This project began with the catalogue from an exhibition of a collection of photographs taken at backstreet studios in India. Using the most basic props and costumes, photographic subjects lived out their fantasies on camera, sharing the people they wanted to be. 

We all have an inner life, so inspired by the catalogue, I set up a studio and offered people in West Kilbride the chance to bring it to the fore and to share.

There was a core set of subjects for whom I sourced backdrops, costumes and props to fulfill their fantasy. The film below includes their reasons for choosing the person they want to be.

I also put together a collection of hats from which casual callers at the studio could make a selection and be who they felt like on that day.

The resulting portraits were first shown at Studio 30 in West Kilbride, and the exhibition is now to be exhibited at the Barony Centre in Autumn 2026