How I came to do what I do …
I am a UK-based photographic artist whose work is the result of an eight-year project in which I dedicated 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to learning art photography. This sustained engagement has shaped a body of work that balances technical precision with an appreciation of art history and a contemplative approach to image-making
Much of my work is overtly influenced by the legacy of Surrealism and the philosophies that influenced that movement, including the writings of Lacan, Marx, and Breton
In 2025, I was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) for a body of work that reinterprets the visual language of René Magritte through photography. Using self-portraiture, traditional surrealist symbolic motifs and visual ambiguity, the series explores the role of photography in the 21st Century. In particular how the breakdown of truth and illusion challenge the viewer’s expectations of clarity and narrative
The RPS Fellowship acknowledges both mastery of craft, which was the goal of the 10,00 hour project, and the distinctive conceptual depth to my projects. My story is one of relentless dedication and gradual refinement to produce work that is thought-provoking and finely made
See also:
- Why 10,000 Hours
- Who was Andy Smith in 2017?
- Purpose of this Blog – written in 2017 to outline my objectives for the project
- 10,000 Hours Completed
- Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society – achieved on the 14th May 2025, at hour 9,773