(2020 - Ongoing).
My practice looks to explore the lower leagues of sports, specifically focusing my attention towards amateur football and rugby league. Within my study the aim was to document and present a true representation of the local areas and sporting communities I grew up in.
As a means to develop my practice further I decided to start producing portraits of athletes in the same locations that I had also personally played in. These images would then be positioned next to the landscape shots of pitches I had taken continuously throughout my project so far. In addition to this, I also began recording any old mundane features around the grounds I was at, elements that were so routine to players, coaches and even fans...so ordinary to them, so unnoticed by the majority that it was the thing which caught my attention the most. Uneven surfaces, a weathered pitch, wonky lines, dents, marks, litter, scattered glass, these are all aspects synonymous with playing grass roots level sports but they’re also the very things that make the sports what they are and why we all adore it. I want the audience to feel a certain connection, not because of the actual topic but for the people and places noted within the project itself as it looks to document and reflect the everyday man and woman, these aren’t superstar athletes, they’re just regular people with normal jobs like you or I.
They’re relatable.