In the June issue of The Fly, I photographed South London six-piece, Fat White Family.
Having been described to me as a scruffy, squat inhabiting bunch who say awful things, I must admit I felt a little trepidation as I stood outside psyching myself up to enter the pub where they presently reside.
What greeted me was actually fairly different to what I had been imagining. I was led to the kitchen to meet with a couple of them and was politely offered food and drink, and given a helpful tour of the squat. I had hoped that a squat may be photogenic, having an aesthetic of decay or something but actually it was just kind of dirty and quite sparse. The corridors were narrow and there was an eclectic mix of random people walking around so I actually have no idea how many people live in the handful of rooms on offer.
I decided upon two locations. One of which was a bedroom which had cool stripey curtains and toy guns hanging either side of the window, and the other was the bathroom. Fortunately for me, the door was no longer attached to the bathroom so I had plenty of space to get back far enough for a full length option. Conversation flitted from bed bug infestations to latest conquests yet they were all very nice to me and did exactly what I asked.
The most random situation came in the bathroom after I had posed them for the second set-up and Lias decided it would work well if he got in the shower. Imagining him to be fully clothed but with the shower on I agreed that it would look great but then he stripped naked and jumped in. It wasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind but it works and even manages to make him look coy. Also it means I get my first nude for the folio!