The Story behind the Portrait

This image is from my current series “Breathe”. Since March I have been documenting – first with social isolation and then with lockdown – how people have managed private and public spaces in a neighbourhood where I live.

I have been drawn to how people of all ages are negotiating this new way of being and how their interaction with these spaces has unfolded – those living on their own, those in relationships and those within families. The interaction and stories that have emanated from these meetings has added another dimension and poignancy to the unfolding situation.

Prior to this image being taken I had photographed Britney’s brother and on delivering the photograph to the family home I met their mother. She showed me a photograph of Britney and taken by the way she looked I enquired whether I could work with her too. She said that they had just found out she was pregnant but had not been feeling too well so was going for a scan the following week and if I came that day she would have dressed up to go out. I went with some trepidation that evening as to whether her and Ross would still like to participate but they had prepared for my arrival. I really enjoyed the strong sense of individuality and presence within their partnership and the sensual light that embraced this. I will continue to visit them to photograph her through her pregnancy.