textures of modern life, in this case a graffitied wall. How much are you conscious of politicised symbols like hoodies when working and trying to subvert them? I would say I am conscious but I don't necessarily think about subverting wilfully. The process of looking for meaningful images in real life means that I don't always have complete control, the process is candid. Instead what I look for are opportunities, where interesting juxtapositions can serve to highlight or challenge an issue. But in the end it's up to the viewer to make his or her mind up about my work. The pictures I take are fly-on-the-wall and open to interpretation. In your series The Island, you circumnavigate the coast of Britain and captured the life that you witnessed at the edge of country. Would you say that being an island is something that informs our mentality as a people a great deal? I think so. When I started that project -- and it's still not complete -- I was interested in the idea of how Britain although being part of Europe is often seen as somehow slightly separate. The process of looking for meaningful images in real life means that I don't always have complete control, the process is candid. Even economically Britain shows its separateness by not being part of the Euro. Rightly or wrongly it feels that this individuality is emphasised because geographically it is an island and apart from the continent. We are hardly any distance from