Tomorrow night, as part of an incredibly epic LightNight, my Look/13 exhibition “Leaves” opens at LEAF on Bold Street. I’m excited, nervous and incredibly grateful to LEAF for allowing me to do the project in the first place as well as exhibit it there as part of the Look photography festival’s parallel programme.

So what is Leaves? A year ago I was sitting in LEAF just taking in all the different people there. It’s like a goldmine of interesting characters and I just had to photograph them. I approached LEAF with the idea and they loved it. So one day in February I turned up with a light and a camera and set to work. I chose the spot at the back against the deep blue wall and created a mini studio. I was there from 9am till 6pm talking to people and making photographs. In all I made 40 portraits and met a lot of lovely people, as can be seen in the Leaves gallery.

This is the first time the project has been publicly displayed. I haven’t blogged the photos, printed them, put them on Facebook or anything. I was simply drawn to making the work. When the Look/13 theme was announced I knew this project was a good fit. The theme is “Who do you think you are?” I have a set of portraits which on an individual level make you wonder who each person is. On a larger level Leaves is looking at the identity of LEAF itself through its community.

I will be back there in the coming weeks. I plan to spend another day there drinking tea, talking to people and making photographs. I’ll announce the date closer to the time. So stay tuned to my Twitter feed, or this blog.

The exhibition runs from 17th May till 30th June. Stop by for a cuppa.