Alex + Selma

Alex and Selma were some of the contacts I worked with on my shoot for Artsadmin the other day and I took the opportunity to grab a few portraits of their beautiful faces. The images of cloth are from the shops on Goulston Street where you absolutely must go to get a falafel wrap (ask for extra pickles!)

The Fear of Crime

I realised the other day that I have never posted anything here about my workshop facilitation and I have the perfect project to put that to rights! 

I recently worked with various teams at Croydon Council, the fabulous photography department at Croydon College and a stellar team of young people to conceptualise and shoot a project on the topic of 'The Fear of Crime'.

Young people often provoke an automatic negative response in others, and are often featured in the news as a faceless mass of bad eggs. 

The team and I wanted to show off the skills and creativity of young people by training them up as studio photographers. We also wanted to encourage others to see their individuality by asking the peers who posed for photos to tell us a little bit about themselves.

The resulting photos were totally stunning and really showed of the personalities of the diverse range of young people that got recruited to be sitters! Each one was shot and edited by the young photographers and I'm so proud of their achievements. 

A set of portraits with captions revealing a little snippet of info - but carefully not matched with any particular portrait so as to challenge the viewers' assumptions - is currently on show at the Click Clock Gallery in central Croydon. Please do stop by to see all their hard work if you are in the area. Here's a little sample to whet your appetite:

Below is a behind the scenes shot of the actual shoot day (thanks to my colleague Ally for this one) as well as a couple of quick videos from my Snapchat of the hanging (follow me there: @kleedale).

a 'zine for my belfast best beloved

Recently I visited my friend Lisa to see her perform in After Miss Julie, which was touring both the Republic and Northern Ireland - I saw the show at The MAC in Belfast (of course, she was stunning).

To say thanks for having me, I made her a 'zine! Inspired by her love for Kinfolk, Freckle, Oh Comely, Lula, and the like, I selected some of the images I shot around the city, printed them out double-sided, then folded them to make the pages. The images were mostly randomised and I love the weird little clashes and correspondences that resulted. 

Interspersed with the pictures was a letter which I wrote on the leaves of an Maths exercise book from a girl at school in 1938. I bought it in Lisa's company at a jumble sale many years ago so there was a nice resonance there.

Below are some of the images I chose, as well as a video (my first, be gentle) showing the finished item. I absolutely loved the process of making this, and (after I buy an awl and bone folder!) am looking for my next subject. 

WATCH NOW

Some of the pictures were shot at various lovely spots she showed me in the city, as follows:

The MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre): a cultural hotspot in the cathedral quarter. Lots of levels with little corners to relax in if you don't fancy taking advantage of the cafe and restaurant. Beautiful rainbow thread artwork may still be viewable!

Le Petit Ormeau: sweet cafe on the Ormeau Road. I had a delicious truffled mushroom and poached egg on sourdough brunch and a great chat with my friends about politics, creativity, and the biomechanics of childbirth! They also open for dinner with a selection of petit plats.

Kiln and Loom: a shop with a curated selection of fantastic cards, jewellery, crafts, notebooks and other items, mostly (as far as I could see) made by Northern Irish craftspeople. Also stocks the aforementioned Freckle magazine. Has coffee and cake, which I didn't try but looked yum.

Avoca: Ireland's answer to Anthropologie. The food section in particular is irresistible (if you go, check out the jars of jams, chutneys and honey - absolutely rad label design). I will be saving up so I can buy one of their beyond-cosy Irish wool blankets next trip.

For charity and vintage shopping, try Botanic Avenue, near the university.

Here's how Lisa shot the thing her end!