Very proud to be featured in the upcoming Roam Folkographic zine that showcases some beautiful photographers discussing the topics of heritage and the folk movement.

My photographs depict the surreal Surva festival and the forefront of morris dancing that is Huginn and Muninn.

Below are my words in the magazine on the importance of folk customs:

“I find the beauty of folk traditions to be their ability to reflect both the past and the future; the origins behind so many folk customs are lost to the mists of time, and yet they have endured, taking on new meaning as the world around them has grown.

The first photo submitted is of the Morris duo Huginn & Muninn dancing at the penultimate Tenterden Folk Festival in 2023. Their extremely unorthodox take on Morris dancing, such as them here wearing huge latex balloons on their heads, proves traditions can change whilst maintaining the same spirit they always have.

The second photo, to me, truly reflects the enduring nature of folk customs. This photograph shows two Kukeri, both from the same family, waiting to parade through the streets of Pernik at the end-of-winter festival of Surva. The traditions on show at Surva have been passed down for centuries (some claim millennia) surviving occupations, wars, and regional ethnic turmoil. The meaning of this folk custom becomes something new for each subsequent generation, each new one equally as valid as the last.”