Collaborators

Project leading to exhibition in Signal Arts Centre, Bray in May 2007.

All the work you see here has been the product of at least two people working closely together. I approached people for this project who grabbed my attention through their stories, their passions, their unusual world outlook or their ways of expressing themselves. In most cases we met face to face for long intensive explorations of the things in our lives where we could not only find common ground, but a shared passion. I have found in everyone a wonderful openness and a taste for mystery. We often began the process with a simple invitation, “Tell me something important about yourself.” The results of our sojourns are here before you. The work with Marc Moss and to Aaron Ross was done long distance. For this work it was necessary to give the process a long time to work its magic. The intensive explorations had necessarily to give way to a slow absorption of ideas and intuitive responses.

Typically, the process worked something like this. We would meet two or three times and, swap important stories, explore themes and reveal our passions. Most of this was noted with words and stick figure drawings. In between our meetings, I believe most of the real work took place. Ideas, dreams, symbols and narratives were activated in these intervals. At our third or fourth meeting the language would cease to be verbal and became largely visual and symbolic. Only then would we set about executing the work. The costume, make-up, props and settings were co-created. I did most of the camera work. At later sessions we would sit together at the computer, choosing the elements for each picture, deciding on mood, colour, etc. and frequently surprizing ourselves with the appearance of new elements from our collective imagination. In most cases, the development of the concept, the photo shoot and the editing were done collaboratively. In addition, Nina Ayoub, Audrey Keane, Maria Montanes, Marc Moss and Aaron Ross bought their own specific artistic skills into the execution of the work.

For me this has been a very exciting journey and one that has bought me into enriching contact with a remarkable group of people. It is my intention to continue working collaboratively. There is a significant amount of work that I expect will further develop from the work we have already done together. In addition I would welcome exploring the possibilities of working with anyone who finds deep resonances in any of this work and would like to take part in a creative collaboration.