Alex Howard Interview

His seemingly canny eye has a knack for shedding a new light on regular objects. Alex Howard has participated in a ton of exhibits — too many to name here. His work reminds me of a time I spent at a relative’s relative’s. Yes, that is a relative of a relative. They had a cottage in New Brunswick that they dubbed Shamrock Shores. It was right beside the water, and complete with wooden goods that any cottage might rightfully possess. I had a great time there. So it only makes sense that I have a great time looking at Alex Howard’s photos. Visit his site & blog.

TT: Can you please fill this out?
Name: Alex Howard
Age: Twenty
Occupation: Student
Currently Resides: Suffolk, England
Favourite Song: I just discovered this album through a friend, this song is great.

TT: What is your day job?
AH: At the moment i’m working early mornings cleaning a bingo hall, thats at the weekend, in the week I do a lot of photography related things.

TT: When did you move to London and what has it done for you so far? How is it different from other cities?
AH: I moved to London 3 years a go, basically it has taught me a lot about myself.. to be honest I found it quite uninspiring and confining, and constantly found myself thinking away from it.. so it has given me great perspective and appreciation for things in that sense. It is a good learning curve.

TT: Do you ever take photos of yourself?
AH: No, I rarely take photos of people at all, it doesn’t really interest me, or at least it hasn’t yet.

TT: Do your photos just happen or do you plan them?
AH: For a long time they just happened, I think that is the best way to learn. Get a small camera and take it everywhere, take a lot of photos and gradually you’ll become more selective and begin to realize what you really want to photograph. Only recently have I began to understand what I want to photograph. Still, when it comes to making a body of work the initial idea usually originates in the subject finding me - once it has caught my attention then I do my research and seek it out more thoroughly.

TT: It looks like you participate in a lot of exhibitions. Are these more a collaboration with other artists or were you selected?
AH: The exhibitions that I have been involved in so far have mostly been collaborations with friends of mine. At the moment I’m focusing on getting out and making work which I can’t see being finalized anytime soon.. But when it gets to an editing stage I think it’s definitely beneficial to have both exhibiting and publishing in mind.

TT: What is your ultimate goal?
AH: As cliche as it is, all I want is to be content. My pleasures are in things that a lot of people would see as relatively simple or wouldn’t even consider pleasurable, but to me these things are profound. As far as photography is concerned I don’t ever want feel like there is no room for improvement.. I need to keep myself occupied, I don’t really see any final goal because I see no finish.

TT: If you could be a character from any movie, who would you pick?
AH: Derek Smalls from Spinal Tap.

TT: You’re a pickpocket. Who is your ideal victim and what do they have stashed?
AH: Man, I have no idea, uhh.. nah. g
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