STRANGERS TO THE SPOTLIGHT 1997

In 1997, while still a photography student, Jojo approached the Liverpool Everyman Theatre where he had previously run drama workshops. They liked his idea and invited him to turn a space under the stage into a makeshift studio where, over the course of 6 weeks, he photographed the 24 members of full-time staff who never got to perform on the stage. Each sitter selected either props or a costume, (or both) that somehow reflected their role within the organisation.

The completed project was exhibited in the theatre foyer for three months before being purchased in its entirety. Back then Jojo wasn't hot on archiving so all he has are a few low-res scans of the test prints he made , oops! This was the first of dozens of self-initiated projects over more than two decades.