when i was 17 i wanted to travel.
i had no money and realized that the only way it was going to happen was through voluntary work, and so i set about finding an organization which could place me in the most remote - the most different - environment possible. i did a TEFL course and through various fund raising and family help, from a town 'cake and plant sale' to small donations from friends parents, i gathered the flight money and hit the road in august 1991 aged 18.
i had no money and realized that the only way it was going to happen was through voluntary work, and so i set about finding an organization which could place me in the most remote - the most different - environment possible. i did a TEFL course and through various fund raising and family help, from a town 'cake and plant sale' to small donations from friends parents, i gathered the flight money and hit the road in august 1991 aged 18.
aged 18 with strange hair, luding ke rinpoche's monestary, manduwala tibetan settlement, india, august 1991
where i ended up was with the kham-lingstan family, exiled from the east of tibet and the most ferocious warriors in the country, this high cast royal clan of around 28 related families attached to a monastery had settled in the north of india.
some of their number had escorted the dalai lama out of the country in 1959 and the elders held a magical energy and power around them.. the result of 2000 years of living cause and effect.. the living embodiment of a philosophy much misunderstood..
i was inspired by this seemingly temporary refugee settlement and returned again and again, despite suffering the crippling illness of dysentery twice, ghardia, and more harsh reminders of mortality than most 18 years olds can testify to.
returning in 1992, 93, 96, 97 and finally, when i was 24, exhibiting the resulting story in london, (helped with sponsorship from photographic companies and my then university, nottingham trent), bought about what i believed to be an end to the project.. which for various reasons *had* to end.. (cont. below)
a former warrior, now village elder with his wife, inherted from his dead brother 1991
a fight during tibetan new year, feb 1992
pilgrimage to tso pema to receive h.h. the dalai lamas blessing, 1992
statues being created for a new temple, 1993
young monks gathered around guavas, 1996
monopoly game at the school-house, 1997these days of editing my music work form the past 10 years are causing me to drift further back now.. and a search turned up these slides of half a dozen of the framed tibetan photographs.
in a sense these few tell the whole story.. of a tough village.. of a family pilgrimage.. of new buildings and greater permanence to the village and finally of westernization as tibetan culture became fashionable in the mid-late 90's and rupert murdochs television empire allowed our wealthy wants and needs to filter in.
all of the time, the monks play.. and pray.. and seep into every waking moment, unwittingly lending a unique and gently nurtured understanding of Bodhidharma.
i thought i had finished with the tibetan work once it was printed and exhibited in 98.. although now i am going to re approach my negatives.. some ten years later.. and see what my eyes will notice this time around, in preparation for the web exhibition of the work.
one thing that can be said of shooting compulsively as a young man, while on a quest for 'adulthood' and adventure, is that it produces a great deal of work.. which is not only a pleasure to wander back through, but also is a way i am now able to trace my photographic coming-of-age.. the development of a style.. and the shift in my chosen subject matter caused by some tough times.
in a sense these few tell the whole story.. of a tough village.. of a family pilgrimage.. of new buildings and greater permanence to the village and finally of westernization as tibetan culture became fashionable in the mid-late 90's and rupert murdochs television empire allowed our wealthy wants and needs to filter in.
all of the time, the monks play.. and pray.. and seep into every waking moment, unwittingly lending a unique and gently nurtured understanding of Bodhidharma.
i thought i had finished with the tibetan work once it was printed and exhibited in 98.. although now i am going to re approach my negatives.. some ten years later.. and see what my eyes will notice this time around, in preparation for the web exhibition of the work.
one thing that can be said of shooting compulsively as a young man, while on a quest for 'adulthood' and adventure, is that it produces a great deal of work.. which is not only a pleasure to wander back through, but also is a way i am now able to trace my photographic coming-of-age.. the development of a style.. and the shift in my chosen subject matter caused by some tough times.
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