Stripping down layers

In an interview with the British Journal of Photography, Paolo Pellegrin mentioned that when he started his career as a photojournalist, he added layers and complexity to his images. But as he progressed in his career and in finding his photographic voice, he “…started taking away, removing layers. It’s a desire to take away the superfluous, to see if with one gesture you can go to the essence…” He goes on to say that “…my photography has become simpler, more straight.”

This view was echoed this week by Tim Hetherington at the Host gallery. He said that over time he became less interested in the aesthetic representation of the image and more and more considers the story the most important element, regardless of the media with which it is being told.

Today in Brighton, I was still adding layers…