An amazing evening spent with some very talented photographers.
Congratulations to the winners: First prize – Clémentine Schneidermann: Laundry Day #3, Second prize – Haneem Christian: Mother and Daughter and Third prize – Alexander Komenda: Zahid's Son
Photographs: David Parry
I’m so please to have 2 of my portraits chosen for the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize 2022.
Both images are part of an ongoing project, ‘Coming Home”, which documents my relationship with cold water swimming and my connection with the women that share this experience with me.
A big thank you to Nick and Terry at Bayeux for creating such beautiful prints and thanks to all the judges.
And not forgetting all the wonderful women who let me photograph them.
I’m beyond excited to be exhibiting amongst so may talented photographers.
We missed out on the Taylor Wessing, but got our image of Henry and Louis into the Portrait Salon. Check out their website for exhibition dates.
Rites of Passage, Portraits from Prom
Rites of Passage is a collaboration between Fiona Bailey and Fiona Yaron-Field, both photographers and mothers whose daughters have Down’s syndrome. Their daughters, Billie-Jo and Ophir have attended Derwen Collage, an incredible learning/ living environment for young people with learning disabilities.
Rites of Passage,Portraits from Prom celebrates the unique individuality of the students as they transit into adult life. This moment, as they create their own image, marks their hope for an independent and rich future. This joyful series also suggests a difficult reality, one which may resonate with many young people in a time of increased insecurity and uncertainty. For people with learning disabilities the question of ‘what next’ is always present.
This night, when the rain held off, is like any Prom - there is dressing up, make-up, drinks, flash cars, the band, the disco, dancing, breaking up, making out, selfies and tears, it’s a night to remember .
I’m very happy that my project, “Visiting Olive” has made a reappearance on The Southwest Collective’s website and on their other social media platforms.
I know that Olive would have loved her story to be told. It was one of her fears, that once she was gone, no one would remember her. I think we can safely say that her name and story live on.
With that in mind, I thought it might be of some interest to post the wonderful obituary written and read at her funeral by her friend Edward. It gives a little more insight into Olive’e life.
Olive as a young woman
From my new project Generation Z - Wilma
A very new project.
A reminder that I need to revisit this project.
Winter Solstice at Stonehenge - 2017
Beautiful Billie-Jo - Turning 18
I've fallen in love with film again.
Whilst on holiday in Wales I borrowed a Mamiya 7 and took a couple of rolls of film. I really enjoyed the discipline of having to really think about every shot and not just snap away, as is my want with digital.
Here are a few to pics from the holiday and back home too.
Now I just have to save up for my own camera.
Eliabeth: I can dance. I can help. Also I can create.
For the last few months I have been working on a new project, '.... and then came 'icandance'.
I have teamed up with writer Tamara Pollock to produce a series of portraits with quotes/anecdotes taken directly from interviews with dancers and their families. We are working in collaboration with the charity, icandance.
“icandance believes that everyone, regardless of disability, can access their own creativity through dance. We believe that dance enhances confidence and emotional wellbeing” Juliet Diener, Founder & Principal
Both Tamara and I will be featuring our own stories of life with children with special needs and what impact icandance has had on ours and our childrens wellbeing.
We are over half way through the project and have been so overwhelmed by the welcome we have received from all the families involved. We have been able to share our experiences in such an honest and intimate way. It has been a privilege to photograph such inspirational people and I hope my photographs do them justice.
We will be having a small exhibition at the icandance annual show at the Arts Depot in North Finchley on the 2nd July, followed by a larger fundraising exhibition in September/October at which we will show the complete project.
This annual performance is one that we look forward to every year, it's one that leaves you feeling totally loved up and underlines your faith in the goodness of people.
Through the project we hope to raise the profile of icandance and to change perceptions of what it is to be a dancer. We won't be able to do this on our own and will need the support of people spreading the word..... sharing and caring.
Margot: There will be syndromes to do with our children as yet unknown and unchartered but in the end it won't make any difference. The only control we have is our response to it. We will not be able to predict what this amazing extraordinary world throws up at us but we can decide whether its going to be a good or a bad outcome. There's nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so. That's all I can think of. You have to cling to these noble thoughts to cope with the exhaustion.
Last weekend I joined 40 other creative women for two days of creative chat, fun and laughter at Sisterhood Camp at Fforest in West Wales. Thank you to Sian for providing the venue, Lou Archell for bringing us all together and to Hannah Bullivant and Erin Trezise-Wallace for making it look so beautiful and welcoming. You make an awesome team!
Also a big thank you for all those running workshop .... you were all amazing.
Just one more thank you to all the lovely ladies at Sisterhood... I thoroughly enjoyed your company! Hope we meet again. xxx
It is thanks to a kind builder that I was able to get into Olive's flat, say a final farewell and take some photographs.
Her flat in now stripped back to bare walls, central heating is being installed, a bathroom is being created and a lifetime of memories has been erased. I was surprised at how little there was left of her, all her belongings gone, no more pictures on the wall, frayed rugs in the hall or piles of paperwork threatening to take over each room.
Her old home may be empty now but what Olive has left behind is far more precious than all those belongings... she has left a lasting impression on all those who met her... especially me.
We are launching I Don't care today a week ahead of Down Syndrome awareness day on the 21 March 2016. I Don't Care is a short film written and directed by a close friend of mine, Carolina Giammetta, produced by Spool Films and commissioned by Film London. Starring Billie-Jo Bailey, Andrea Lowe, Jo Hartley and Cavan Clerkin.
The film takes it's name and inspiration from a project I did on Billie-Jo in 2011, which you can see here. Being involved was an amazing experience and who knew Billie could act!!
I'll let Carolina's words tell you more....
Ollie, a young ‘mum to be’ faces her worst nightmare, the possibility of having a child with Down’s Syndrome. She takes on a gardening job and develops a friendship with a family, which includes 12 year old Jacques. An incident where Ollie is left alone with Jacques, challenges her ability to deal with difference.
I was inspired by an amazing photographic exhibition, Shifting Perspectives (http://shiftingperspectives.org ) I went to see it when my friend had a baby with Down Syndrome as I wanted to understand it more. As a mother who had feared having a child with Down Syndrome, it totally transformed the way I felt and I wanted to make a film that may help change new parents perspective of it. I worked with the curators of the exhibition and cast their daughter Billie-Jo Bailey, who had never acted before, to play the lead. The film also stars Andrea Lowe ( DCI Banks) Jo Hartley ( This is England, The Mimic) Cavan Clerkin (Eastenders, Pulling, Babylon)
It's been selected for many renowned International Film Festivals, won awards, toured America and Europe and has changed peoples perspectives and lives around the world. It will soon be used for various training programmes to educate new mothers to be.
GOING ONLINE FROM TODAY! A week ahead of World Down Syndrome Day 21ST MARCH 2016
I DON'T CARE ( Commissioned by Film London)
If you're interested in the behind the scenes chat here's a link:
I DON’T CARE Behind the Scenes
We really want this film to travel far and wide and spread the message, that even though having a child with a disability is a path most new parents will not have expected, it is still an amazing and rewarding experience.
Please share this with as many people as you can. Thanks xxx
It was Olive's funeral last week and she'd have been very happy with the the service and the turnout. Friends and neighbours got together to celebrate her long life. We sang her favourite hymns and I read one of her poems.
Journey Unknown by Olive Brown
Life's an adventure of the unknown
Not fully completed, 'til we are full-grown
The road that is travelled, maybe thorny or smooth
As we learn from experience of many a truth.
Sadness and gladness are mixtures entwined
As on Life's journey we continually find
The stairway to lift us, as we forward go
To success or failure - we none of us know?
As on this journey, we meet other folk
Heavy or light, their bearing of yoke
Sharing their laughter, and often their tears
Helping them overcome imaginary fears.
Childhood, Youth, Prime, and mature Age
All have their problems at whatever stag
But blessings abound in surprise places
As the journey takes us, with short of long paces.
The journey near done, we look back with quiet thoughts
And those memories of varying sorts
Trusting we've been a blessing to all
With a free conscience, when we hear 'The Call.'
Olive, it was and will always be a privilege to have known you. Thank you xxx
"You have no control over how your story begins or ends. But by now, you should know that all things have an ending. Every spark returns to darkness. Every sound returns to silence. Every flower returns to sleep with the earth. The journey of the sun and moon is predictable. But yours, is your ultimate art" Suzy Kassem
A lot of what we get out of life is directly linked to how much we put in....so as it is my 50th year, I am going to get busy(er) ....... both personally and professionally.
As a family we will be going on more adventures. We plan to complete a coast to coast walk along Hadrian's Wall, go to the Wilderness Festival (again) and complete the Three Peaks. Can't wait.
Of course, I'll be taking lots of photographs along the way; but will also be working on some other projects aside from the family travels.
There is more work to be done on 'Visiting Olive'. Even though she has now passed away, I have started visiting her favourite places and will complete the list she made, incorporating the images into the current project.
I am also about to start working on a new project with the charity, 'icandance'. Icandance works with children and young people who have varying disabilities, giving them the opportunity to express themselves through movement and dance, to make friends and also allowing them to 'be themselves' amongst their peers.
I am a Trustee of this amazing charity and my daughter, Billie-Jo, attends classes every Saturday. I know first hand how much they do, not only for the dancers; but their families too. I look forward to your feedback as I post some of the work along the way.
There are many more ideas floating around in my head for 2016 and I aim to make a start on some of them too. I plan to be more disciplined this year and start posting on my blog every month so that I can create a visual diary of the year's achievements.
Please join me in what should be a fun 2016!
