Altered States of Agoraphobia: August 2012

Grand Canyon, AZ

Where are you from and where do you currently reside?

I was born in Middlesbrough, England, but raised in Hampshire and Dorset until finally settling in Brighton. later after some years spent traveling I now live in Overland Park, Kansas. I have been in the USA for just over four years.

Rest Stop, KY

What inspires you to make photographs and what is your process?

Being an outsider America has come as a great inspiration to me photographically. The act of orientation itself still continues to be exciting and insightful, weather it has been exploring the neighborhood where I live, or throughout the country as a whole. I'm interested in both the America inside, which I brought with me from England (with all it's myths and legends) and also the America that I'm actually discovering out on the road now I'm here. I am also inspired deeply by the space, or the mystery, which arises from the ether between the two, where my own personal vision is being created and shaped daily through my experiences.

Lost, KY

Do you work or study as a photographer?

In 96 I attended the BA (honors) degree in Editorial Photography at Brighton Uni and graduated with a 1st. I have not worked much in the field professionally, but I've enjoyed the few private commissions I've had. My true passion though, comes from my own personal projects, of which there have been several.

Panhandle, TX

Broadway, KC

Legends Mall, KS

Do you have any projects, publications, news or events coming up?

The main subject of my work is America, but this is always splintering into various sub-projects which take me down different avenues of exploration. Right now I am working on a psycho-geographical survey of Overland Park, the city in which I live and I am also editing another series called 'American Idol' which is almost ready for publication at 'Get The Picture', the photo collective I am a member of. I also curate a Flickr group called 'Altered States of Agoraphobia' which is a public extension of my personal work here in the U.S. and it is made up of work submitted by what I call it's "Resident Aliens". This group is filled with some inspired photographs made by some very talented photographers, who are also invited to put together features using images from the group pool plus a relevant text. These features have also been published at the excellent photography website 'La Pura Vida'. The ASA group, as it has come to be known, also has it's own blog and is linked closely with my own blog of the same name. Presently I am very close to opening another chapter to the ASA project titled 'American Invasion', which will be an investigation into the influence of America (for better or worse) on the native culture and environment of country's outside the U.S. It's a project I am very excited about.

I also have a photo-book in the works, which will be published by PogoBooks, a publisher and gallery based in Berlin. The final edit for this book is now getting close to being finished and will be titled 'Foreign Bodies'. If all goes to plan it will be published at the end of the summer.