[Documentation for Master of Fine Arts]

Many of my photographed situations are temporarily created for the moment of shooting. After being attracted to the original scene, I then proceed in changing the scene with careful and precise placement of props, building materials, pipes, steelwork and so on. Viewed from any angle other than through the camera the scene appears only to be a jumble of shapes. By doing this I am not aiming to document the scene as I found it but to break down the association and functions of real world objects within the scene. Changing the spacial relationships by juxtaposing objects in appropriate places ‚Äöwithin the foreground and background I attempt to challenge the assumptions made by the viewer. Having previously worked with flat, two-dimensional black and white images in a city environment, I found that moving to the country allowed much greater oppurtunity for me to take advantage of its particular quality of light and space. I choose to use colour primarily for it's aesthetic appeal, but also in many photographs as an aid in creating visual ambiguities. I was attracted to work in colour after coming in contact with the work of photographers such as Joel Meyerwitz, John Pfahl, Stephen Shore, William Eggleston and Michael Bishop.