“I made this series very early in my career as a photographer. It was made circa 1980 and I used Agfapan 100 as film and Record Rapid for print, now no longer available. I printed the work high contrast as was the fashion back then. I was inspired at the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, to photograph living creatures in captivity and I was interested in aquariums and reptile houses. The first photograph was particularly appreciated by followers of punk because the “mohawk” hairstyle they adopted was duplicated by the pattern on the lizard’s back.
Later, the series broadened to include creatures and mannequins in museums. What I really wanted to have a conversation about was the norms of society that were replicated in these places. Natural history and other museums have always played a didactic role and what became invisible was an education in societal conventions. By the time I finished the series I made photographs about the inside and outside of an art gallery; that inside what was empowered was a still influential myth whereas outside, and condemned, lay an image of contemporary relevance.
After that came the shopping centre images which may seem a strange addition and yet in the early 80s we were not used to American style malls. Mall type shopping has come to every city and in the first instance I think we liked being out of the elements, being able to park, and just the novelty. But the airless retail atmosphere is a long way from being natural. “