Sergio Leyva Seiglie describes his practice as “an exploration of how we perceive belongingness and notions of identity through national and cultural identity”. A Cuban born photographer and now residing in Sydney, Australia, he speaks to Oliver Endicott about his most recent photographic series, Motherland.

Our childhood is one of the most important times in our lives, it is when we develop and grow into the adults, a nostalgic period. South East London based photographer Alex Wheeler documents adolescence in a series that is best described in her own words. “Here is seven years of growing up.” [This article was originally published on JRNL Magazine, a now closed publication from our Editor James Wrigley.]

Earlier this year, North West based photographer, Simon Bray, worked alongside Martin Parr on a commission set by Manchester Art Gallery. After studying Photography at Manchester Polytechnic in 1970-1973, Manchester Art Gallery brought Martin back to work on a series of photographs which would sit alongside work he made in Manchester whilst studying. Although a photographer himself, Simon Bray was invited to work as a producer on the project. We wanted to find out about the role and what it entailed.

Gut gut, German for “good good”, a phrase that Kate Schultze noted countless times whilst travelling through East Prussia in search of discovering more about her family history. East Prussia, the enclave of Russia and surrounded by Poland and Lithuania was the birthplace of her grandfather and further ancestors.

Patrick Lewis Dowse is a documentary photographer from the North-East of England and recent graduate from University of the Arts, London. Working on a long term project he has been documenting the ex-mining villages in the North-East of England. Photographing the people and the communities residing there, his most recent project titled “Community Embers” is part of an ongoing body of work. Working with portrait and landscape he aims to explore the impact of the social economic change that occurred in the North-East of England in the mid-to-late 20th century and the impact that has on the area in the 21st century. Patrick is currently assisting Chris Steele-Perkins on his most recent project – The New Londoners.

We chatted to Mon Levchenkova about her final major project at LCC and why she based it around her hometown of Hampstead, London.

Baptist Town is a neighbourhood in the Mississippi Delta town of Greenwood, surrounded on all sides by train tracks. In a community of only around five hundred people there is roughly a ninety percent unemployment rate. Many scenes from The Help were shot there, because not much has changed since the 1960s in regards to the architecture and the socioeconomic landscape. It’s as close as it gets to a community which has been completely passed by. It’s a feeling that seems to be synonymous to an extent with the feeling of many parts of America, even if it isn’t quite so explicit as in Baptist Town. Sin & Salvation is the documentation of that space, as a part of the series The Invisible Yoke.

With social media as its platform, family photography has found a new forum, a new way of showing the family, no longer hidden or medicalised in the private domain of the family album. I spoke with photographer Jenny Lewis about her beautiful series of portraits from One Day Young, Lewis’ portraits of women and their newborns are taken within 24 hours of birth, showcasing extreme intimacy and power with these new mothers, a true celebration of motherhood. [This article was originally published on JRNL Magazine, a now closed publication from our Editor James Wrigley.]

We spoke with Bristol based photographer Josh Adam Jones about his new in progress series XO. Unearthing stories about the expatriate communities of Muscat in Oman. Jones concentrates on the relationship between locals and outsiders. As an outsider himself, Jones has created an intimate exploration of the diverse and colourful culture, working alongside the people Oman Jones was fortunate enough to work with The British Embassy and Oman Tourism College to create this stunning series. Visit this GoFundMe page to support this project and the publishing of XO as a book.

Leah Wareham’s work, Saggar Maker’s Bottom Knocker is a celebration and documentation of the world-renowned heartland of the British pottery industry, Stoke-on-Trent. Although the area saw a steep industrial decline in the 1970s the industry has by no means disappeared. Wareham’s photographs depict the skill and pride of the talented individuals who keep this traditional industry alive, while reflecting on the new potters drawn to Stoke because of its prestigious history.

Taylor Dorrell is a photographer based in Brooklyn, New York, whose photographic practice predominantly focuses on different aspects of American life. Taylor grew up in the rural south and moved to Ohio at 16 where he finished high school. In 2017 Taylor earned his BFA in Photography from the Art Academy of Cincinnati and made the move to New York City.

South Wales based photographer, Matthew Eynon, focuses his work towards street and documentary photography through the forms of society and subculture. We did a short interview with Matthew about his project, Swansea Mods.