The Arts & Culture Journal

‘Before Encore’ is a collection of portraits of everyone I think the world should know about. They're performers, club kids, designers, musicians and visual artists; the people I admire.

A couple of years ago clubs were beginning to make an effort again and people were dressing up and doing things their own way. I wanted to document the characters that were instigating these things and those that were joining in. It was natural to photograph the people I met and I wanted to do something a little extra…a project that depicted these new stars of the scene as the true stars they were: big, bold portraits that quietly screamed excitement.

I've always painted and created and been obsessed with capturing and recording memory as well as music, film, performance and literature. I've always made connections through these elements and followed family tree to discover more people. This project is the manifestation of all these things.

This is the third series of ‘before encore’ portraits I've exhibited and they're not simply exhibitions; the subjects perform as well. I couldn't show the paintings alone, they need to be seen in context, as living things. Paintings brought to life in full spectacle.