Chris Hoare
Chris, Can you introduce yourself and your path into pursuing photography.
I found photography through studying art when I left school, it was just a diploma in art where we were exposed to different possible career paths - photography being one. The photography department there had amazing teachers and the atmosphere was something I hadn’t experience before, It felt special and I fell in love with photography from that moment on. I was never exposed to art or photography when growing up, so it wasn’t really until then that something like that felt possible.
Your bio mentions your interest in exploring the overlooked? How do you go about doing so?
I guess it’s project dependent, but mostly through meeting people on the street who are in one way or another forgotten about by the society they inhabit. Or by exploring themes and ideas which I feel don’t get the attention they deserve, such as one project was photographing people that collect waste, which I felt to be an overlooked group of people who I wanted to shine some sort of light on.
When you approach your subjects, what gives you a level of confidence to do so or how do you create that level of confidence?
The reality is that it isn’t easy and at times it’s awkward, some days it all flows and there is a confidence to approach people, but most of the time it is a case of pushing myself to approach situations and overcoming some level of apprehension - other days It's excruciatingly difficult and I fail miserably.
Can you share about a time when a circumstance first appeared as a failure but ultimately changed your perspective?
I can’t think of any decisive moment that transpired in this way, but when I look back over images it happens in the time in a small way, there’s always those pictures you take at the time but aren’t particularly excited about and even deliberate on whether its worth it or not (as we all do when shooting film!), then, they end up being some of the ones you like the most. Which I always have to remind myself about when making work, its not always the obvious things that work the best.
When you begin a series, do you set out with a concept or allow it to naturally unfold?
I like to approach a project with a number of themes in mind, I then look for things that could amplify these themes, looking for things in reality that can be tied to them in some way. For example, my work in Australia was a search for luck (good and bad), so I would walk around with this idea in my mind and question it at the same time whilst making images, whereby such as an idea of luck can be tied to almost anything in a way. Things of course develop and alter as you’re making the work, which usually takes a while to make sense.
What draws you to the theme of identity? When you meet someone what do you tap into to explore who they might be? Is it through conversation?
I mean portraiture plays a huge role in my work and as a consequence identity is very much wrapped up in it. I mean we all identify with different ways of living and walk around our own history, whether it our race, class or the cultural tribe that we prescribe to, this is infinitely interesting in a way, it’s what defines us. But yeah, conversation is what I like most of about the type of photography I do, I enjoy getting to know someone when making a portrait, you can have quite a in-depth conversation about someones life in quite a short period of time, it’s interesting how conversation develop like this.
