Reflections of 2011

2011 has been quite a year. It's the year in which I completed my first major project since leaving my MA, had my first significant exhibition, finally launched Brixton People as a book, got the cover of a national newspaper, was published in an international magazine, began teaching, and, perhaps most significantly, launched Portrait Salon, with friend and fellow photographer James O Jenkins.

It is this last which explains my rather scarce presence on this blog over the last few months. Portrait Salon was taking up an awful lot of my time, but it was well worth it. Set up as a form of Salon de Refusés, we aimed to show the best of the rejected images from the famous Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, hosted every year by the National Portrait Gallery. What began as a little experiment escalated into a publication (designed and published by the lovely lads of Birch Studios) and a very well attended event at the Roxy Bar and Screen in Borough. We were even honoured with the presence of Anne Braybon (commissioner at the NPG), who was very supportive of our endeavors, and the project hasn't seen its end yet; in January we are taking the projection up to Open Eye in Liverpool, where we also give a talk.

This positive response has inspired us to continue this project in 2012. And who knows what else next year will bring? My new year's resolution: read more, write more, think more. Let's see I get on with that one.

In the meantime, I leave you with an image taken during the Festival Arbres et Lumières in Geneva last year. Merry Christmas!