News / / 31.03.15

Tom Johnson – The Thirty Three

Tom Johnson’s shots of strangers styled in high fashion capture a striking honesty. Feuled by the complex interaction of meeting total strangers, his shots of random passerbys dressed in high fashion is his work’s most explicit exploration of this theme to date.

‘The Thirty Three’ series saw the London-based photographer and regular Crack contributor transport his makeshift portable studio around London, approaching individuals who are visually interesting. Working with stylist Phoebe Haines, they brought a van full of clothes and worked with the subjects to find out what they liked, capturing them wearing high fashion pieces.

Capturing a sense of real-life grit and true individuality, the series reveals something undeniably genuine. We spoke to Johnson to find out more about the project. Check out the photos below.

What inspired you to take photos of strangers?

Working with strangers is a constant theme in my work, I thrive off the often complex interaction that comes from a simple gesture or word. It can lead to new experiences, hopefully we can both learn something new and take something from it. Rejection can sometimes be as rewarding as compliance and it’s a little glimmer into something else that you wouldn’t experience otherwise.

Can you talk us through the process of the shoot?

Over five days I set up a small portable studio in the North, East, South and West of London. The aim was to photograph a diverse range of people and blur the lines between fashion and documentary. Once we had set up I would walk around the area and strike up conversations with people who I felt had something about them, maybe they were visually interesting or eccentric. Otherwise, curious subjects would saunter over and want to get involved – that was enough. I wanted real characters.

Once they had agreed to what we were doing I worked with a great stylist – Phoebe Haines. We brought a van full of clothes ranging from vintage to high fashion pieces. Phoebe then worked with the subject to find out what they liked. We would mix their own clothes that they were already wearing with pieces that we had chosen beforehand. I wanted the image to be styled – but not overdone.

Were most people happy to have their photo taken?

There is always a mixed reaction. Often when people are shy, nervous or skeptical and we end up making a photo, they tend to be my favourite. There is an awkwardness to the images that I love. Equally when someone is totally enthused the images can turn out badly. It really depends on the particular situation and interaction.

Do you have any favourite images from the project? If so, can you tell us a bit about them?

One of my favourites has got to be the one of Eddjei smiling which was taken on the Ridley Road on a Sunday morning. We couldn’t communicate verbally because of the language barrier but what we lacked seemed to elevate our connection. On the same road we met this amazing lady called Karen Sigourney who lived close by to where we were shooting and loved cats, she introduced us to everyone she knew and really helped make the shoot, I wish she was in one of the shots.

tom-johnson.co.uk

Styling: Phoebe Haines

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