Second Skin

Second skin is all about creating images with layers; layers of light, layers of textures, as a way to play with obscurity. Simultaneously, it is about peeling back layers; showing vulnerability and personality.

My subjects often start off a strangers, gradually becoming friends. Often we’ve connected creativity in one way or another, often through Instagram, and I’ve then asked to photograph them. Going into each shoot I have one or two ideas, a particular lighting style, an angle, some fabric to layer. Spending a few hours with
each subject means we talk through ideas and collaborate. I make sure they are in a safe space and that we are on the same level.
Working this way I find a switch happens while shooting, people open up - as if the camera is a key to unlock another emotional layer. The portraits vary in abstraction, but all play with obscuring / concealing. Transforming a bathroom shower curtain into the backdrop, or illuminating an aura through use of colour.
Often these subjects opened up and shared their stories, and my turning my lens on them I am bringing another layer of subjectivity in how it is captured. A shared physical trauma, feeling homesick, or a mutual love of dappled light.