Rebecca Simmons

My work deals with the themes of family, memory and place, and is strongly influenced by my personal experience with grief over the loss of close relatives. I draw on my own childhood memories and those of my parents. The media I work with are paint and photography. I experiment with vintage cameras inherited from my grandfather; this gives a personal and physical connection with my subject matter. My images are double-layered and translucent, which distorts them and creates interesting effects with light and shadow. My intention is to create an impression of memories shifting and being distorted over time. The subject of my photographs is the council estate my dad grew up on in Chapeltown. These are significant places in my childhood, but I aim to reach a wide audience for whom my images are also familiar and recognisable.