe returned in large numbers to Al Araqib in the late 90s, upon learning that the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and Israel Land Administration (ILA) intended to plant a forest on their ancestral land. They have seen their houses razed to the ground and their crops destroyed countless times. Since July the government has stepped up the demolitions and in the space of three months, the village has been destroyed and rebuilt six times. Al Araqib, Israel © Silvia Boarini

LIP: As a woman what challenges have you had to face on this project?

Silvia: I think if anything being a woman opened many doors. Bedouin men and women lead quite segregated lives, with unaccompanied men only visiting women to whom they are related and vice-versa. As an ‘international woman’ I was allowed in the women’s quarters but also in the men’s Shig, the tent in which they eat together or meet in the evening to discuss village matters. I really think being a woman makes you look like you are going to be less of a problem. I think as long as you are respectful, state your intentions and you show the pictures that you are taking then hopefully all is clear and there can be some trust.

Hyam sits on the rooftop of her family’s house in the Bedouin township of Rahat, Israel © Silvia Boarini

LIP: How long have you been working on the project?

Silvia: I am only at the beginning. I began in February 2009 and since then I have made three short trips to the Negev and most of the work I have done has been self-funded.

LIP: Could you discuss your thoughts on using photography to express political or social views?

Silvia: I think in some way or another we all use photography to do that. I believe we filter everything we see through our pre-conceptions; upbringing; personal history and beliefs, so I think it’s inevitable that we end up using photography to express our views. From the moment I choose which stories to tackle to the moment I frame my photographs to include a tiny fraction of the horizon in front of me, everything is consciously and unconsciously informed by whom I am.

As with any medium, it’s up to us to use it responsibly. I am often sceptical of works that claim to be ‘impartial’ or ‘objective’. What I consider an impartial view may well seem ‘one-sided’ to someone who has just been kicked out of their land or to the government who has done the kicking out. Different audiences will read images in different ways. Stories are rarely black and white and truth is not always somewhere in the middle so I try to report what I see. I do my research and talk to as many people who will talk to me but ultimately what I am presenting is my own work. Words can be twisted but I think images can be twisted too. I represent myself and try to do it responsibly, ethically and honestly.

“Who invaded who? Why is it that now we have to prove that these are our lands?” Sheikh Saiah Abu Madegam Al Turi is the head of Al Araqib. A charismatic man often called upon by the Israeli police to solve inter-tribal disputes. Here he stands by the ruins of his house. Al Araqib, Israel © Silvia Boarini

LIP: What do you hope this body of work could accomplish for the Bedouin’s?

Silvia: I hope this project will contribute to raise awareness and push audiences to learn more about the Bedouins and what is going on in the Negev today. On a practical level, I hope it can contribute to the campaign for governmental recognition of unrecognized Bedouin villages.

Thanks to this event, Amnesty International has made a visit to the village of Al Araqib and has issued a petition and a condemnation of Israel’s policies on its website (here and here). These are important steps and there is a lot of work done by charities such as the Negev Coexistence Forum in terms of lobbying at UN level. It’s still a grassroots movement but it’s growing daily. Hopefully one day no one will even remotely consider donating money to the Jewish National Fund to plant trees on disputed lands in Israel. And moreover, having a forest or a tree named after oneself will be very much frowned upon.

Children play in one of the many empty plots in the Bedouin township of Rahat, Israel © Silvia Boarini

LIP: What advice would you give to those needing to find support or financial backing when embarking on self-funded projects of this nature?

Silvia: I think it’s useful to find an organization with whom you can collaborate and that can facilitate access to the story you want to cover. Collaborating with an established NGO means that you won’t be alone in trying to get your work out there and your photographs will be used for campaigning on clear issues and to achieve clear goals.

A partnership with a charity which has deep knowledge of a situation and has been working on the ground for many years is useful also on the funding front. Funding bodies may be more inclined to help you out if they can be sure that your work will produce results, will be seen and will serve a purpose. And although a partnership does mean you must share a vision and therefore you are no longer your own boss, it is always very helpful to have someone to share the admin and organizational load with when working on a long term project.

As for spreading the word about the Amnesty event, we managed to get the exhibition to coincide with Photomonth 2010 so that we were included on their publicity material. Also, it’s very important to get details onto as many websites and mailing lists possible. I think the fact that this wasn’t only a photography exhibition helped us in terms of audiences. We had people visiting who were interested in the Middle East, and others who were more into anthropology or human rights.

Shortly after the fifth demolition new structures are erected. “We are staying here” says Aziz Abu Madegam Al Turi “We will keep rebuilding. We are not going anywhere”. Al Araqib, Israel © Silvia Boarini

LIP: Do you have plans to revisit the Bedouin’s and if so when?

Silvia: Yes I do. In the new year. Bedouin Land is just at the beginning. I am still looking for funding so that I can spend three to six months really delving into the life of this minority. When I go back I will be moving the focus to the part of the Bedouin population that has made the switch to the townships. The move was forced and Bedouin towns remain the poorest in Israel, plagued by appalling infrastructure and high percentages of unemployment.

Life goes on but the rubble piles up. As recently reported in the news, Israel Police Southern District head commander, Yochanan Danino, wants to see the Bedouins charged for every shekel spent by the state for each demolition. Al Araqib, Israel © Silvia Boarini

LIP: What will you take away from working on this project?

Silvia: I am very happy that I had the patience and found resources to follow this event through from conception to realization. It seemed very far away at first but then time flew by. I am glad I had the chance to work with organizations whose work I admire. I now know I want to do more of this so I am thinking along these lines. I would like to think my photography projects could be part of wider events and made more interesting by being presented alongside talks or charity related programmes.

I have learnt that bringing a project of this nature together is possible; that it takes time and patience; and that results come in all shapes and sizes but they do eventually come. I have also learnt to believe in my ideas more and to explain them clearly in every little detail. I think if you are passionate enough and confident enough people will stick with you and help you out.

Together with the Negev Coexistence Forum, we are hopefully going to export this event to France and maybe Italy in the new year.

Aziz Abu Madegam Al Turi collects water for the sheep from an ancient well. He says: “We are Israeli citizens, we are not doing anything bad. We only want to work and live on our lands in peace.” Al Araqib, Israel © Silvia Boarini

Silvia’s website

Showcase interview by Corin Ashleigh Brown

It’s been a lovely hot summer and I meet Bill Jackson on a day where the first downpour of August has drenched the London streets. We settle down in a cafe to discuss his project Biographica. Bill has been a LIP member for four years now and in the past year Biographica has been well received, with prints selected last year for the LIP Annual Exhibition (2009) as well as being awarded various other accolades within the photography arena. I find him engaging and as so often happens when photographers meet, many common thoughts and feelings on photography are shared and dissected.

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Biographica is part of a bigger project; it is a social, or rather a human document. Its focus is multi-faceted, portraying the relationship of people with people; people with the environment and the spaces they occupy. It also explores the land people live in, and the objects that belong to them. Bill Jackson’s passion for narrative is clearly shown with his combination of photographic images and text. This marriage of photographs with words has always been an important part of Bill’s work and his enthusiasm for storytelling traces back to his first memories, when at the age of 5 he saw his first projector film.

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‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’, becomes a real and tangible idea, driving Bill to frame the life stories around him. He frames up his subjects and the places they inhabit, to become a stage filled with props from the subject’s lives.

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Bill describes himself as a classical photographer with a strong purist identity and his 30 years of analogue experience has given him the discipline to work to high standards. He believes in working meticulously, planning his shoots to take up as little time as possible with the sitter. He’s of the mind that photographers hold a lot of power and with this, comes a huge amount of responsibility.

“Photography is heavily psychological, highly emotional and can have huge implications”, he says. “It’s a loaded gun, you’ve got to be sure of where you’re pointing it before you pull the trigger.”

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Biographica is a lifelong project, and marks Bill’s return to black and white photography for the first time since 1986. Back then he was shooting film and his work was heavily influenced by Diane Arbus who, it is speculated, documented her own suicide with her camera. Bill refers to August Sander and Matthew Brady as influences with the concept of documentation en masse. The works of Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Alexander Rodchenko and Mari Mahr are also a great inspiration, but Biographica has drawn from many sources including painting, especially works from the Dutch schools.

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For many years Bill explored ideas in video and electronic media and so moved into using digital equipment. Now for the Biographica pictures he uses available light, shooting a 5×4 Silvestri camera with a stitching digital back to create 180° panoramic images by stitching two exposures together. Each exposure generates an image with a very large file size of 2.5 gigabytes. This magnitude of capture supersedes anything a DSLR can produce, allowing for high quality reproductions to an incredibly grand scale. Of course creating such large files demands sophisticated storage solutions so Bill not only backs up on to external hard drives but also uses blue ray discs with their greater storage capacity over DVD’s. As a purist he keeps retouching to a minimum and does not employ any digital manipulation.

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His exposures are fairly long and can vary from 1 – 4 seconds, the sitters need to remain perfectly still for optimum sharpness, so for this reason he shoots a handful of exposures. To ensure they can hold their positions, subjects are usually seated and encouraged to relax into position. Bill feels that when you ask people not to move and to hold their position over a period of time, something happens to them in their bodies both physically and psychologically. He has employed long exposures in many of his projects over the years, with the idea that securing a lapse in time in a single frame challenges the concept of time itself. As a young photographer he got caught up in the idea of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Decisive Moment but as he has matured as an image maker, his mantra is more, grab whatever moment there is, secure it and pin it down.

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Bill would like to see photography returned to the photographer and taken out of the hands of the ‘Fine Artist’. He doesn’t see himself as a mainstream photographer, but rather as someone who is honest to himself and believes in pursuing his passion. We discuss how this is important to hold onto, especially when entering exhibitions and competition:

“When you enter your work into the public domain you have no idea how it will be received and there is no point second guessing either. It is fantastic when your work is selected and hugely encouraging, but it is important to remember that judges may not have a personal connection with your work, and if this connection doesn’t happen it is not a judgement on your work. The selection process can be as random as you or I deciding we want fish & chips for dinner instead of steak. Life is about selection, there are no guarantees or easy predictions. It’s not about winners or losers. Do what is true to you and be honest with yourself,” he says.

Bill admits that exhibitions like the LIP Annual Exhibition are good motivators as they provide you with a deadline to work towards. Selecting and preparing your prints for display and hanging them all together often helps you see the holes in a project, or areas that are particularly strong and deserve to be investigated further. It is also a good way to get feedback on new work, and for this year’s LIP Annual Exhibition Bill will be entering work from his latest project Bill and Gigiola.

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This new project holds many challenges for Bill personally as it looks back posthumously on the memories and events of his mother’s life and her marriage to his father ‘Bill’, who Bill Jackson never met. His father and mother came together during the German occupation of Italy during WWII. As a project it is highly personal in terms of subject matter and a challenge to Bill as he looks for a way to present it on an aesthetic level.

A few pointers from Bill for those embarking on personal projects:

• Shooting a personal project can teach you huge amounts in technique, from how to shoot the project to the final printing of the work. Research your ideas and look at how others may have approached similar projects.

• Plan out a methodology but allow for fluidity and adaptability.

• As an individual, every person you meet adds to your journey and, as a naturally shy and private person, a project like Biographica forces me out to engage with the real world. It is so easy and comforting to stay in your own private world which is not a healthy place to be in all of the time. In my early days as a street photographer, it was so much easier to be a voyeur that a conversationalist. A project like Biographica forces you to go out there and confront life and this makes you more human.

• Never be afraid to do a personal project, but be honest about it. Don’t worry about where it takes you and never never be afraid to fail. It’s through failure that we succeed. Remember for every so called successful picture there are 10 which you don’t ever see.

• Seek out a friend or mentor who can give you honest feedback on the work.

• Sometimes we need the distance of time from what we do. What you reject one day may be the image you select the next.

• Doing long term projects can be a daunting task and it can really stretch you. To avoid boredom, work on several projects at a time.

• Originality is a rare thing, so don’t get hung up on it but at the same time don’t just do a pastiche on something you have found. Challenge your motives for doing it. I like to see, in any art work an intelligence behind it.

• Try not to be pretentious about the work as others will see through it. Honesty is the best policy and more forgiving than articulated mumbo jumbo.

You can see more of Bill’s work at his website: www.billjackson.biz

And keep a look out on the LIP Website for the dates for his exhibition at the Viewfinder Photography Gallery in Greenwich where he is part of a group show called Home later this year.

Her project 66: The Story of a House tells the story of a family through the house they lived in. It started when Marysia’s mother was ill and Marysia wanted to document the house in which her family had lived for almost 60 years. When her mother died and the family had to sell the property, and Marysia wanted more than ever to capture the fact that is was more than a “house in need of modernisation”. It was a reflection of her family and told more about them and the times in which they lived than any photo album.

LIP: How did you come to photography and how long have you been using the medium as a form of expression?

Marysia: I was given a Kodak Retinette by friends for my 21st. I didn’t understand f-stops and apertures so joined an evening class, then set up a darkroom in a disused kitchen at the top of my parent’s house. Later I did a degree, one of the first, and about 10 years ago I studied for an MA in Multimedia Design which brought me into the digital age. Now I use both film and digital cameras and have a darkroom, although it’s currently in a local school where I teach one day a week. So we’re talking 30 years but it’s really only in the last few years that I’ve started to think about it professionally and develop my own practice.

LIP: This is a very personal project. How does it feel sharing your memories of your past family life and of your mother with the viewer?

Marysia: I was rather nervous about it at first. I was worried it might be too self indulgent but the initial responses I had were very positive; and more importantly most of them were about the viewer’s experiences or memories rather than mine. I’ve shown the work at different stages at LIP meetings, the Photographers Gallery portfolio evenings and at Rhubarb-Rhubarb’s Cultivate portfolio reviews. When people see the work, there’s always an image or two which resonates with them. They identify with it and tell me their stories. In my other life, I’ve worked a lot with life stories and on reminiscence projects so I understand what triggers are needed to enable people to feel comfortable to share their own stories. I didn’t set out for this work to do that, but I want it to tell a universal as well as a personal story and I think it does that.

My mother didn’t really understand why I photographed the house all the time. She couldn’t imagine why people would want to see the photos. But, that’s a bit like people who tell you they have done nothing with their lives and yet when they talk about their past it’s fascinating. Everyone has a story to tell and a way of telling it – mine is through photography.

LIP: Do you think this project has been a cathartic process for you?

Marysia: Definitely. When my father died about 10 years before my mother, I never had this impulse because my mother and the house were still there as the rocks in my life. I also still had my darkroom in the house and I sometimes slept over in my old bedroom which was frozen in the late 70s and still full of the books, toys and clothes from my childhood. So, as we cleared the house, I was re-viewing my life as well as dealing with the loss of my mother, father and home. The interesting thing was that my mother had cleared all my dad’s clothes but certain things, like the wires in the cellar, were very much about him and his presence in the house.

As the project progressed, I think I adopted a more detached documentary style and that allowed me to view the objects and fabric of the building more dispassionatly and less emotionally. Basically I accepted the loss we all experience at some point and was ready to move on. Obviously the photos have very personal memories for me. For example, the phone on the wall was in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs by the front door. It reminds me of long conversations with friends sitting on the stairs, wrapped in a coat because it was freezing – the house never had any central heating. It was placed there for privacy so my mother could gossip with her family in Scotland without disturbing my dad who never wanted the phone in the first place! But to those who look at this image it evokes a period of time and a certain kind of house that would have had that wallpaper. Someone recently bought a copy purely because their husband’s mother used to have that wallpaper!

LIP: Has the project been shaped in any way by critical thinkers in photography, and if so could you discuss what writings have bearing on your work?

Marysia: I’m not a great critical reader although obviously I did a lot of reading for college. I think perhaps the work I’ve done in reminiscence and my interest in oral history has a greater influence in this particular project. I’m thinking more of the work of Annette Kuhn, Geoffrey Batchen and others on cultural memory. This project prompted me to question how photographs help us remember. It’s easy to see a life in the snapshots in an album but those albums omit more than they show. It’s changing now, but in the past albums were handpicked special moments where everyone got on and everyone looked happy, rarely do you find photos of people at work or doing routine maybe boring things. The details of everyday life are lost. As we get older those selected images become a representation of our life, the key moments as if all the rest is of no consequence. I don’t agree with that. All those details are more or equally interesting. Of course, today in the digital age, we capture everything because we have the technology, so today we are faced with the question of how should we be editing what we shoot and how will this editing process influence the way viewers interpret the material in the future.

LIP: Some of the pictures included here have the sense of someone living in the space, such as the kettle coming to the boil, whereas others seem to be a document of an uninhabited space, like electrical cords. Was it a cognitive choice to combine both aspects when bringing the work together? And what difficulties did you find in the process?

Marysia: I’m still playing with how they work together. My mother was suddenly taken seriously ill and lay in hospital for 4 months. She defied all expectations, particularly the doctors’, and made a full recovery. She returned home and died 18 months later, as she wanted to continue living independently till the very end – up to the age of 87. I started the work when she was first ill as a way of coping with the daily visits to the hospital and the realisation that eventually the house, like my mother, would pass on to another life. I continued photographing the house with her in it but never of her in it. The evidence of the changes are there – handrails up the stairs appear and her bedroom moves to the ground floor. But the majority were taken after she died. When I first showed the work, it was after my mother’s first illness. Most people thought she had died and were amazed at how powerfully charged with loss those first images were. Sometimes the anticipation of an event is as emotional as the actual event. After she died, the photos become more a record of the dismantling of the house. I still just documented them – I rarely constructed shots – but I think my impulse to photograph had changed over the two years and so they have a different feel to them. This is partly why I’m working on different themed books. The two aspects may not actually appear together in the same book. I’d be interested to know what people think of how they work together. My one regret is that we sold a lot of items at car boot sales and I really wish I’d photographed those and some of the objects in their new homes. That would have been a different project about junk vs treasures and the lives of objects and maybe I’ll still do it one day.

LIP: Has your approach to 66: The Story of a House been influenced by the works of other photographers? If so who and how have they influenced you?

Marysia: I like photographers who capture the more mundane aspects of life in a fascinating visual way; reflections of specific communities or places. Photographers who immediately come to mind are Martin Parr, Chris Killip, Tony Ray Jones, William Eggleston, and Stephen Shore. I also greatly admire the work of Ori Gersht, particularly his project Liquidation where he captures the harsh history of a place in stunningly beautiful images.

LIP: Is it now a completed project, and do you have any plans to exhibit the work?

Marysia: The photography is now finished. There was a natural cut-off point when the house was sold. I did go to the house as it was being renovated and I took a few photos. It was very good closure for me as I no longer think of the house as ours, but I don’t feel those photographs belong in the main project. Well, maybe one or two – like the hand writings on the plaster walls when the wallpaper was removed showing dates of decorations and the heights of me and my brother as we grew; but the rest represent a new phase in the house’s history in which I’m not involved. And yes, I’m planning to exhibit the work at the Viewfinder Photography Gallery as part of a group show on the theme of ‘Home’. The dates may change but it’s currently scheduled for November. I’m working on a number of handmade books on different themes and a short digital narrative of the house. I’ll also self-publish a book on Blurb unless any kindly publisher wants to pick it up!

LIP: What are you currently working on?

Marysia: My current project is inspired by my father’s history. From 1942, he fought with the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade based in Fife. In 1939 he was captured by the Russians and spent 18 months in a Siberian labour camp. When Russia joined the Allies, Poles were released and allowed to form their own army to help fight Germany. Poles were fighting for their homeland but along the way helped the Allies defeat Germany. Their ‘reward’ was a Poland under communist control to which many, including my father, could never return. Since 2004 we’ve seen again a great influx of Poles. This time they’re seeking work, very different reasons for coming to the UK than those in the 1940s. Many are now returning to Poland, and as they do it seems an opportune moment to reflect on that previous wave of Polish migration. They had to fight and they had to stay in the UK. They had no choice. I’m currently on a residency in Fife exploring the places the Polish army lived and trained when they were charged with defending the east coast from possible invasion by sea. I’m mainly photographing derelict buildings and landscapes. I want to capture something of the harshness of those times and the strength and fears of these young men and women. Their courage and sacrifices helped Britain and their contribution should never be forgotten.

LIP: How long have you been a member of LIP and do you feel your membership has helped you in anyway with your photography?

Marysia: I’ve been a member for about 4 years. I’ve only been to a couple of London events but I try to attend the Greenwich Satellite group as often as I can. It’s a very supportive network and the feedback on work is always constructive and useful. I love the range of work that we get to see both in terms of people’s stages as a photographer and the subject matter. Often we see work as an idea right through to the final outcome and that’s a fascinating process. I showed this project as I was doing it and the feedback encouraged me to continue with it. I think LIP gives photographers an opportunity to show and talk about their work which is often lacking when you’re not in a college environment. And that’s vital because we learn from each other and often we work on our own which can be isolating. We all need to share and get responses to our work otherwise why do we do it? I usually come home from those meetings inspired by what I’ve seen and that feeds into my work.

Marysia’s website

Showcase interview by Corin Ashleigh Brown

Showcase interview by Corin Brown

Valentina Lari is an Italian born artist who works with mixed media, using film and still photography she explores the ideas of loss, death and childhood. Some of her work is born from a collaboration with musicians and authors. Her latest photographic project Reveries captures dreamlike landscapes and musings. The use of shadow creates strong moody compositions that seem to capture the moment just after a person has left the frame. Along with the photographer we the viewers become voyeurs of these empty scenes that seem to radiate with presence of some unseen being. The stillness of the space gives us the sense that the photograph has captured a fragment in time that we can enjoy lingering over.

LIP: What was your inspiration for the project Reveries and do you feel this could be a lifelong project or one with a definite end in sight?

Valentina: Yes I can see Reveries being a lifelong project. It was born from my own personal need to portray everyday life situations and locations as part of a dream sequence. I don’t spend days looking for the next possible shot. Somehow every time I am out with my camera I seem to be lucky enough to catch something that for me is magical – even a creature like a toad or a bird under a particular light or in certain circumstances can be part of this of dreamlike stream of consciousness. I love rooms that have been just emptied or objects that are strictly related to the body and our senses – mirrors, furniture and clothes, they just stand alone as if waiting to being used or moved to a different position. I love empty chairs for example – somehow they seem to represent the essence of a human body. Outdoors can be also extremely haunting and intimate, as if we are actually spectators of someone else’s dream and space: abandoned houses, empty lakes, swimming pools and deserted wastelands.

LIP: What is the central theme to this project?

Valentina: Ghost and dreams. And the memory they leave behind.

LIP: Your use of shadow as a strong compositional tool creates a sense of heightened atmosphere – do you think your technique would be as effective or translate as well if you shot digitally?

Valentina: My relationship with digital is terrible. I have taken shots with a digital camera in the past and enjoyed it. It’s fun but that’s all it is for me. It is like having a toy in my hands that makes a silly tune every time I press the button. No matter how sophisticated a digital camera is, I feel there is something lacking. I love every single sound that my old analogue camera makes.

With digital you find yourself checking every image and deleting ones you feel haven’t turned out right – I find this tedious and boring, as it somehow destroys the magic of capturing what it is in front of the lenses and the light that can change in a moment. When shooting film there is a feeling that the image may not come out exactly as you imagined, in fact it may not come out at all, but therein lies the challenge, the beauty of dealing with the unknown.

Generally, I don’t like working on commercial projects, but it is here where I think digital has so much value. Its affordability and instant access to the image, allows the commercial photographer to perfect the elements of the picture. Despite this I don’t feel my images would benefit from being shot digitally. This could be because I am not interested in the digital format or exploring its maximum potential. I love printing in the darkroom and my manipulation is controlled with hand movements and the opening and closing of the enlarger lens. The light is real and tangible – not virtual. Photoshop is an amazing and useful software but it simply doesn’t satisfy my creative pulse when working on my personal projects.

LIP: What or whom would you say has had the greatest influence on how you convey your ideas and approach to photography?

Valentina: My father is an amazing comic artist and illustrator and he has always been interested in images, from figurative art and cinema to photography. He gave me his old enlarger and taught me the basics of using it. He found photography an interesting medium but eventually he returned to painting and drawing. His approach to arts is traditional and in a way “old fashion” in the sense that he comes from a generation where to be an artist you had to be skilled. You had to be able to paint to be a painter, be able to know the light and the language to be a filmmaker and so on. I have the same approach; I still get frustrated when I see artists who are just businessmen/women and don’t have anything to say or truly comment on with their art. I have been brought up with the notion that art is honesty and expression of who you are and of what you want to say, even if no one wants to listen to it. I believe in hard work and real skills.

In terms of personal inspiration I have to admit that I am pretty ignorant regarding photographers. I never studied art or photography, I am self-taught and sometimes I find myself checking famous names in the field that I’ve never heard of! But over the past 15 years these are some of the photographers I have grown to admire: Sally Mann, Joel-Peter Witkin, Diane Arbus, Toni Frissell, Francesca Woodman, Giorgia Fiorio, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ian Saudek, are among those I feel a strong connection with. A couple of days ago I discovered that Mario Giacomelli also had a series of photos inspired by Cesare Pavese’s poem Verra’ la Morte e avra’ I tuoi occhi (Death Will Come and Will Have Your Eyes). The topic I chose for my series is different but I was quite shocked! I have taken some photos of my dying grandmother that remind of this study of a hospice during the sixties. It truly moved me.

LIP: You have collaborated with musicians and authors on other projects – how important are these other forms of art in influencing and evolving your work?

Valentina: I am restless. I‘ve struggled most of my life searching for the right artistic language to express what screams inside me. There is always a pain, and a joy to talk about. The difficulty is to find the right and honest way for you to express it. I started as an illustrator and I really wanted that to become my job and art but I felt I wasn’t good enough for my own standards. It was painful to try to translate the images from my head onto paper. It still is. I recently went back to illustration and I have been lucky, with some people liking my work and subsequently I have managed to put together some exhibitions that have resulted in some of my material being published here and there. The Kiss Hoarder for example, was collaboration with a novelist, Lana Citron who wrote a piece that was very suitable for the kind of dark, moody style that I use. And yes, I constantly work with musicians, I love taking photos of them, I think it’s incredibly beautiful to catch a blinking eye, a jump or a smile during a performance. Music is the supreme art anyway!

I am mainly a filmmaker; I studied film almost all my life. I came to London to make films. I have done some short films and currently still working on scripts. But I have moved away from this for various reasons and I now work on a more experimental and insular level. To finance a feature film is very hard in an industry that has become so profit driven. There is a small circle of very talented independent directors that are still working, but it’ s getting harder and they are the last generation that consider the medium of cinema as art and see the potential of a story not just from an economical point of view.

I am ever so grateful to many writers, film directors, musicians and painters. Their work changed my perspective on life and death. Gifted human beings that are not afraid of being controversial, explorative without being exploitative or pointlessly arrogant. People who come to mind: Luis Bunuel, Maya Deren, Ingmar Bergman, Truman Capote, Glynne Cicada, Andrei Tarkovsky, Egon Schiele, Gottfried Helnwein, Francis Bacon, The Quay Brothers, Antonin Artaud, Diamanda Galas, Cesare Pavese. These people are not merely driven to make profits but rather they see the value that a story can bring to the lives of the people who watch it unfold on film.

LIP: Do you think your birthplace has influenced your photography and if so how?

Valentina: You can’t sever your roots and my country has deeply influenced my photography. The shapes of landscape, the buildings, and the light are so different in Italy and your eye, no matter where you are, seeks what it used to. I come from Florence and we had some of the most poetic artists I’ve ever come across. Botticelli for instance – his composition and light are so delicate, the balance between all the elements is so fragile you feel it could break by just looking at it. So unconsciously, I think you end up recreating a certain mood or looking for a certain light regardless of the circumstances or the subject. Although I don’t feel in tune with general attitude towards life and arts that I find in Italy nowadays, I do miss the beauty of our towns and landscapes. But moreover I miss a deep raw dark side of my country that is unknown to most people. There is a pulsing vein that runs across the countryside and the seaside and it carries a tradition of dialects, superstitions, lullabies, passion, monsters and rituals that have shaped my childhood and any artistic urge I have. It’s a maladie and I feel this can be found in my Reveries project.

LIP: Do you ever shoot colour and what is your B&W film of choice?

Valentina: I use different films as I like to experiment, but I do find the Fujiifilm Neopan 400 very versatile and reliable. Very nice fine grain too. I do shoot in colour, but not very often. It doesn’t seem to translate my feelings and the sense of melancholy that I want to create. I want to freeze time in my images and I think colour photography sometime gives too much information. Despite this I am actually starting a project in colour, inspired by medicine, witchcraft and painting. But I continue to take some black and white shots at the same time just to be on the safe side!

LIP: What are your future plans – exhibitions? New projects?

Valentina: I am currently working on a visual project in collaboration with the Mutter Museum, a famous pathological collection in Philadelphia. It’s an experimental film as well as a series of photos for a future exhibition there, and possibly in London. I am also very interested in art and medicine as I feel that combining the two provides a perfect opportunity to push some boundaries. I am always happy to work on new photographic exhibitions and projects, it make me feel that all the images that I accumulate year after year make sense of life to me and possibly to my audience.

Valentina’s website

Showcase interview by Corin Brown

Originally from Vienna, Austria, Krystina moved via Paris to London in the 70s and has lived in London ever since. After completing a sociology degree in the School of African and Asian Studies at the University of Sussex in the mid-70s she had a long career in the voluntary sector. In the early 90s, she studied Fine Art and Photography at Camberwell School of Art in South London, and returned to work in an urban regeneration project before taking early retirement in 2006. Since then she has pursued her passion in photography, shooting in both colour and black and white. Her self-published book Urban Parallels (2008) is available on Blurb.

For this interview we discussed Krystina’s series entitled In Between.

She says, “A quote from Gary Winogrand has lodged itself indelibly in my consciousness: “There is nothing as mysterious as a fact clearly described”. It is this seemingly contradictory combination of mystery and fact that keeps me searching from the corners of my eyes zooming in and out on physical forms and the spaces between them.”

Though her photographs may appear as documents of urban fragments, Krystina says they are not really ‘about’ those specific things. “It doesn’t much matter to me which particular objects or features I am depicting. I am far more interested in the relationships they have to each other across the spaces in between and how light, surfaces and forms intersect with my own psyche and cultural baggage.”

“I enjoy working with complex layers, incongruous or contradictory juxtapositions and constant changes in appearances. When making an image, I try to discover an underlying geometry within the picture plane and to reveal some harmonising unity or wholeness. Hopefully it is a unity that allows the diverse spatial and formal elements to breathe freely within and to communicate to us something of their own unique life.”

LIP: It seems as though you have endless opportunity to create images out of the subject matter you’ve chosen.

KRYSTINA: Yes, but no more than if the subject were ‘fences’ or ‘boundaries’. Ambiguity in perception and interpretation fascinates me and I expect it will do so for some time to come.

My approach to shooting is that of a gatherer rather than a hunter, in many ways akin to the way photographers of the past tended to work, photographers such as Dorothea Lange. Although working to document social conditions, she preferred not to plan what she would shoot:

“To know ahead of time what you are looking for means you’re then only photographing your own preconceptions, which is very limiting.”

I used that quote in the introduction of my book Urban Parallels, it has become my mantra. Having said that, I do like to work to projects, mainly because it helps me decide where to roam, but I’m always expecting serendipitous and chance encounters to happen. Whether the resulting images fit into any of my ‘boxes’ is left to a much later stage.

LIP: What do you consider your ideal shooting conditions?

KRYSTINA: As any photographer knows, the quality of light determines the kind of image you will get. Late afternoon light and long shadows are always seductive, but because I am after capturing different moods I do also like to shoot under less ideal conditions, even in the rain, if it suits that particular subject.

Sites and places that are fairly empty of people and uncluttered by cars are ideal for me, unless the car surfaces themselves are the focus of my attention as has recently been the case.

LIP: So what sort of locations attract you most? You must spend a lot of time wandering and looking for details.

KRYSTINA: Indeed I do. The type of photography I do doesn’t really depend on specific locations. The photographs may happen anywhere – it is the presence of man-made materials and structures, such as glass, metal, walls, and signs of use and abuse that is important to me. Hence locations in transition have proven to be particularly fertile gathering grounds – work sites such as places undergoing refurbishment, industrial parks, building sites and small workshops which are often found hidden away in back alleys. Here the new rubs up against the old, structures and materials have a history, they bear the traces of human activity, of time, weather or erosion and organic matter. All of this results in rich visual layers and complexities that act like magnets to my eyes.

LIP: I know you are experimenting with a return to using film, but what has your experience been like shooting digitally?

KRYSTINA: After acquiring my first digital camera over three years ago, after having been starved of any creative outlet for over a decade I went a bit wild, shooting well over 100 images a day at least five days a week. At some point though, I stopped. The world was flooded with images, why add to the flood? Looking back over my work I tried to analyse and make sense of what I had produced; which images stood out from the rest. As part of this process, I found it useful to put together a book using a self-publishing platform.

My current photographic output is by comparison considerably reduced. I still shoot a fair amount of images I subsequently judge to be mediocre, but fewer of those, I believe. Part of the attraction of trying out medium format film is that it will slow me down even further. I like the idea of having to be more deliberate and to sweat a little before achieving results.

LIP: On the editing of your work – What qualities do you think make great photographs rise above the mediocre ones?

KRYSTINA: The image should communicate something beyond the actual objects depicted within it, something ‘other’. What that ‘other’ is precisely, I do not know, except perhaps that it has something to do with how I, or my subconscious, responds to the body language of the materials and spaces involved. Ultimately, It is the degree to which that body language touches me and stirs my senses and imagination that becomes the deciding factor, although even this may change on repeated viewing. The image needs to be memorable and stand the test of time. Of course, it may not be so to anyone else. I have to take that risk.

LIP: What do you think there is to gain by making a book of your work?

KRYSTINA: The development of affordable on-line publishing offers great opportunities for putting together cohesive selections of one’s work in print. One can hold a book in the hand again and again, carry it around and share it with others – not only with people one meets, but with anyone in the world interested enough to view or buy it.

The book helped me evaluate my output of the past two years. It was interesting to see to what extent different subject matter and forms could relate across the double pages and through the sequencing and to find new associations and connections emerge. It was an altogether useful exercise and one that I enjoyed.

LIP: Do you feel these images communicate something about your personality?

KRYSTINA: All photographs tell us something about the person behind the lens. Each photograph, even a snapshot, has been wilfully created by someone making a conscious or subconscious selection.

Photojournalists and documentary photographers try to chase the ‘real’ by narrowing their focus on actions that can be seen. Or, they select frames that they judge will tell a story they feel needs to be told. Images are intended to function as a wider window on a particular group of individuals, a community or location. That leaves out a lot of reality even without considering other dimensions such as smell, sound and touch.

Artists on the other hand often subvert, manipulate or stage photographs using them deliberately for the purpose of expressing themselves or particular concepts and ideas they may have.

For my part, reality as I find it and the metamorphosis the photographic process enables me to achieve seems engrossing and rewarding enough. I am more than content to work on the fringes and in between these two fields – neither simply documenting nor unduly manipulating – a vast area that gets rather scant coverage and attention.

LIP: What photographers’ work have you been admiring, or inspired by lately?

KRYSTINA: I am curious enough to see a wide range of contemporary photography in galleries, books and online. Many works may stimulate my mind, but rarely do they touch all my senses, for that I usually turn back to favourite master photographers, such as Aaron Siskind, Minor White, Josef Koudelka, Raymond Moore. I particularly feel drawn to that unique and single-minded vision of Mario Giacomelli who did everything to his negatives one wasn’t supposed to do. I have a book of his black and white aerial photographs that I always keep by my bedside. It contains stunning abstractions of man’s imprint on the landscape. Some of the colour works of Richard Misrach derive from a similar preoccupation, but with far more ethereal and delicate results. I find his works rather beautiful, despite or rather because of their more serious undercurrents.

Inevitably, given a degree of shared concerns, Sabine Hornig and Uta Barth’s works continue to be of great interest to me. I am also rather impressed by the way they display their works within the gallery space, and in Hornig’s case how she extends her photographs into installation pieces. Although installation work is my background, I do not feel the urge to emulate her, at least not so far.

Krystina’s website

Interview by Tiffany Jones