I took these photographs when I was 16 years old at the Bournville School of Art. That might be what makes them unusual. Now that I’m over twice that age, they seem like curious pictures for a 16 year old to produce. A little dark, perhaps.

Nude with projected photograph of rust, 1993

They’re the first photographs I ever took that other people wanted. Possibly, because they’re nudes. Who doesn’t like the human anatomy, after all? I was often asked to make prints of them. I learned that there’s a difference between people ‘liking’ a picture, and people ‘wanting’ a picture.

Nude with projected photograph of cow ribs, 1993

This was a watershed. I could now make pictures that people paid attention to. In this case, their first thought might have been curiosity; “What IS that?” and here’s the story: I decided to produce a set of nudes, which I had never done before. I went to a local bar, and saw two strangers that I liked.

Nudes with projected photograph of scratched metal, 1993

I asked them if I could take nude photographs of them, together, and they agreed. This all by itself, was another good lesson for a 16 year old. Before I met them in the studio, I walked about my home town, photographing textured surfaces; old rusty metal, walls, anything that took my fancy.

Nudes with projected photograph of steak, 1993

I asked a butcher if I could photograph the inside of a cow, and he agreed. I used transparency film so I could project the images onto my nudes. This was before photoshop. The final result, subject to some influence in the darkroom, was fixed forever the moment the shutter was released.