(Images: Alice Volk, Untitled) 

For this last week of the festival, as part of our series of interviews, we speak to BPF16 exhibitor Alice Volk, whose enigmatic series of empty chairs are currently on show at The Verdict, café and jazz club. Here she discusses her working process and where she draws inspiration from..

BPF:  Can you tell us a little about your earliest experiences with photography and what drew you to the medium? What images inspired you at that time? 

Alice Volk: My earliest experience with photography was going into the darkroom at school and making photograms and looking at photographers like Man Ray who did experimental work with his images in the darkroom. At the same time as this I was really interested in the bright colours in fashion that Mario Testino captured. I've always liked very contrasting things.

BPF:  How has your relationship with photography evolved since then? 

Alice Volk: My photography is still analogue based, I have since made my own cameras out of wooden cigar boxes and enjoy their more experimental work. I print my work in the darkroom wherever possible and don't see myself ever stopping this.