Many years ago before I held a stills camera, I worked with film and performance. Firstly as an actor, then as a director and filmmaker .
I started off at the end of a pier (with feathers and stuff) , then progressed to working mainly in theatre and eventually I was commissioned to create my own original site specific theatre and art works. I loved creating and working in this arena, and was fortunate to be able to collaborate with other fabulous artists, musicians, actors and film-makers.
The main essence of my work was (and of course still is) rooted in people’s lives, their stories and experiences and the communities they once lived in. This is something that still informs all my photographic work and is a big motivating force behind it. Anyway, it is easy to sound (or come across as) pompous when talking about artwork, when in reality most of what I did had a simplicity to it and was based on my curiosity to find out more about people, and focusing on their memories and their emotional, real and sometimes imagined journeys.
Here are a few examples for you to watch and (hopefully) enjoy.
There is a lot of super-eight, and interesting hair!
Lumina
With Artist Andy Hazell and Composer – Hallam Lewis
A short documentary of this piece made by HTBA
We were commissioned to create a work for year of Film and Photography.
We chose to use a ship to project on as it lay for 6 minutes in the lock gates in the Port of Hull. The work was based around peoples journeys through the Port, and the stories that came with them. We also created installations with suitcases and imagery, and fed our audience (who arrived on buses) with Borscht and Vodka.
First Times
With composer Hallam Lewis
A quirky flick book look through Peoples First times.
As the title suggests, I made this film about people’s firsts, and it was shown as the B movie in the cinema as well as being shown at various film festivals.
Ice House
I was commissioned by Moonshine Dance Theatre to create, direct and tour this piece, working with an artist and an amazing dancer too. Believe it or not my inspiration was a snowstorm, a world within a world.
With Dancer – Claire Pencaq, Artist – Andy Hazell, and Composer – Musican Hallam Lewis. This film is a little snapshot of the work.
I still occasionally do this kind of work and am looking forward to sharing my next project with you.
