Recently I was asked why I used pre-existing images.  Firstly I understand the origins of the images. I know they started life in a design studio or a press photographers daily output. They have already been cropped, text has been added, the audience identified.

Once they are on the racks in the supermarket then they become material for my part of the process.

The images are chosen for their graphic boldness and iconic value. Then, if it is a cover, it is usually physically altered, usually by a process of folding and crushing. The interior upmarket advertisments are usually removed and left to weather and change until the elements have sufficiently damaged the surface, removed the sheen.

Images of personalities are isolated and can undergo a variety of alterations, including some digital manipulation.

The photographs which are the result of these processes of transformation stand for a certain kind of criticism of consumerism, a visual attack on the ruling classes. They are also technical investigations, how small can a press photo be and how much can it be enlarged, thus revealing its printed origins, its transparency as a physical object.

The quality of different types of printed papers is also made use of.  Newsprint paper is soft and becomes fluffy and soft and easy to manipulate, it can be explored like a miniature landscape.