This afternoon I was in a clothes store in which they were rearranging their display. I was intrigued by an arm lying on the floor and couldn’t resist taking a snap. Later in the evening I went to an opening at the Govett-Brewster and Fiona Pardington was there. I took a photograph of her new tattoo, with my cameraphone, or camphone as I see them being called now. Good word I think.
The top photo I have included, not because it’s particularly interesting, but as an example of how I am drawn to limbs and fingers, and also how I use this particular composition over and over again. Usually the object will be coming into the frame from the right. I believe that we read photos from left to right so this is more likely to create a collision of sorts in the middle of the image. Whether Chinese read photos differently I don’t know, or does it have something to do with handedness and the way in which we scan the scene in front of us. If this is true I could be in trouble because although I was born left handed, in early life I was trained to use my right. In the past I have, by reversing negatives, experimented with printing photos in reverse, and the difference is very noticable.
Fiona has been a close friend for a long time and I’ve photographed her tattoos before. She designed this one herself based on her interest in traditional Maori art, and her interest in exploring her Maori identity.