More interesting for Soth was Carmen’s lack of photographic preconceptions. “Kids aren’t drowning in cliches. They think it’s just as interesting to shoot rubbish on a beach as a sunset, or a velvet rope rather than the museum behind it,” he says. “She has a freewheeling way of framing. And by photographing anything she saw, she was completely democratic. My head is filled with nuanced cliches – I might subconsciously be influenced by William Egglestone – but she doesn’t have that framework. Of course, as a professional, you can’t go back to a time when you had none, but you can try. Myself, I long for that quality again.
- Alec Soth: The genius behind Alec Soth’s Brighton biennial success
