not-self-portraits

I see this body of work as being one of the two ways in which the beds projects could have progressed, from working with people to help me see myself I moved on to asking a series of photographers, people who already possess strong personal visions to photograph me. Where before I was asking for assistance to see myself by myself, this time I was asking others to see me. It was an experiment in relinquishing control over my representation and to some degree, my actions. I asked the photographers to photograph me with my camera, but beyond that I gave them total freedom; it was their choice of location, pose, dress, time and action. For me this was initially quite an uncomfortable process – I am not used to allowing others to take my picture, but I gradually came to almost enjoy the sense of liberation, if I was told to do something, because I had given up my control, I didn’t have to think about it, I was, in a sense, absolved of responsibility. Also interesting was the reaction of the photographers to what had gone before – the instructions grew more extreme, they seemed to sense that I was exploring personal limits and rose to challenge me.

The other important element to this project is its context and personal use to me. I found myself in a new and intimidating city amongst a group of strangers with whom I knew I was going to spend the next four weeks; as quite a shy person I usually find it difficult to get to know people – I saw that some sort of collaborative project which would allow me to spend an hour or two in the company of each of the individuals present would help me to start forming relationships. I strongly believe that photography can be used in this way – to give you access, to give you a reason. Through this project both friendships and the city in which we were staying began to open up to me – I gained something whether practical or emotional from each shoot. Again, the emphasis begins to fall more on the experience than the images but equally the experience, or the recollection of it lends greater strength to the image.