10 minutes with Lee Towndrow

When did you first know that you wanted to be a photographer?

I started out as a graphic designer and found that I used to continually come up with designs that were largely photographic and less about the design. It was funny; the type kept getting smaller and smaller on my album covers until finally I was producing work that was almost entirely photographic.

The Monks Pt. 2 – Brother Francisco, Brother Angel. – Lee Towndrow

The Monks Pt. 2 – Brother Trinidad. – Lee Towndrow

The Monks Pt. 2 – Lee Towndrow

Anachronisms. The Juniors. Like Jack and Coke All Morning. Mexico City, 2011. – Lee Towndrow

Anachronisms. The Juniors. Every Day is Like Sunday. Mexico City, 2011. – Lee Towndrow

Who were some of the first photographers that inspired you?

Jeff Wall was the first photographer that really blew me away. I kept going back to the bookstore and staring at one of his monographs because I couldn’t afford it at the time. Then Larry Towell & Sebastian Salgado were exciting as I was going through a black and white documentary phase. Olaf Blecker was very very interesting to me to me as well in terms of what he did with studio portraits.

Anachronisms No. 2 – View of Condominium construction in Mexico City, 2011 – Lee Towndrow

Anachonisms No. 2 – Lee Towndrow

Weekend – Lee Towndrow

Bears – Lee Towndrow

Lee Towndrow

Your series ‘paper portraits’ are really intriguing – there is something so collage-y and pieced together and almost painted about them. How did you come up with the idea?

There was an article by Richard Serra where he talked about working with the raw materials themselves when coming up with ideas. I had a lot of paper in my apartment and I started slashing at it with a razor blade, turning it, bending it, rolling it and coming up with sculptural forms. It occurred to me that it would make an interesting experience for my subjects if I hung these things all around them, so they would bump into them or have to lean around them. I’m always looking to create new experiences.

Max – Lee Towndrow

Olia – Lee Towndrow

Steven – Lee Towndrow

If you could go back ten years and give yourself advice, what would it be?

It’ll be ok, just keep working and be patient.

Lee Towndrow

Lee Towndrow

Lee Towndrow

Jeff Harris on December 8, 2011. jeffharris.org – Lee Towndrow

Winter on a Maritime Beach. Charlottetown, PEI – Lee Towndrow

Any words of wisdom for the up and comers?

Unless you’re independently wealthy, you need to find something to earn a living while you’re working on building something unique with your photographic work. So the challenge is to find work that pays you regularly, but still offers you the freedom to spend some time each week working on your personal work and taking assignments when they come.

(Lee is based in New York. See more work, here.)