“During lockdown, I bought my first block of clay in 45 years. No particular intention - just to work with my hands. Began with making a small figurine – which once finished, struck me as echoing the ancient sculptures of Asherah, a Bronze Age female deity - the consort of Yahweh – or God. (Asherah is considered to be the basis for the concept of the tree of life). The first figure was followed by a second, a third and so on. How pleasing it was to have these little beings around, with the play of the ever-changing light on them. Initially I photographed as a record. But then the record keeping became image making – portraits even. And since then, there has been a wonderful, closed-circuit experience of creating my subjects, situating them, photographing them.”