The above works were made in loose relation to the heightened realism of mid-twentieth century short stories of the celebrated author and playwright, Tennessee Williams. The photographs work with and against conventions of portraiture to picture some of the characters that feature both in his short stories and plays.

 Unlike Short Story Piece in which Williams’ imaginative world is present through the words of the narrator, in the photographs the characters and a sense of their narratives context are presented through the mis en scene.

The photographs depict actor/ models whose qualities have a rapport with the Williams’ fictional character, such that these are portraits in a doubled sense presenting both the literary subject and the contemporary sitter playing the part.

The titles of the above photographs in the order of their appearance are as follow:

Patrick as Billy from Two on a Party

Lorraine as Cora from Two on a Party

Ellie as Mary Louise from Suddenly Last Summer

The body of work developed through an identification with Tennessee Williams of his re-occurring concerns: the outsider figure, the interior lives of his characters and a use of a heightened kind of realism.

The pair of photographs for Two on a Party  were initially made for an exhibition at ARTLAB (Imperial College) in May 2003 where it was presented alongside an artist’s book work featuring an excised fragment from Williams’ story of the same name.

 Exhibitions of these works have taken place at:
Innocence & Experience, Gimpel Fils 2010 What we talk about when we talk about love. Zurcher Galerie, Paris 2006 Sarah Dobai, Films & Photographs Kettles Yard, Cambridge 2006 Art Lab, Imperial College 2003