La Locura

“All of life is carnival!”

These are the upbeat lyrics sung by La Locura de Boedo, a group of locals who dream all year of performing in Buenos Aires’ February street parades. Becoming a member of the troupe means more than just momentary escape. It signifies refuge, salvation and a reason for living for those struggling through economic crises on the margins of Argentine society.  

Over eight years, I have spent summers in the southern hemisphere photographing La Locura, exploring their dreams, desires and loves, against the often austere backdrop of life in the working class neighbourhoods of the city. The resulting project is a meditation on resistance, collective creativity, and the search for belonging.

Published by The Guardian

Somaliland Summer

Somaliland’s population was scattered across the globe by a devastating civil war in the late 1980s and early 90s, which saw it declare independence from its troubled neighbour, Somalia. Many Somalilanders, along with other Somalis, came to form communities in British cities such as Cardiff, Bristol, London and Sheffield. Over time, some have begun to return regularly to their homeland – now a haven of relative peace, although it remains internationally unrecognised – and many hope to become involved in the country’s recovery and progress. I created a series of portraits of young British Somalis as they spent a summer break in Somaliland, exploring a cultural heritage beyond the stereotypes of pirates, terrorists and warlords.

Published in The Guardian

Where We Are Now

I photographed individuals who left their homes in Africa and the Middle East to start new lives in Europe, in a bid to escape war, persecution and economic hardship during what became known as the ‘migrant crisis’. The project explores the protagonists’ sense of being ‘in-between’ – on the cusp of a new life but not yet established within it – missing their homeland and haunted by memories of the journey. Some were in a place they had never imagined being, others were confronting the gap between the Europe of their dreams, and the reality.

Published in Open Democracy

This project was created as part of the AHRC funded Network: ‘Responding to Crisis: Forced Migration and the Humanities in the Twenty-First Century’