Hi, I’m Jo, a Tokyo-based photographer, ceramicist and writer.

My love affair with photography started, as so many people’s hobbies did, back in 2020, during the Covid lockdowns. After a year or so of photographing my houseplants with my smartphone, I graduated to a DSLR. And, about six months later, I learnt how to use it.

West Sussex (where I grew up), London (where I lived for a decade), the Peak District, Devon, the Outer Hebrides, Italy, Spain: my camera accompanied me everywhere I went and the photographs I took became treasured souvenirs.

In early 2024, I moved to Japan for work. I suspected the move would stimulate me creatively but I couldn’t have anticipated to what extent. 

There is so much beauty to be found here, so much inspiration: from the sculptural trees of the Izu Peninsula to Hokkaido’s desolate uplands; from cascading blossoms in Gunma to quiet scenes of beauty in Japan’s ancient capital, Kyoto. 

I’m in the process of updating my website galleries; soon there’ll be more blossom, less Balham. But for now, the most up-to-date collection of my images can be found here, on my Instagram account. As always, if you’re interested in a print, please don’t hesitate to contact me. 

My other great love, besides writing, is ceramics. I spent most of my lunchtimes at school holed up in the pottery studio, trying to recreate the exquisite wheel-thrown pieces by Lucie Rie and Co. that featured on posters around the studio. I like to think I’d have been more successful had I had access to a pottery wheel, but I doubt it.

Fast forward eighteen years and about 6,000 miles… in a country famed for its ceramics tradition, I returned to making pots. I’ve fallen in love with throwing on the wheel and occasionally I tear myself away from the studio long enough to explore the pottery towns of Japan. Karatsu-ware is my favourite style so far, with its warm browns and greys, but the pattern-rich pottery of Okinawa comes a close second.

My own work owes a lot to Japanese, Korean and West African influences. Again, my ceramics Instagram serves as a virtual gallery.