Faces Exhibition Prints

KIIZA TONY

Location - Uganda Tony lives in Bujagali a small village on the banks of the Nile River in Uganda. I first met him in 2008. In 2017, I returned to Uganda and we reconnected. Tony’s passion for running is incredible, he would like the world to see him and to become the best runner in all the nations and maybe one day the Olympics... I could only help him with one of those and we made this portrait at his home.

ALI

Location - Udaipur, India The street was narrow, with shops along both sides. I love a good journal and I was drawn to the books as the excitable Ali leaped to his 91-year-old feet and began pulling books from the shelves to show and sell me. Our time together was fun, Ali showed me his book full of messages from visitors to his shop, and in his basic English proudly told me in his youth he was a great football player, the way he moved shop I believed him.

HASSAN

Location - Marrakech, Morocco I didn’t find Hassan, Hassan found me, we got talking and he invited me kindly into his home for some mint tea, not having long I agreed to catch up later for dinner. Happy I even returned, we talked travel and family whilst eating a small tajine with bread. I spoke to him about my photography and Hassan was happy to pose for a few images. My friends returned to Morocco and actually recognised Hassan from my image and went to speak with him a few years later.

CHAI WALLAH

Location - Pushkar, India Tucked away in Pushkar I met the Chai Walla, he was responsible for making the hottest chai in the world, tongue melting actually. He sits through the day along with his buddy watching the world go by. I spent some time with them both, and even though we had a very little common language between us we had a lot of fun and I even got to try on the headscarf. Unfortunately, my regret is losing their names, but I did post their images to them. I hope they arrived.

JP

Location - Varanasi, India Guiding us through the old streets of Varanasi, we listened to stories of his life in one of the world’s oldest cities. He spoke fondly about his family as we dodged around lazy street cows, motorbikes and the ever-present funeral processions. Families carry their recently departed on stretchers to the edge of the River Ganges, wet them and then lay them to rest atop a pile of carefully weighed out logs at the burning ghats, before setting them alight. JP will take this final journey someday.

THE GIFT OF A GRASS HORSE

Location - Sapa, Vietnam The gift of a grass horse is not as rare an occurrence as you may think. Joining the ladies of the Hmong tribe for a tour of their villages revealed a shrewd yet sweet business tactic. Accepting this gift was genuinely lovely... and so were the homemade gifts she sold me at the end of the tour. The ladies walk along spinning hemp which is then dyed indigo and used to make most of the clothing they wear and sell.

BEASTY

Location - Kyabirwa, Uganda I couldn’t believe the creativity as Karim showed me this amazing creature made from perfectly sized jungle fruits connected with a stick. Adding some antennae we made some of my favourite portraits. When Karim’s not wrestling goats, chasing snakes or swimming in the river he goes to school. Friendly and talented he sings, dances and is also a dab hand at creating beasties.

BENJI

Location - Kyabirwa, Uganda Rocking possibly the best PJ’s I’ve ever seen Benji shows off his new toothbrush before bedtime. Benji lives at an orphanage near Bujagali with about 15 other children. During my trip, I would walk past them each day and hear the call for “photo photo” before they run out and greet me. On the final evening of my 2017 trip, I took some new toothbrushes for the children, this was a fun shoot before bedtime.

MAMA MUGANDA

Location - Kyabirwa, Uganda A mother to many not just her own, a leader, an inspiration, a businesswoman and of course the treasurer of the village bank. With the sweetest smile and most incredible heart, you should really meet her. Wearing the traditional gomesi dress Mama enjoys the fun of her moment in front of the camera.

MINI MONK

Location - Angkor Wat, Cambodia Both light and battery were fading as I walked around the magnificent temples of Angkor Wat. The mini monk was familiar with cameras and enjoyed playing up, I waited for the moment when he lost interest and looked away into the distance, a moment of calm. Seconds later thunder cracked and we both took off.

BAS DRIVER

Location - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia We smiled at each other as I walked past, I stopped and turned around, intrigued by the man stood by his yellow school bas. Our common language was a smile and some pointing, he looked at me as I looked at him, we laughed and I pointed at the camera, after a few shots I jumped in the bus and demonstrated where I wanted him to stand. He loved the image, we shook hands and I went on my way.

THESE GIRLS

Location - TurTuk, Far North India When you take a 4x4 over some Himalayan mountains for around 7 hours, hitch hike with the Indian Army, hopping into another 4x4 you find yourself heading towards the small village of Turtuk nestled above the banks of the River Shyok, the last Indian controlled outpost before Pakistan control begins; it is here that you will find these girls. Shortly after I’d made this image the farmer shouted and they ran away.

RUG SELLERS

Location - Essaouira, Morocco The market dominates the streets of Essaouira everything from old shoes to phone keypads, from fruit to electronics. Walking between the chaos I was drawn to the van covered in rugs. I stopped in and said hello to the sellers as they took to the shade of a fine rug. I made the photo but I wish I’d haggled for a rug.

MAMA GREECE

Location - Iganga, Uganda Sika Greece suggested we go and visit his Mama. After 3 hours of hanging onto a tiny motorbike, whilst my fully loaded camera bag threatened to send me to the ground, we arrived. Wearing Nike flip flops and a bright pink polka dot gomesi Mama Greece was certainly a character. We enjoyed the afternoon together at the house before Mama hitched a lift on our already overloaded bike.

BROTHERHOOD

Location - Bujagali - Uganda The colours of the Ugandan flag represent the African People, the sunshine and the blood through which all the Africans are connected. Karim represents the future of Uganda, this portrait came together with the help of my friend and local artist Jaffer. Soon everyone was covered in the paint even me, and I can assure you it’s not so easy to get black paint out of blonde hair.

NIGHT SCHOOL

Location - Kyabirwa, Uganda Each night small groups of students head to the only lit classroom in the village, solar power allows students to study after dark at Soul Foundations outside classroom. On this evening I spent time with the group taking some pictures before we evolved the shoot and all played a part in creating Night School, shot and processed together in the village that night, this image graced the walls of the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2017.

COMMANDOS

Location - Bujagali, Uganda Half-Term Heroes, with weapons made from nature and sound effects right out of Hollywood, these boys were having the best time especially when they were chasing the girls, who incidentally had equally big garden guns. Their mama said they were copying the film Commando, I struck a deal in return for shooting a short action movie for them, we could then create some portraits.