Descriptions

“There’s this wonderful sense of theatre and performance where people transcend themselves.”

Michelle Sank’s interest in visual storytelling meant that she was naturally drawn to the theatricality and spectacle of rugby. For Sank, the colour and dynamism of the supporters, the mysterious emblems, the small details, all build into a unique drama.

Rugby as a performance complements Sank’s sense that photography is itself a type of theatre. The image becomes a space of performance, a stage where the subjects are able to present themselves to the camera.

“ I’m always looking for that moment when people… are they still giving what they think they should give, or are they giving something that’s just them? It’s a very fine line. Most people, when they see a camera, they take up a pose, the generic kind of thing. I’m looking for something beyond that. I’m looking for that spark.”

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