the builders had gained access, no one had
been upstairs since the 1970’s. I was allowed to
go in and in this tiny, tiny dilapidated place my
love of empty and abandoned places began.
I went back several times recording the last
days right up to her last.
There is something about the abandoned and
decayed that fascinates people, why do you
think that is?
It’s difficult to describe why or what it is that
fascinates us about empty places. There’s the
obvious curiosity of seeing someone else’s life
(I can never decide whether that’s healthy or
not), and the sense of attachment to a time
long gone.There is an enchantment with the
beauty of things old, but also the changes
that decay creates; light through a broken
dirty window is refracted and diffused very
differently, and the textures, tones and colours
of peeling paint are absolutely palatable! It
is the same fascination that attracts me to
dying flora, the changes in structure and the
mellowing of colour.
Where do all of your flora subjects come from
and do you arrange flowers as they are drying
to achieve a particular look?
I collect things when I’m out walking or from
my garden, and sometimes I buy bunches
of flowers. All are left to dry naturally and I
photograph them as they change in shape,
colour and texture. Though this does present
a natural hoarder like me with problems;
because their change is ongoing, I struggle to
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