Artist Statement
As far back as my long-term memory takes me, I remember always having a camera with me: as a kid on holiday, at parties, with friends and any other occasions.
As an adult, not much has changed; except now I take numerous amounts of photographs, like a man with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This compulsion is
like having a craving to record things, observe and document.
For me, photography is medium-conveying information, which I am able to use in order to expose, communicate, engage, understand, and learn from the people and situations I instinctively look for.
My ethos is: I enjoy seeking out situations and letting them unfold in an unconstructed and unconscious manner. In many ways, my photographic technique is like fishing. I throw my line out and wait for the important moments, which often do not come at all. I have to exercise patience, observe and develop trust in order to harness a relationship with the subject, which in the end helps make my presence less obtrusive and the key to obtaining powerful images. I work alone as it is less threatening and fully allows the subjects to reveal themselves, in all their glory.
I work mostly in black and white because it relies heavily on mood and composition. I prefer to use film as I’m not distracted or interrupted by instant play back one gets with digital. I prefer my images to be hand printed on fibre-based photographic paper, which produces a wide variety of tones with rich blacks and clean whites. I work hard to make my images thought provoking, intense and powerful. I achieve this by keeping in mind composition, lighting, mood, and therefore making full use of these elements to strengthen the overall image.
I am drawn to different societies hoping to understand the way people live and adapt to their circumstances, environments, and limitations. I am fascinated by people’s human-development and how they cope with their situations. It’s this that propels me to find out what makes them drive themselves forward and beyond life’s challenges.
The work I do is a reflection of who I am, my values and sensibilities. It’s a culmination of my identity and due to this, the lines between work, life, and reality have blurred. I’m so blessed to be a picture junkie. It’s my breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea, and my favourite snack.
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Click on any of the thumbnail images to launch the viewer. You can then navigate forward and backward within the portfolio by clicking the left or right side of the enlarged image. Click the add to collection checkbox to automatically add an image to your collection. Image tags or search engine keywords appear below the collections' checkbox and each word or phrase is a link to potentially more image matches.