At the beginning of August I was asked to produce work in response to the 'Evolving In Conversation' brief for the Brighton Photography Biennial 2014, a collaborative commission from Photoworks and Brighton and Hove Library.
The commission was offered to 4 photographers including myself and a group of young people facilitated by photographer Georgia Metaxas. The commission immediately appealed to me as it offered an opportunity to work alongside the young people and to start a collaborative dialogue around making images and exploring the central question,
'How Can Individuals Make Society Change?'
Inspired in part by Harper Lee's 'To Kill A a Mockingbird', I chose to focus on young people who had spoken out on issues important to them making a difference in their community. UK Youths' 'Hearing Unheard Voices' Awards was my starting point and from this I contacted a range of youth groups across the UK to see who would be able to take part in the project.
It has been a busy couple of weeks, getting from initial ideas to finding participants, shooting then editing the final images. The commission has seen me travel around the UK from Edinburgh to Taunton, Bristol to Brighton, London and Newcastle.
I've met inspiring young people campaigning against youth violence, forced marriage, female genital mutilation and youth homelessness. Each of them actively taking part in changing society around them.
The collection of portraits will be on show as part of the Brighton Photography Biennial at the Jubilee Library from October 4th.
To find out more about the commission go to:
http://bpb.org.uk/2014/event/evolving-in-conversation/
To find out more on Brighton Photography Biennial 2014 visit:
http://bpb.org.uk/
Images above from workshop at Jubilee Library with young photographers, Brighton 14th August 2014.