Even as a kid, I had a reputation. As soon as I was put in the school system I was branded a dumbass and placed in a special room with two or three other students. I was a nuisance to authority. I spent a lot of time eating lunch in the principal's office. I wanted to be outside. Words & photography extract from my "Bad Reputation" article Published in Desillusion Volume 2.
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Photography navigated my life through the bullshit, allowing me to secretly expressed myself in a less harmful way than drinking and adrenaline. I placed undertones of anxiety, loss and regret in my work, while relating to my surroundings. By telling my story through photos and words it allowed me to connect with a lot of people who normally wouldn’t open up. Photography gave me a golden ticket into these people's homes and minds. Words & photography extract from "Bad Reputation", a new piece Published (in print) for Desillusion Magazine.
"This is why the road trip is dying. Driving loses its novelty with consistent scenery and without a swell, the only high is found reveling in that feeling of invincibility that comes with rolling into a new town with five dirty friends, laughing at the soft insults slung your way by strangers as they acknowledge your youth. You grow tired of sleeping in dirt and only smelling the ocean’s brine, the feeling of being lost with a head inflated with substance and scenery is only as enjoyable if the rest of the car feels the same – and in our case, the census was out. You begin to chase that ability to feel weird and alive and look upon a new place with ignorant eyes but you soon realize that the highway has rendered many towns similar.”- Sasha Barkans.
An excerpt from “Water In The fuel”. Featured on Desillusion magazine with support from Sitka
"The night before the trip we loosely spoke about our goals; we’d get an early start, get some surfing in around sunset, sleep on the beach, then wake up and carry on. But the next morning arrived at 1PM. I pulled my swollen eyelids as far apart as I could manage to look at my phone. I hadn’t missed any calls. I stood up and braced my hand over my eyes as I made my way to an unfamiliar washroom to unload whatever Greek-fry and shawarma medley was knocking at the back of my throat. Finally, the crew clumsily came together around three in the afternoon. With all of our belongings in the vehicle there wasn’t much room for movement, and the drive to the border was slow. The car was quiet save the exchange of pills and hangover remedies. It was a panorama of mouths agape, hoodies up, and heads resting on windows, and the air smelled of coffee sweat. We became aware that given the time, we weren’t going to get any surfing in on the first day." -Sasha Barkans.
An excerpt from Water In The Fuel.
Featured on Desillusion with support from Sitka.
She’s playing with fire.
Let the mountains fall, but don’t let them fall on me.
Featured on Desillusion magazine x Sitka.
Water In The Fuel.
There is still something hiding under my bed.
Featured on Desillusion magazine x Sitka.
Water In The Fuel.
Water In The Fuel - Exclusive story up on Desillusion magazine. Check out new work by Sasha Barkans and I!
Our Water In The Fuel story is now being featured on DESILLUSION! Head over to see a batch of new 35mm work and words by Sasha Barkans and myself. Thank you Sitka for providing the wardrobe…
I was driving through the California Redwoods with these guys and turned around and said “Yo I got an idea for a shot, but you guys might not be down for it.” Then I told them I had been envisioning this big beautiful redwood deep in the forest that had a slice of light beaming through the rooftop onto It. And that I wanted them to all get naked and link hands. The boys one by one were like “Yea, sure whatever you want man.” An hour later we found the tree. This photograph is exactly how I had envisioned the scene coming together.
I don’t go to church.