Where did the idea of London in Puddles originate? Well, I’m a cyclist and one day I had my bike stolen with bolt cutters from my place in South London. So I decided to walk into town rather than take the tube. It began to rain but I was just happy to be walking along the Southbank with an excuse for being late for work. I hit the London Eye and suddenly there were tourists everywhere and I had to come to a standstill. I looked down because I didn’t want to feel part of that crowd and noticed a reflection of the Eye in a puddle. I pulled out my Lomo and began crouching and snapping like a madman. All the tourists must have thought I was a complete loony, but that was the beginning of me seeing London in a whole new way. It was like a door opened into a new, parallel perception of London. Suddenly (because it’s spring right now) these windows into an upside down London were everywhere - and I’d not noticed them before. I felt like I was in The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe. And on a practical level, we have a drought right now, so I feel puddles could be about to
become a very rare British commodity. I want to capture them while we still have them!
What does London mean to you? It’s where I can make a living. I do music and media. Where else are you gonna be? There are so many opportunities here. And even if they are not all financial, they certainly are creatively. I’ve never been so inspired by a place before.I left Sydney where I had a perfectly comfortable ex-pat lifestyle to ‘make it’ in London. What actually happened is that I hit a recession and got really, really broke. But as a result of that, I’ve taken some exceedingly honest photos. And made some great music. And my dad was a cockney from Poplar. So I’m genetically linked to this place. I feel at home here precisely because it’s so inhospitable. And I love the diversity and mashed-up-ness of London. Australia is a nation of conformists; they’re terrified of ideas. I like to be an exile in my own city so I have time to think.