OLD SEADOG TED
It was the Summer of 1981 when Ted returned to his home to find it on fire. Uninsured Ted moved into the garden shed at first then later into 1 of 5 caravans which now sit amongst the ruins of his stone cottage. Now 92, and named Seadog due to his years in the Merchant Navy, Ted spoke enthusiastically about engines in the P&O Steam Navigation Company sailing through 80ft waves off the coast of China. I couldn’t keep up with the jargon but man does Ted love ships and engines with "pistons 10 times the size of you". He is a hoarder and when he fills one caravan, mainly with bits of machinery, he moves on to the next. Ted recalled how he only had time to save one thing, just like the hypothetical question, from his burning house containing all his worldly possessions. He chose his photo album leaving his beloved Naval uniforms and collection of hand build scale models to burn. I noticed that you can see the singe marks around the edges of some of the photos including the series documenting his model planes and ships.
Roo Lewis is a British documentary photographer whose work explores belief, community and contemporary myth. His research driven projects combine portraiture and staged approaches exploring how images shape emotional life and the narratives we use to understand ourselves.
Roo’s portraiture has been commissioned by the UK’s most respected publications with his work being featured by The Observer, BBC, Dazed and Confused, AnOther Magazine, Fisheye, Huck, ZEIT and many more. His latest monograph, Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club (GOST 2023), explores the power of hope, dreams, identity and faith. Photographs from the book were shown at the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Academy and have been acquired by the National Archive.
His clients include Vogue, Sony, Toast, Nike, Belstaff, VICE, Island Records and many more. Currently Roo is undertaking an MA in Documentary Photography at the University South Wales where he is developing his next monograph exploring the concept of dreams and cultural memory.