Q&A
Jo Crawford's 'Flares' project documents the inhabitants of a nightclub in Leeds. Jo worked in the club as a bartender and over an eight month period she captured her subjects with a shrewd yet affectionate eye, using disposable cameras to create gritty images of the British Friday night.
Could you tell us about your 'Flares' project? What ideas were you trying to explore?
The Flares project originally started out as a side project whilst I was in my final year at Uni. I worked in a 70s nightclub and the people that came in to the club were...one of a kind - they fascinated me. I genuinely started the project to give my job a bit more meaning.
How do you think your position as bartender affected your relationship with your subjects, and consequently the images that you produced?
I'd been working at the bar for a year prior to starting the project, so I had built relationships with the majority of the customers. This definitely gave me the freedom to photograph freely throughout the club.
There are certain points where it seems as though your subjects are performing for you, and at other times you capture some very intimate moments. How did your subjects react to being photographed?
A lot of them played up to the camera as soon as they saw it and I was forced to take the obligatory posed photo but a lot of the time they didn't realise I was there until after the shot. Shooting on disposable was a huge help with this, it gave me more freedom.
What is your background in photography? What inspired you to start taking photos?
My brother first influenced me to start taking photographs, I think I was just copying him. It wasn't until I started my A-levels that I really began to understand what I could do with it.
I've studied photography for 5 years and recently graduated from Leeds College of Art.
Who are your influences photographically and are there any other aspects of culture that you would say significantly influence your work?
I'm influenced by a lot of different photographers and artists, depending on what im interested in at that moment. For this project Tom Wood's Looking for Love series was a huge influence- I wasn't trying to recreate it, just make it into my own. Things I see in the news seem to influence me without really realising it also.
For my graduate show I also produced a series of fashion narratives which were inspired by photographers like Wendy Bevan and Sandra Freij. I read a huge variety of magazines and books.
What are your aspirations for the near future?
I'd really just love to be working with images. At the minute Im doing some work experience at the BBC on the Picture Desk, so I'm hoping after my time there I'll have more of a clear idea of the direction I want to go in. Its pretty tough at the minute.
And finally; jam tart or cherry bakewell?
Ohhh a cherry bakewell and a cup of tea please.