As part of the launch night of my new exhibition “Changing Faces” I gave a talk about how I created the series of portraits of Felixstowe people and workers. The audience were interested to hear about my analogue cameras and laborious darkroom process. I even gave an impromptu demo of how I dodge dark areas of a print with my trusty dodger tool!
The stories of how I enlisted local volunteers as portrait subjects was entertaining too, some I found via a call-out on social media and some I approached with my camera. I love how art projects bring people together – in a somewhat random shuffle.
The audience heard about the trials and tribulations along the way including chasing bin lorries in the heatwave with heavy cameras, and encountering a bleak mood from staff at shops that were closing down. And the ongoing quest for a poodle and a chimney sweep.
The project was a collaboration with the museum and Mark & David did a fantastic job of sifting through the rich archives as we selected old photos to reproduce in the modern day.
Many of the models and museum staff attended, and an interesting Q&A followed.
The exhibition runs at Felixstowe Museum until 1st Nov 2026, after which I will add photos of it to this website, for now – no spoilers! please go and see it. I am really interested in feedback, to learn what people think when they see the Past and the Present side-by-side in the exhibition. Please drop your comments into my special box.
