Untitled

This analogue black and white photograph comes from a short series taken in May 1995. Lit by natural light, it was an early foray into chiaroscuro.

The single prop — a simple feather-adorned “crown” — was made and supplied by the model (also an artist).

For me this image has an almost hauntological aesthetic, illustrating some mysterious ceremony or a lost ritual.

The photograph was taken in my then home in Coventry with a cheap SLR camera on 35mm black and white film, and developed by me in a rudimentary darkroom.

In 2012 I revisited this image as a source of inspiration for a lino print entitled “Seated Figure”.