Mark Abrahams for Nylon Magazine.
March 2001.
Throughout this year, I've been trying to really refine my 'practice', while I think that natural artistic instincts should always be followed, I'm also becoming more aware that sometimes, I need to be more concious when I'm 'making work'. Photographing family on such a constant basis can, I've found, often lead to getting a little too comfortable. Working with the same lighting, the same space, the same concepts. While that can sometimes work, I don't want it to be something that ends up holding me back and preventing me from pushing myself.
With that in mind, I've been considering the idea of portraiture in relation to my work a little more. While the majority of my work does focus specifically upon people, the space and surroundings are also extremely integral. I have never really considered my work portraiture, rather a documentation of a moment which happens to also include that person. I've recently become more interested in focusing more intently upon the person within the frame, and while Mark Abrahams images are very much portraits, their natural appearance and intimate atmosphere are something which I would love to develop within my images. They find that perfect balance between being a constructed shot, while also being intimate and revealing.
