Originally - and still - Dr Lucy - psychologist of the developmental PhD variety - I cannot but dive deep into our internal spaces- how to capture the inner reality and outer world - their confluence and friction. From being the professional working with marginalised groups - I am now firmly established in the tick box other categories more than ever. Rather than shying away, particularly those “identities” that are less than glamorous, it is an imperative to embrace. Not as an individual alone - but for the collective. Neurodiverse, mental health, long term health conditions are often portrayed as negatives - something to be endured - fixed or a failure. Certainly - there is great sorrow and at times pain both physically and mentally. Being me can feel like such hard, grinding work. Yet photography - my trusty smartphone at first, now my Fujifilm XT3 as well - were life changing. When leaving the house in a small town in West Sussex felt like climbing Everest naked and blindfolded - image making - initially flowers - became a solace and a passion. The struggles were no less - yet there was a purpose and the transcendence of the miraculous nature of nature.

Those of us who fall into these “less than desirable categories”, whose lives and circumstances are no longer mainstream or conventional, it can be isolating and shaming. Yet there is a freedom that comes from falling out of life, especially through trauma and events. Literally and metaphorically losing everything, is a way of letting go of the baggage, and travelling light. The roles I had, the world as I thought it was, who I was and how other people were exploded - leaving not one area untouched. The impermanence of self, when worst case scenario keeps happening is brutal. But, and a big beautiful BUT, here I am taking hold of the camera, determining and directing the vision, not as the “subject” whose life is documented by others. It is adding new, not better, ways of being and opening up to the complexity of humanity at this extraordinary time of our existence. Rejecting either/or mentality - more a celebration of “and” that is tired to the core of binary them and us attitude.