Client The Guardian
I was commissioned by The Guardian to write a no-fly road trip travel feature to Corsica. The piece aims to highlight the sustainable nature of no-fly holidays, the sense of liberation they offer and the savage beauty and ambience of the unique Mediterranean island (and its astonishingly brutal history). You can read the feature here. Photos by Tess Lister.
Client Mazda
Mazda and Gran Turismo share a long history. The legendary racing simulation computer game featured a number of the manufacturer’s cars in its first launch in 1997, and hundreds have followed.
Since that first entry into the series, Gran Turismo has become a cultural phenomenon, so the inclusion of Mazda’s RX-Vision concept car (in GT3 racing trim) was something to celebrate.
I was commissioned to speak to Gran Turismo’s founder and series producer Kazunori Yamauchi to discover how Polyphony Digital brings cars to life in the game, and the challenges of converting a concept show car into a fire breathing GT3 racer.
You can read the feature here.
Client Mazda
Mazda were looking for stories to emphasise their Japanese heritage, to feature in their customer magazine Mazda Stories. I pitched an interview with artist Rei Naito (a Hiroshima native, like Mazda) and the story was commissioned.
Rei is an installation artist who creates wildly abstract exhibitions. One of her most famous pieces is ‘Matrix’ (pictured here). The installation sits on the tiny island of Teshima, in the Inland Sea of Japan, and celebrates the island's rejuvenation having experienced decades of illegal toxic waste dumping.
Rei is an enigmatic artist who doesn't generally do media, doesn't have a website or agent, refuses to speak in interviews or appear in videos (even her own documentary). I eventually tracked her down through an art gallery, and she agreed to take part, but would only answer my questions via email. You can read the piece here.
Client Mazda
In 1991 Mazda stunned the motorsport world by winning Le Mans 24 Hours outright with the iconic, rotary-powered 787B car. To many, the victory came as a surprise, but in fact the Mazdaspeed team's success was built on decades of hard work – and a mix of tragedy and triumph – that propelled it from the back rooms of a dingy Tokyo car dealership to the pinnacle of motorsport. Mazda was the first Japanese manufacturer to win the race outright, and it would take another (Toyota) a further 27 years to repeat the feat.
Researching and writing this anniversary was fascinating, and having the chance to speak to many of the drivers in the winning team was a real privilege. The feature includes an interview with driver Johnny Herbert, who was so exhausted at the end of the race he collapsed and was rushed to the medical centre, which is why he doesn't appear in any of the famous podium shots. You can read the feature here.
Client ShortList.com
Seiko is an iconic company with numerous 'world-first' innovations to its name, many of which have pushed the horology game forward significantly over the last century.
The list demonstrates the strength in depth of Seiko’s lineup, and includes a budget Seiko 5, Arnie’s watch from Predator and a £28K watch with a Japanese Urushi lacquer dial. You can read the piece here.
Client Kings Cross Quarterly
Since 2013, King's Cross has taken advantage of the festive period to flex its creative muscles, and commissioning various artists to create a whacky Christmas tree centre piece for Granary Square, at the heart of the development.
The feature looks back over the first five years of firs for Kings Cross Quarterly, the complex’s official magazine. These include the world's first laser tree, which paid homage to the areas clubbing history, and a tree called 'Winter Sun'. This very conceptual tree (in that it wasn't a tree at all) was a hearth-like installation that shone light and warmth onto passers by. You can read the feature here.
Client Techradar.com
The Raspberry Pi mini-computer has been credited with reigniting Britain's love of computer science. The machine was developed by CEO Eben Upton as an antidote to plummeting applications to study the subject at St John’s College Cambridge, where he was Director of Studies. The device has been such a success that in its first five years the company sold more than 15 million Raspberry Pi units.
I interviewed Eben for Techradar.com in celebration of the anniversary, and it was great to hear some of his favourite uses for the Raspberry Pi from around the world. Read more here.
