Breathe

I went into self-isolation on the 16th March 2020. In order to deal with this I documented - first with social isolation and then with lockdown - how people were managing private and public spaces during Covid on my daily walks in an historic neighboring area, Burnthouse Lane, close to where I live in the UK.

I was drawn to how people of all ages were negotiating this new way of being and how their relationship to each other and to the spaces themselves unfolded. There was and is a sense of wonderment in these chance encounters that have often occurred within moments of quiet and abandonment. The interaction and stories that have emanated from these meetings has added another dimension, understanding and poignancy to situation.

Alongside this, house facades and accompanying objects discovered in the area have taken on a heightened sense of relevance serving as a metaphorical accompaniment and context for the representation of the portraits. There is a recurring religious element amongst some of these that has become a symbolic reference for the presence and fragility of life and death.

This a continuing project that is developing as lockdown changes and is opening up, but my focus remains on continuing to document this unique community and to delve further into it’s social history and significance.

More images to be revealed in the near future