Masks: Persona, comic tragedy. Protection. Concealment. performance. ritual, theatrical, magical, religious. They help mediate spirits identity or lose of...
Mirror: Water - Narcissus - reflecting back insight. Important in religious concepts of many peoples. Lose of soul. But a mirror confirms the existence of something, surrealism, image superior to everyday reality. The mirror belongs to man as the most important attribute to his surroundings - self control and to check on everyday life.
Child/children: the embodiment of potentialities of the future - simplicity, innocence. Children are embryonic in the Great Mother, controller of the Great Waters.
Pig/Swine: In many ancient cultures, a symbol of the heavily fecund, but possibly devouring, Great Mother. A fertility symbol, prosperity, greed, lust, anger and passion and the unclean. Good luck in some cultures.
Rabbit: a lunar animal, associated with Moon Goddess and Earth Mothers. Trickster.
Wolf: the earth, evil, fierceness, often familiars of the primitive gods of the dead. Emblem of St Francis of Assissi who tamed the wolf. Valour.

Yesterday, when I came out of the RWA with Julie, after meeting with Mags, spoke on the phone to Roger Watson, curator of the Fox Talbot Photographic Museum, National Trust, Lacock. I had heard of Roger over the years, thought he was some little dusty brainy bloke with silver goatee and tiny glasses, but no, he was some larger than life warm hearted american guy, hugely knowledgeable, with a big laugh. He had agreed that I could go and see him regarding editing my collection of images for the show. " Oh yes, 10 Jan I could see you". "Fine" I said, but what about tomorrow? He roared with laughter "Will I regret this?"... So it was I found myself in front of the huge creaking barn doors of Lacock, all alone with Roger, a table and the ghosts of Christmas past. I spread the collection of B & W images taken as part of my residency at Radstock. The series of portraits of people dressed up, were inspired by me exploring the idea of us all as though being in a contemporary fairytale. "Why is that lady wearing a pig's mask and wedding veil drinking tea" he asked. "She sort of scares me"....Hmm, I thought, remembering the lovely lady in the Methodist Drop in coffee morning. And so it went on...each image had a story, which Roger brilliantly reduced down to some sense. "They are a bit too psychological for me" he mused, turning over the two postmen in his hands, one a wolf, the other a rabbit, whilst recalling the memory of himself dressing up now and then. "The little girl is lovely (with the mirror and wig with ears), she is a cross between Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf"...she has no guile, he went on, as I showed him the series of this child who had presented herself to me without a word between us. It had been part of the family fun day, I was dashing between media bus and dressing up tent. Every so often she would dress up and then come and tap me on my leg, I would nod, and off we would go to silently engage in this photographic exchange, in front of tent, or bush or church wall. Her mum was nowhere to be seen, it was as though she appeared from nowhere. Later, I was to learn who she was when Julie and I went through the names/permissions obtained, that she was with a friend and her mum, who I had photographed in the oval mirror - looking as though from India. Looking through the images with Roger really helped. He was brilliant. He said the series of images went beyond telling a story about the people of Radstock. We talked about the associations and symbolism. There was tea mentioned a lot, the Far East, Madonna, animal masks, mirrors, wings, crowns and swords. He suggested the works opened up the possibility of storytelling. He gave me references of Ralph Eugene Meteyard, who did a whole series of images of children in grotesque masks. Edward Stichen. Cindy Sherman for the photos of when Julie & I dress up, with Diane Arbus also for other. He talked Julia Margaret Cameron and Major Henry Wood in the 1860s. The Life of Lucibel Carter. We discussed the tradition of the itinerant photographers who would go from place to place, setting up their scenes using a crumbled black cloth and the creation of living vivant. It was utterly fantastic to have someone explore themes and bring the storytelling and make-believe into context. On preparing to leave after generously being given considerable time to consider how the heck to reduce the story down, I learnt I can't pronounce giclee and confessed to still being really in the dark about an f-stop. It was time to go, and before leaving the shadowy museum to step out into the just before Christmas dark snow starting to blizzard evening, I handed Roger a crumbled paper bag. "I hope you like chocolate" I said, "I do" he cried "I didn't get to look like this eating a rice cracker"...So, I handed over the chilli chocolate and drove off into the evening having a cry of happiness that someone had shared and acknowledged the stories.

I have been truly blessed, met the other day with Lesley (Director) of Creativity Works & Mags in Radstock. It was agreed that we will collaborate on an exhibition drawn from the Travelling Museum of Possibilities images - particularly the black & white series - exploring a theme of Dreams, Masks & MIrrors - a contemporary take on fairytale & myth. Incredibly the event will take place at the Feddon Room at the Royal Academy West of England, Bristol, during the Open Photographic Exhibition The idea to draw together and celebrate and share the stories and artistic outcomes from the project with a Co-Create Forum for artists February 18.