The subjects in this photographic series range from 65 to 98 years of age – the eldest in my hometown and include my secondary school principal, the lady who taught me the accordion, the postman who was simply called ‘John The Post’, my very first teacher and some neighbours that I came to know from doing this, partly autobiographical, project. I knew the participants of this project would most likely not travel to see it in a gallery. It was an important therefore to bring it back home, to give back.
As part of Bealtaine 2009, a festival celebrating creativity in older people, I had the opportunity to do just that. Rather than exhibiting the images in one location, they were instead exhibited in public premises all over the town. Exhibiting the portraits this way meant that the public encountered the exhibition in a very casual way, much like they would encounter the very people that are photographed. Some hung in the local bars, some in the local shop, the butcher and community day care centre over the course of two weeks.