“We Learn As Much From Each Other As From Our Lecturers And Tutors” Lizzie Downes: on her photographic approach, research processes and Zurich Portrait Prize 2021
by Elizaveta Danstig Hello, Lizzie! Please tell our readers about your photography, where it begins? I’ve always been interested in photography. In my early twenties I bought myself an SLR camera and taught myself how to use it. I was actually working in education for over 20 years, in a non-governmental development organisation for many years, and then in third level as well. All the time I was interested in the practice and theory of photography, even when I couldn’t seriously pursue it, because I was raising my children and I couldn’t just go back to college. For instance, while working in third level education, I did some research around the representation of vulnerable people, particularly from the Global South. I suppose it was my way of bringing photography into my work. And I did some training around what is called “participatory photography’’ or “photovoice” and used that with my students as well. Photography was always there as an interest, but also a kind of frustration because I couldn’t really focus on it. I was always taking photos of my kids, mostly using film. I have so many negatives and stuff that is not scanned or maybe even developed. I was building up an archive, but not actually doing anything with it. About five years ago, I became unwell and this really gave me a reason to look seriously at the work I was doing and reflect on what I wanted to do with my life. It took me quite a while to recover and it really affected my perspective on things and I realised that I had to re-evaluate my work-life balance.
Lizzie Downes next to her work ‘Inside’. Photo by Marina Dmitrik
In 2019, I applied for the NCAD certificate course in Photography and Digital Imaging, and it was really inspiring, opened my mind, gave me a different understanding of what I could actually do studying photography.
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