Q Your latest exhibition is promoted as a series of "camera-less" photographic images. What does that mean?
Camera-less photography is a term used to describe photography which occurs without using a camera. It harks back to the dawn of photography when light-sensitive silver and other chemicals were coated on to paper, a leaf or something similar put on to the paper, and then put out into the sun to form a chemical reaction. The result is like an X-ray.
The significance of camera-less photography for me is that it forces you to slow down and contemplate texture, colour, line and patterns. It also leaves (I hope) enough for the imagination so the viewer is able to put their own interpretation on an image.
Q What prompted you to try these photographic processes and what different processes do you use?
My father worked in the photographic industry and frequently travelled overseas for business. He returned from England on one occasion with some brochures about the English father of photography, William Henry Fox Talbot. His tiny photos and processes fascinated me, and ultimately (sadly, after my father had died) I went to Fox Talbot’s home, Lacock Abbey, in Wiltshire and studied his earliest process — photogenic drawing — and other later photographic processes (wet plate collodion and daguerreotypes). I was also invited back to Lacock Abbey as artist in residence in 2013, resulting in the creation of the second-largest body of photogenic drawings in the world — the largest body of work was created by Fox Talbot himself.
Q What appeals to you about the arts and what inspiration do you derive from Central Otago?
All arts can elicit an emotion and for me, in particular, it’s visual arts, and it doesn’t necessarily matter what medium it may be created in, it either speaks to me or it doesn’t. I have a particular affinity for good-quality photographic work — whether it’s a beautiful, thoughtful black and white landscape, or something really weird which most folk wouldn’t recognise as a photograph (chemigrams spring to mind here — a process I’d like to work with in the near future).
What inspiration do I derive? I’m not sure what it is about Central Otago, it just "is". I sensed it when I first moved here as an ambulance officer. It is possibly partly the slower pace of life than in a big city. For me, the opportunity to be outside and feel part of nature, and belonging to a collective such as Hullabaloo, certainly helps.
Q You are also involved with the Blind Foundation Central Otago. Why did you become involved with the group and what does it provide?
Two days a week I work as the foundation’s recreation and volunteer co-ordinator, meaning I am privileged to work with visually impaired folk to assist them in living a life without limits, whether it’s meeting together for coffee (something we do regularly in Central), organising out-of-town bus trips, tandem bike rides etc. I’ve worked in the health and disability sector for many years, and for me it’s about being able to make a difference in this world, no matter how small, hopefully for the better.
Q Another group you are part of is the Central Otago Friendship Network. What is important about friendship and how are people changed by it?
I’m a small part of the team who support staff at the coal-face to "make it happen". That is, running groups for folk who might otherwise be socially isolated, enabling them to meet with others, spend good-quality time together doing various activities and building friendships.
Q What kind of perspective does your volunteering provide, and how do all the parts of your life fit together?
Volunteers are so important, particularly in communities like ours. They truly are the unsung heroes — and without them many aspects of our lives here in Central would scream to a halt. It’s a privilege to be involved in groups like the Friendship Network. I encourage everyone to give volunteering a go — it can be very rewarding for both parties if you connect with the right group.
