Tidal

These images are from a recent residency I undertook in the small port town of Cobh, near Cork city in Ireland. Every day I would walk up and down the short promenade by the water and I became fascinated and intrigued by the cross-section of young people I encountered and their attachment to the sea. This has shaped their social interaction and given rise to a particular sub-culture in relation to their recreational activities and future aspirations.

In addition this small town serves as a microcosm for what is happening in many parts of Western Europe where young people from Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia etc all come in search of work and security breaking down ethnic and cultural isolation and precipitating a new evolution in societies.

These portraits were produced against the background of the sea, itself a symbol of the passage of time, of change, of journeys into and discoveries of pastures new