I got very excited when came through the photos of Joanna Paterson. There is a real energy in her work, somethink that we would call “dejante” in French, meaning a cool madness, something totally fresh and different from many things we’ve seen recently.

Why Photography?

As an art student I first got into photography as a tool to document my badly made sculptures.

As a shy person I’ve always found that photography has been liberating,  you get to experience the world through creating photographs.  Its exciting  to be carve your own temporary take on reality for the camera, , for example this weekend I’m turning a German Sausage dog into a a bionic space dog – a tortoise into a remote control heli-tortoise – all for the delight of the camera!

Education

After studying Fine Art in my early twenties and then working, I initially took a Foundation Degree in Photography at the Arts Institute Bournemouth, a great college whose alumni include Wolfgang Tilmans and Nick Knight.  I had an encouraging start was awarded the Association of Photographers Student Photographer of the Year in my first year.  This was followed with a scholarship from Harold Tilmans of Jaegar which allowed me to study for a Master in Photography at the London College of Fashion.

Influences

Meeting the South African photographer David Goldblatt had a great influence on me.  I always come back to his series “Particulars”, the composition is so exact, but the subject matter so moving.

But otherwise a wide variety of influence,  I’ve always read voraciously and my current obsession is with several contemporary British poets for their sophisticated use of simple words.

I’ve found working with children as the subject, very inspiring and liberating, childhood is a time of innocence before everything gets complicated. I enjoy creating playful images that sometimes use props or inventive scenarios, with adult models this can look contrived but children engage very naturally with this, they just seem to get it.

After studying I assisted both set both set stylists and photographers – which has shaped my attraction towards a witty and playful approach to image making.

 

Photos 1, 2 3 and 4 : Junior Magazine.

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