Both of my grandfathers were incredible carpenters and my dad is a skilled builder. Along came the son who is into art and stuff – useless with their tools, jeopardising the family tradition. Whenever I visit my parents’ house I love hanging out in my dad’s shed and this one time I decided to put my impractical skills to use, and build something. I had this idea of making something completely useless in a sense, but something that could be beautiful. Something grounding, that could connect me to the great men who paved my way. I listened to Coltrane and proceeded to construct the timber frame that features in this series of photographs. A few times, my dad (and my builder uncle) popped their heads in to ask what on earth I was up to. I said I was constructing a shadow sculpture. A few days after I completed my project, my dad asked whether he could use my frame for firewood. Sure.
