Hi, My name is Fiona Essex and I am a documentary photographer based in Redhill, Surrey. I am angered by the governments unjust decision making and am starting a self initiated and self funded photographic project where I hope to learn about and photograph disabled people’s daily life and how the austerity cuts affect them as individuals. My aim is to capture the impact the cuts have on disabled people, to gather different stories for this project and set up a dedicated website to share these stories. I would be very grateful if you could forward this to anyone you think might be interested in participating in this project. I would like to spend whatever time people feel they can give to this and photograph their everyday lives in a collaborative way. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions. My website is www.fionasphoto.co.uk Many thanks and kind regards, Fiona
Email: fiona@artserve.net
hi Fiona , what a great thing to do, thank you for caring. I live ooop North so not much use to you but i wish you every success and look forward to seeing your work. Please keep helping with the message ,shame the government wont listen but we have to try. I could be out of my home next year thanks to the policies but it helps to know that not everyone is willing to spit at us for being scroungers . good luck.
Hi Kate. Thank you for your encouragement for the photo project. Shame I can’t travel that far.
I will be taking part in the Week of Action down here in London starting on the 27th. If you know anyone in the London area who would like to share something of their story regarding how their life has been impacted by the cuts (and to be photographed) I would be very grateful to hear from them.
I hope that things will work out for you.
Best wishes,
Fiona
I think what you are attempting to do is fantastic. Only problem for me is that I have paranoid schizophrenia and it is difficult to get this across with photographs. I wish you well though and look forward to hearing more about your project in the future.
Hi Anne, thank you for your comment. Photography can be a great tool to show another persons lived experience and to act as a window into what another person lives through, what inspires them, what their struggles are. However it is always someone else taking the pictures (me, in this case : ) and that can be limiting at times because we end up mainly with the view of the photographer.
To open it up a bit more I am hoping to connect with people that experience the austerity cuts and if someone would prefer rather than me visiting them for a day or over some time photographing their everyday life maybe they would prefer to have their portrait taken in the way they would like (around London area) and add in their own words something of what they are going through, writing directly on the photograph or to go with the portrait separately. This can be longer writing or a few words or just one word. I understand that not everyone is able to show their everyday life experience.
Please spread the word and I will keep you updated about the project.
All the best,
Fiona