Online art gallery Art Republic did a World Photography Day 2022 feature on me, this included A Day in the Life interview, Staff Picks an article Snapshotting Reality in the Photography of Heeps, Goldin and Eliasson.
They also asked me to talk in more detail about five of my artworks in their online gallery. I really enjoyed this opportunity to look back at the themes, approaches and thoughts behind them so I thought I would share it with you.
Lone Pine, California, 2000
Taken in the year 2000, for some reason it lay hidden in my negative files until I finally printed it in 2021.
A lot of my work is about a journey, taken on my first visit to America and this involves a road trip around parts of Nevada and California. Touching down in Las Vegas, I was looking for a heightened sense of Americana, looking to capture all the ingredients from the many American films I had seen. Lone Pine was a former movie town, with a history of Westerns, many of which I'd seen as a child growing up in the 1960's and 1970's, the era of the Western.
In this picture we have the Bonanza Restaurant, the interior of which was the front cover of my book 'Man's Ruin'. 'Bonanza' was a 1950's and 60's Western tv programme that I grew up with. The scene within the picture against the snow-capped mountain backdrop and the crisp blue sky tells a story.
Buick in the Dust, Norfolk, Hemsby, 2000 (Sequence)
Taken at a beach party at the Rockabilly Festival at Hemsby. It is an event people travelled from around the world to attend in this Norfolk village and in this photograph, you have an American car, driven by a German, on a British beach. I have a history of photographing hot rodding for Custom Car and Classic American magazine and Drag Racing at Santa Pod Raceway and ultimately, I was trying to capture speed and danger in an artistic way, again I was influenced by cinema. This particular year photographing donutting on the beach the atmospherics were perfect as it had been dry spring that meant all the dust went airborne evoking the scene of a muscle car in the desert.
Palms, St Leonards-on-Sea, 2020
I am fascinated by the British seaside. The seaside has its own specialised architecture and I like how the landscape has been made more exotic and, in this picture, it combines the elements of mid-century architecture and a palm tree making it feel like Miami meets the Mediterranean.
Yellow Corridor, Milan, 2019
I exhibited at Art Fairs in Milan for many years, I have a great connection with the Milanese collectors. In 2018 I had the opportunity to to a special project for the next years Art Fair and so my series A Short History of Milan began and is ongoing as I revisit to build the collection. One of the aspects I was drawn to was the unique foyers of every apartment building. This one I particularly like for its strong yellow interior, even though is was much simpler than many others. The image is heightened by the low autumnal midday sunlight creating strong shadows, it has a cinematic sense of film noir - but in colour.
Wendy Resting, Wendy Flaming Eyeball, Sunkissed Wendy, Oldsmobile & Sinful Barbie's, Las Vegas, 2001
Photographing for my book 'Man's Ruin', I took many portraits of 1950's inspired lifestyle over seven years, in many settings.I photographed Wendy and her classic turquoise Oldsmobile over several days, capturing quiet, natural moments creating a cinematic sequence.
Thanks to Art Republic for partnering with me to bring new audiences to my work and for this amazing World Photography Day feature.
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