Ian T

I was born with the eye condition RP Type 2 Usher Syndrome (Blind + Deaf), which by default, naturally cropped the world around me, giving me a unique eye for capturing moments in time.I have always been a creative person from a young age. Experiencing the isolation that comes with profound deafness, I was able to keep myself occupied with drawing and painting. Eventually my creativity led me to discover the mechanical box called a camera.From the moment I was told I was going blind at the age of 15, I had this sense of urgency to see as much as possible, photograph and collect as many images and memories before the curtains are drawn permanently. My photography is inspired by cinema, music and literature and I work predominately in black and white.
I hid my blindness for many years because I felt ashamed and embarrassed due to the stigma attached to disabilities. When I was growing up I noticed the lack of representation of disabled people on TV and within the world of entertainment. I felt I had nobody I could relate to, making me feel like an outsider. Usually the characters were portrayed as weak, very incapable or the butt of a joke.Over the last few years the Paralympics and conversations via the internet have empowered a positive start in image diversity representation in the media, sports and entertainment. It has pushed large corporate brands to start showing different disabilities/challenges and ranges of diverse people in the media, which is a positive start. This is not to do with vanity, simply demanding our place of acknowledgement and existence in the world as people.
My commissioned photography and role as an ambassador for Sense UK, has led me to collaborate with newly formed UK organisation Zebedee Talent, a specialist casting agency for children and adults with diverse disabilities or challenges. These include skin conditions, Down syndrome, albinism, cerebral palsy, prosthetic limbs and blindness. The agency represents a range of cool, diverse, talented people.Photography is about many ideas in one moment being captured. Light, texture, materials and atmosphere all play a pivotal role to create the final image.Using photography as a tool, a form for my lack of sight, I am able to utilise the lens of the camerarather than my own, to sensitively capture the beauty and distortion of the world around me, which due to my degenerative blindness I am unable to see. My mission in life is to bring multiple voices and disabilities together, to build the better place we envision. An environment catered for everyone, while eradicating the stigma and fears of disabilities.Thank you. www.iantreherne.co.uk E: ian@iantreherne.co.uk M: 07749635119