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A local photographer, whose artistic journey started at the age of 16 when he took up the subject for his A-Levels at Hautlieu, has shared a snapshot of his latest body of work which started in lockdown following a walk along St. Catherine's Breakwater.
Max Le Feuvre described 'Taking Time', which focuses on local fishermen, as a “celebration and recognition of the longstanding tradition of fishing along St. Catherine’s Breakwater."
Max first fell into photography at the age of 16 when, as a student at Hautlieu, he took up the subject for his A-Levels.
Inspired by a “fantastic” tutor and his immense passion and enthusiasm for the subject, Max went onto a BA Hons Photography course at Ulster University in Belfast, from where he graduated last year.
Since then, he has been working on a range of commissions, specialising in architectural photography, whilst also developing his personal projects.
'Taking Time' is the latest of such personal projects...
The idea for 'Taking Time' came about during the first lockdown. During this period, I spent a lot of time walking along St. Catherine's Breakwater, making use of the designated time allowed for exercise.
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Subsequently, I got speaking to many of the regular fishermen down there. I found the positive, calm and friendly atmosphere of the place which their presence brought to be so therapeutic and relaxing, especially in such stressful times.
From this I began to think about the process of fishing as something deeply therapeutic and meditative, which allows those involved to temporarily retreat and ‘take time’ away from the busy and often hectic nature of everyday life.
Inspired by this idea, I visited the Breakwater around two to three times a week over the next 12 months. When working on the project, I got into many interesting conversations with the fisherman down there, regarding fishing and what the activity meant to them. These conversations undoubtedly served to strengthen and develop my concept, as well as inspire how I went about producing my images.
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Pictured: "I found the positive, calm and friendly atmosphere of the place which their presence brought to be so therapeutic and relaxing, especially in such stressful times."
I would very much like to exhibit the work at some point within the near future, both as individual prints hung on the wall as well as hopefully, a published photobook of the completed series.
I am interested in ideas connected to leisure and recreation. Growing up involved with lots of sports and similar activities, this theme is one which has always resonated well with me. I began making photographic responses to this theme during my second year of my degree studies and have continued ever since.
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Through photography, I like to document different types of recreational activities, examining the processes involved as well as the spaces in which they occur.
I find the concept of what people get up to in their leisure time to be absolutely fascinating, and creatively speaking there are just so many possibilities to explore and tackle, something which I find very exciting!
Find more of Max's work on his website.
This article first appeared in the November edition of Connect magazine, which you can read HERE.
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