The poster from the show - it's actually contuining all next week, so you can still check it out - and you should!
Today was an extremely fun shoot with a group of great students from the Cardiff School of Art and Design. The show, ‘Eccentricities and Obsessions‘ features works of “whatever we liked” according to Lucy, who had contacted me earlier in the week asking if I’d like to shoot the exhibition for the project.
It’s fantastic to see empty spaces being used in a positive way here, and Lucy told me (very interestingly) that they don’t have to pay rent on the shop, just the electricity bill – very generous of the landlords who presumably would rather see the shop being used for something than sitting there empty.
I also met Jasmine, Emma, James, Ellen and Lauren who all, after some cajoling and I’m sure initial feelings of weirdness, very kindly agreed to pose for me next to their artworks. The artworks, by the way, are amazing. I can’t think how incredible they are going to be when they’re older if this is what they’re capable of right now.
I have always been jealous of people who can draw and create – it’s what I’ve always used photography as a substitute for.
I’ve also learned a bit more about portrait shooting today. These portraits were a lot quicker than those shot in Garlands. There were 6 of them and I think I spent a total of about an hour in the shop, so I really had to whiz through everybody. I learned that if you can relax the person just by talking to them while you’re shooting, they begin to act naturally and start to forget about the camera – and that’s the kind of shots I want.
If this was a portrait shoot then obviously I’d be keen for the ‘models’ to look heavily stylised, and for me to tell them what to do. But this isn’t about that, this is about real people, in real environments, so I want them to act real.
Below you’ll find portraits mixed in with works from the show – I do hope you like them – please, please do leave any feedback (good and bad!) to let me know what you think. By the way, although the above poster has 5th Feb as the last day – the students told me that it was continuing next week, so please visit if you can.
Once again thanks to Lucy, James, Jas, Emma, Lauren and Ellen – you were great! 😀
Jasmine in front of her bird drawings - she was the brave one and was the first to have her portrait taken!
Emma in front of her work - love the notebook!
James - I think everyone else was watching and distracting him...
Ellen - it was actually Jas' idea for her to sit on the floor with her piece - I think it really works well
Lucy, who contacted me about the show in the first place - her pictures made for a great backdrop
Lauren - not sure what I said to make her laugh, but whatever it was, I love the picture 🙂
A piece by Ellen (click to see larger)
Part of the same piece by Ellen (click to see larger)
Jas' bird drawings
Lauren's apron made of aprons. All of the little aprons are made from recipes Lauren asked grandmothers to send her - amazing. (Click to see larger)
Close up detail of Lauren's apron piece (Click to see larger)
Obsession and Posession by Tom Hendar (not at today's shoot - click to see bigger)
Edward Fairburn (not at shoot) 'I'd like to think that I cheer the postman up, but in reality, I'm probably just making his job difficult'. (Click to see bigger)
Joe Norris (not at shoot). This was a white box with a peephole in - stick your face against it and you could see a little scene inside. (Click to see bigger)
Lucy's drawings: 'My drawings are unique recordings of snapshots in time, as each drawing often needs to be done in one minute or less'.
Cardiff Arcades Project 
