Limited Access

Sussex - April 2014

In this series of portraits the sitters turn their backs to the camera, disrupting the normal process of looking and identification.

My aim was to create a different dynamic between the person in the picture and the viewer. Portraiture is often concerned with providing insight into the persona and what is behind the appearance of the subject. in most cases the face attracts most of the attention, focussing the gaze at the expense of the rest of the picture. Yet the depth and breath of who we are goes beyond what can be contained in a single image.

I have made these pictures in this spirit, photographing each person only showing their backs - but in an environment that is relevant and important to them. I would like the viewer to 'look less at someone' and 'be more with someone'; spend more time in discovering what is in the picture and speculate about the portrayed person.

Another source of inspiration and frame of reference are social media tools like Facebook or instagram and the attitudes towards privacy being expressed in these platforms. After a phase of ever increasing openness with respect to self publication and sharing of personal experiences, attitudes towards disseminating private information have recently started to change in the light of increasing commercial exploitation, the risk of identity theft and the interest of employers in social media information.

Although my sitters share certain aspects of their life, their guard their privacy at the same time.