"Come for Cocktails..."

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As a child of the 70’s I vaguely remember the disgusting looking dishes served at family get togethers and parties, also the chilled-out attitude of our parents. It seemed to be a lot about them having a great time while us kids were largely left to our own devices.

 

At the end of the night we were collected and bundled onto the back seats of our family Fords and Toyota station wagons, no seatbelts required, and driven home at some ungodly hour by someone probably hugely under the influence. Good times indeed.

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The food prepared was made from cheap ingredients such as cocktail sausages and tinned fruit and yet prepared with as much flair as possible, to the point of disgusting. I mean who really wants to eat a wobbly salad of chopped greens suspended in pig trotter gelatine, a mould of blended fish or an egg fashioned into a poison toadstool?

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I have processed my images in a way to resemble a series of fun snaps shot on Polaroid, a sneak peek into the goings on of the party, shot by guests of the party. And then as a fun twist to my tale, I have chosen to end it in the manner typical to many of these 70’s parties… (disclaimer for my parents sake: I myself didn’t actually experience this part as a kid – to my knowledge at least!!)

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This series was recently selected as a Finalist in the Lens Culture Imaginative Storytelling Awards (February 2019) with entries from over 150 countries worldwide.

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Enjoy.