The Bishops

I was approached a few months ago by my local Christian Aid office in Oxford regarding a campaign they are running in the lead up to the UN’s conference on climate change taking place in Copenhagen this December called Mass Visual Trespass. They had secured the participation of the Bishops who fall into CA’s Oxford region but no decision had been made about how to photograph them. In conjunction with Amy at their office we approached them with the idea of writing “Copenhagen” on their foreheads as a way of capturing a more visually arresting image which the media were more likely to take up. We weren’t sure if they would run with the idea, however out of the seven Bishops we photographed five agreed to have the writing on their heads which I think is a great success rate and I was really impressed with how up for the idea they were.

Since releasing the images to the media they have featured in much of the local Oxford, Bedford and Reading press and the Oxford Mail ran the feature together with an interview with me regarding the images. In addition the images are currently being exhibited at the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford. Also, the images will be projected onto public buildings across the UK as part of the campaign.

I loved being involved with this campaign – it was an opportunity to do something a bit different from my usual work. All the images were taken at the Bishop’s houses using just natural light and a 50mm lens. Simple images for a simple message.

You can find out more information about Christian Aid’s Mass Visual Trespass campaign by visiting their website www.christianaid.org.uk.

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