With PRAKSIS during the summer 2016 mucker mate residency, Julia Parks tells of how this arresting shot was taken during a brief respite from filming boats on Oslo Fjord.

“I always carry a loaded 35mm Nikon with me, ready to capture something that catches my eye. This particular photograph was taken on Sørenga, an area of land reclaimed from the sea. It was a really hot sunny day, 30 degrees. I was observing what was going on around me: swimmers dipping into the cold north-sea, sunbathers on the artificial shores, strange flower arrangements; all things new to me.

I spotted a little girl hugging the fox like dog and was struck by the contrast in colour, his bright orange coat, the blue water in the background and the girl who was so excited by her small furry friend. I took several images from a distance, but this one is my favourite. I like the gazes; the girl stares at the dog, whilst the dog stares at the mother who holds a cigarette flippantly between two fingers. For me this photograph reflects a fleeting moment of time in Oslo, reflecting my position as a temporary visitor to the city.”
 

Julia Parks received her undergraduate degree from Central Saint Martins College of Art in 2015. In 2013 She participated in an exchange program studying photography and printmaking at Kyoto Seika University, Japan. Her practice encompasses film, animation and photography, often using series of photographs and projected 16mm film. Parks explores the methodologies of 20th century filmmakers and photographers, often reenacting historical artworks in the attempt to re-imagine and experience being in the moment of their production. More recently, she has been documenting sheep farms in the west of Cumbria and is currently developing a 16 mm film which observed the process of a trawler hauling in a shrimp catch just off the coast of the town of Silloth in Cumbria. Parks has exhibited in both England and Japan including; Young Cumbrian Artist of The Year, The Vallum Ditch Gallery, Carlisle (2016), All Work and No Play, The People's History Museum, Manchester (2016), and 5 under 30, The Daniel Blau Gallery, London (2015).