is soon to be on show at Belfast Exposed. Here, the emerging talent lets us in on the inner workings of his process. Up to this point, I’ve been attempting to use elements of photography’s cultural underwriting to work through mostly sociological themes via urban settings in accessible and imaginative long-form projects. This brings about a continuous process of critical research, reflexive thinking and revisitation between waves of actual image-making.
Without trying to overcook the sites or objects I am picturing, there are intentional references bound in the ‘documentary’ aesthetic I currently use that are probably most responsible for how things end up looking image-to-image. W*: How did you bring your approach to shooting the Re:Move project?As much as I had some researched ideas in mind going in, I didn’t want to ignore what I would learn about the trike and the team behind it whilst on location.
Seeing the team working on the vehicle as a focal point within the large, industrial workshop, I was reminded of a collection of photographs I’d seen picturing engineers fixingin the 1950s. Black and white, very formal compositions with frequent pops of well-positioned flash within each tableau. With the race among automotive companies to be at the forefront of sustainable electric technology today, I felt it might be a fun look to parallel.
Members of the the Re:Move team work on the electric-powered trike prototype at the Mira Technology Park, UKFor the last few years, the most interesting thing to me has been the public’s blossoming distrust/mistrust relationship with the still image. I think it puts image-making in a much more complex and compelling position as a discipline, despite what some claim regarding the eroding perception of photographic ‘truth’ as a negative thing.
During lockdown I was turned onto Nearest Truth, a series of recorded conversations orbiting contemporary photography and facilitated by Brad Feuerhelm. With an extensive back catalogue, these episodes take a step away from the idea of a topical weekly podcast and act almost as capsules of respective guest artists, publishers, curators and writers’ activities in a specific moment.