Each autumn, Kishiwada’s danjiri carts come hurtling round tight corners at a near-impossible pace while roof dancers balance above the charge, in a display of skill, nerve, and split-second timing where any mistake risks serious injury or death.
Thaddeus Pope
Miya Festival
In Gamagori, the Miya Festival reaches its astonishing climax at the water’s edge, where decorated floats are hauled into the sea by teams of men straining against surf, weight, and ritual obligation.
Uchi-Soto
Uchi-Soto dwells in moments of meeting and friction – where the traditional leans against the modern, the native against the foreign, the strange against the familiar, and the inward world of uchi against the outer space of soto.
The Great Bonfire of Toba
At Toba’s fire festival, two giant burning towers become the focus of a fierce village contest, as men hurl themselves at the flames to wrench out the sacred trees hidden within and read the fortunes of the year ahead.
Takisanji Oni Matsuri
At Takisanji Oni Matsuri, a fire ritual of startling theatrical force is performed not for spectacle alone but for purification – a prayer in flame for peace, protection, and a good harvest.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony
Each August 6, Hiroshima gathers before the cenotaph to mourn the dead of the atomic bombing and renew its public appeal for lasting peace.
The Temples of Angkor
Spread across a vast archaeological landscape near Siem Reap, the temples of Angkor preserve the stone afterlife of the Khmer Empire at a scale that still feels imperial – immense, intricate, and half reclaimed by the forest.
Protest Photography
Taken across Britain and Europe during years of political unrest, the images record marches, police lines, placards, speeches, and surging crowds – moments when protest turned the streets into sites of confrontation and dissent.
Elephant and Castle
Photographed in 2005 and 2006, before redevelopment began, Elephant and Castle stands in the uneasy pause before demolition, when uncertainty hung over residents, traders, and the future of the area itself.
Faith Healing in London
In London’s Pentecostal churches, faith-healing services draw illness, testimony, music, and belief into public rituals where suffering is voiced, witnessed, and answered with prayer.
Homelessness in the UK
In Brighton, where affluence and rough sleeping occupied the same streets, one of the most public forms of homelessness comes into view – lives exposed in plain sight, yet still too easily absorbed into the city’s background.