I really am a crap paparazza. My shots are fumbled, distant, obtuse, indistinct, blurred sometimes, invariably banal, always from behind. They're the images of a discreet celebrity stalker. I'm also unselective; from obscure former soap stars to Hollywood actors, they are 'found' images which push to the limits the meaning of the term 'celebrity'.
A photograph in the Van Gogh Museum shows the artist with Émile Bernard taken around 1886. It is the only known image of him as an adult and his back faces the camera. The only interest in the image therefore (historical reasons aside) resides in the fact that it may be of Van Gogh, when of course it is impossible for us to be sure.
However, in this ongoing series which began in 2001, there is no ambiguity or attempt to deceive the audience. The photographs are who they say they are, though the clue to the identity of the 'celebrity' is found only in their first name and a brief, not always entirely flattering description.
The interest for the viewer lies in their own reason for engaging with the images in the first place, our seemingly limitless, often ambiguous obsession with 'celebrity' and continuing need to believe in the veracity of the photograph.
A photograph in the Van Gogh Museum shows the artist with Émile Bernard taken around 1886. It is the only known image of him as an adult and his back faces the camera. The only interest in the image therefore (historical reasons aside) resides in the fact that it may be of Van Gogh, when of course it is impossible for us to be sure.
However, in this ongoing series which began in 2001, there is no ambiguity or attempt to deceive the audience. The photographs are who they say they are, though the clue to the identity of the 'celebrity' is found only in their first name and a brief, not always entirely flattering description.
The interest for the viewer lies in their own reason for engaging with the images in the first place, our seemingly limitless, often ambiguous obsession with 'celebrity' and continuing need to believe in the veracity of the photograph.
