Micachu and The Shapes

A little known fact about Mica. . she makes a mean cup of tea.
I went round to hang out with her one wintery day before Christmas. I didn't know much about her before I met her but played Golden Phone on repeat when I first heard it. She is super cool, funny and polite. She has a customised guitar covered in tippex and a box of unusual instruments. We took this image for the front cover in her bedroom and then met up with Marc and Raisa aka The Shapes. Their bright t shirts made the sun come out for a few brief and precious moments.

Away Days in Dazed

Photographing on a film set combines so many of the things that I love. The opportunity to document an enhanced sense of the real world where actors play out their emotions, real life feelings that all of us can relate to. The collaboration of talents that through directing, lighting, styling and set design, make it possible to create a very particular world where all these elements come alive. With Awaydays everything was accesible- hiring a cast of relative unknowns, there were no winnebagos, no entourage, no limits. As soon as the cameras rolled I could follow the actors as I would on a reportage assignment- always there but never visible. As they switched into the Liverpool of 1979, I was transported there as well. The emotions on set were palpable. I feel sure these young actors will be real stars of the future.

Studio Leaves and the Cinematic Carwash

Young Hearts

Stay With Me Till Dawn

I saw my aunt today and as she was leaving she told me there was a song that she would always remember as my mum and dad's song in the 70's. She couldn't properly recall the name of the artist so after a little investigation I found out it was Judy Tzuke. Here is a clip of her from Glastonbury in 1982 and some pictures of my mum and dad as I would like to remember them together, young and in love when they were about 18. .

Tell The World

Weeze

Bill

Love Letter

Such a Fine Line - Neil Young at Hop Farm

Have you any dreams you'd like to sell..

I must have heard Rumours a thousand times, it is one of the first albums I remember my mum and dad playing when I was a kid. After Saturday night in the early morning we played it on repeat. Dreams is music for the soul.

Found Under a Patchwork Quilt

East London Portal

Delaine and Damian Le Bas

Delaine and I were first introduced by David James and by Cathy Lomax at Transition Gallery. Delaine and her husband Damian are both incredible artists and two of my favourite people in the whole world. Our first meeting was arranged on the phone, they came over to my flat on a Sunday afternoon for a cup of tea at about 4pm. I think they left at midnight. We collaborated together on a book called "Room" to accompany Delaine's first solo show at the Transition Gallery. This project could not have worked if we had not had an instant connection as I spent a period of several months living in their house which they will tell you themselves is tiny and full to the brim with all their collected treasures . The fact that these two produce the volume and quantity of work there that they do is amazing in itself.
Cathy has written an excellent piece about Delaine
www.axisweb.org/openfrequency/delainelebas
and you can see more of her work on the following site
www.sonairosso.com
www.nourbakhsch.de

I met Delaine and Damian today as they were giving prizes to the poster winners for Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month at the House Of Lords.
We met up at this strange David Lynch style cafeteria underground near Westminster. I took a series of pictures but when I got home they had mysteriously vanished from my camera.

Sanna

Went round to Sanna's yesterday. We drank coffee and she made salad with grilled asparagus and cheese. She showed all the pictures she took when she followed Slayer around and we listened to the Stones. Funny because Slayer's management would not let her anywhere near the band themselves. She has got some beautiful pictures of their fans, some in an incredible utopian landscape.... Slovinian woodland. I would love to see these in a book.

Dog Walking on Wheels

My exhibition at Dazed

Last Thursday I had an exhibition of work at the Dazed Gallery documenting the work of three artists, Jay Burridge, Gary Card and Ben Long. The prints were 7ftx5ft and so a special thank you to Courtney, Nick, Cara and Cat for helping me hang and stick the pictures and make some important aesthetic decisions with the help of a ladder, tape measure and spirit level. Thanks also to Sylvia for commissioning the show and Adidas for funding the whole project and to my friends who came and drank free beer on Old St.
Here are some pictures of some of those special folks...

Pink bike and heart shaped tomatoes

A weekend in the Camber-hamas

Film stars on the 276 bus

It was a golden evening and i took the 276 home. The bus was packed with people and their shopping. Glowing in the corner I saw this mother and son that looked like they should be in a Cassavetes film. The mother was reading to the boy in Spanish. When I asked to take her if I could take their picture she thought I wanted her to take a picture of me. I only had a three frames left and on the last one she fell into shadow and the boy blinked in the sunlight.

Winter couscous to herald the Spring

Saturday heralded a spontaneous dinner in Milska's new home... we sat and drank wine and made a rooty couscous with fresh cinnamon, anise and harissa. The door to the garden stayed open and we listened to Arthur Russell.. Lula and Mimo made us all fall in love with Battisti, especially 'Ancora Tu'..









A beautiful night..

Adho Mukha Vrksasana

Caroline and I spent the first day of almost Summer in Bethnal Green practising handstands with a teacher called Olof who was so strong and light we were sure he was levitating at one point..our arms and muscles were stretched to their limit as we spent two hours performing a series of rituals to enable our flight upside down.

Yoga is a beautiful thing to behold when the person demonstrating defies gravity with such effortlessness. I feel I have a long way to go but felt inspired and energised by the end.
A walk in the sun home and then a trip to Kings Cross on the 30 bus with Lula. The sky was an indigo blue and we sat on the wall outside the Rocket party across the road from a partition that seemed to mark the end of the world. Feelings have run high this week with so much love going out to Lizzie.
Perhaps because of this it was strange to be out but the alcohol was anaethetizing and when we left to dance at Susumu's it felt good. Cat and I drew love hearts with our city stained hands.