Artist Statement | Resume

My current project ‘Still Alive’ is a series of ephemeral chlorophyll prints; perhaps the most natural form of photography, using the leaf's own light sensitive cells to make the image. Just as the leaf had a lifespan, so does the image now printed into the leaf. The sunlight which made the image will slowly destroy it. Through this series I explore the links between science and art, between human and plant bodies, and our understandings of the life cycle.

Alongside this personal work I am developing a series of children’s workshops, looking at the science of photosynthesis and the effect of excess sunlight on living cells; plant, animal or human.

'Still Alive V' was recently selected in an international photography competition and exhibited at the prestigious MPLS Photo Center, Minneapolis, USA.
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I think photography is a great way for people to communicate; to tell your own story but also to listen to other's.



This approach has been the basis of several of my projects. In 2005-6 I lived and photographed in Cuba for a year, returning in 2007. During my time in Cuba I was privileged to apprentice then collaborate with some of the island’s most celebrated photographers such as Felix Arencibia and Elio Delgado Valdés. I worked collaboratively with diverse groups of people from Santería priests in Havana, learning about Afro-Cuban culture, to the remote farming village of Alonso de Roja, where I gained an insight into rural life on the island.


In 2008 I travelled to Chiapas, Mexico to complete my MA research amongst a group of indigenous photographers. There I learnt about their unique relationships with photography and as part of my research I also ran a series of workshops called ‘Let’s Take Photos of Gringos!’. I returned in 2010 as an Artist in Residence, Photography Teacher and Assistant to the Director. I designed and ran a 2 month course exploring how pinhole photography can be an accessible way to enjoy photography without having to spend a lot of money. We also worked collaboratively to produce a leaflet advising visitors on how to use their cameras in the region without causing offence to indigenous local people. This leaflet was based on my MA research.

And yet turning my lens to my home town of Bristol, UK has been in many ways the most rewarding project of all. The vibrant diversity of this city has been a continual inspiration.


I have also worked with several squatter communities, using photography collaboratively to help move past negative stereotypes and build a feeling community. In the Waiting Rooms project we explored one household's touching relationship with the history of their home, and how the economic downturn already has its own poppy fields.

(Above image is from 'The Waiting Rooms' series, in collaboration with Charlotte Randomly, 2008)
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March 2009: CertTESOL Teaching English as a Foreign Language

2007 - 2008: University of Bristol: MA Empires; Peoples, Histories and Cultures (Destinction)

2005 - 2006: José Martí International Journalism Institute, Havana: Documentary Photography (Distinction). Awarded membership of the Iberoamerican Foundation of Photography on completing the course.

2003 - 2007: University of Bristol: BA Spanish, specialising in Latin American Studies (1st class)



Awards
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Oct 2010: Finalist in ‘Alternatives’ international photography competition
MPLS Photo Center, Minneapolis, USA

May 2008: Arts and Humanities Research Council: Overseas Research Grant

Aug 2007: Arts and Humanities Research Council: Full Study and Subsistence Grant for MA study

2005-2007: University of Bristol: Juan Luís Alarcón Prize for Outstanding Research (2005, 2007); El Alto Prize for Outstanding Research (2007).