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Title - ‘No Memory.’  (Sample for 2012 Exhibition)     

Theme - The body of work and exhibition is based around people and their lives. Russell is documenting a wide range of people to include within this exhibition , ranging from direct family members to local residents, the homeless, the elderly, to those working within communities, to families and the dynamics within each family. If Russell has discussed the work with you or you would like to feature, please email or contact him directly.

Artist’s Comments - “Why should we have to use our memory to remember a person's character, their lives, who they are and what was happening when we look at a photo of them. I want in my hand something that a stranger could look at and they would be able to feel who that person, family or group is at the point in time when the imagery was created.  It needs to have character, mannerisms, interaction, idiosyncrasies and text. The work is a far cry from the portraits we're used to today! Those I see as just visual records of how people look or looked at that particular point in time. Don't get me wrong, every image has it's place but when I look at these shots they’re always missing something. I’m currently in the process of documenting individuals, couples and families for my next exhibition. The work will be primarily photographic with text to add background information. Some of the pieces I will also create bespoke free form artwork from.”

   "You'll notice Adam with a worn tracksuit padded for winter and pushing an over loaded bike, stacked to overbalancing with cardboard. He's known by sight and sadly unknown by person to many of the locals in Sevenoaks, Kent. You'll hear his jangling trolley of bottles before you see him appear around the corner, and he'll be gone just as quick. Day in day out he has his routine come rain or shine. But unfortunately he's often misjudged and I was by no means un guilty of this.

 Following a conversation it seemed that preconceptions were indeed very incorrect. He gained place and attended the Royal college of veterinary science. An achievement in itself academically but following family misfortune some years later his time now is spent collecting recyclable material and campaigning against a variety of confusing issues. But to view him with a fleeting glace you would almost label him homeless, to the contrary Adam lives in a large house in an expensive part of an affluent town. On entering his home your taken aback by the beautiful antiques and artwork that fill under foot, upon walls and all three floors of what would have been once a hive of family life and beauty. But today, the artefacts that he inherited collect and exhibit their own proud layers of dust. Illuminated briefly by the sunlight when it chooses to grace and warm the internal with it's presence. Through cracks in heavily hung curtains who barely hold their poles, the changing light is the only variance. Both inside and out, the property feels sadly frozen and neglected, like a dusty neglected time capsule held on pause mirroring his life."  

   "Ellouise is the author of a very successful book entitled 'Girl in High Heels.' On our first meeting she brought up the subject that she used to work as an exotic dancer. I had already gauged an over defensiveness via the telephone and thought this was the reason.  This shocked her because she hadn't mentioned a word about this to me, and she felt it always surprised people. Naturally a conversation ensued where we discussed how I knew. This lead on to chatting about the dancing industry.

    What ever work you do, you'll adopt a persona and uniform, some literally but most are metaphoric. People that work as dancers removing clothing have to adopt a type of character armour to wear for necessary protection. The longer they're within that industry the thicker this armour gets, pushing the real person deeper and deeper and leaving it further and further behind.

      Speaking on the phone with Ellouise you could tell her armour was thick. It's something that only girls in this industry have and subsequently struggle with when they leave as they try to retrieve the person before they started. Police and bouncers hold a similar feeling and persona because unfortunately they all have a front row seat onto the less pleasant side of humanity in it's most basic form. You either sink or swim when you're there and this natural defence is the only way to do it, along with humour.

    Ellouise's shots were not easy to go through. Simply because of the strength in such a large percentage of them. She's a very photogenic person because of the spectrum of what she shows you. One shot you'll see her tough no nonsense attitude, the very next shot she'll show your her vulnerability beneath that now unnecessary armour, then the next you'll see the young woman she was before starting her career. It's amazing and rare to see this scale of a persons character in an image.

    Ellouise has a fascinating back story with too much to put in here, but if you're interested into the basic psychology of men and how it affects women then you should read her book."

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