David Knowles

“When I was in Brighton studying photography, I found myself drawn to subjects who have been marginalised in our society, in particular a group of gypsies living on a traveller’s site. Through photography I began to learn about how different people live. When I moved to Bristol, media coverage of refugees and asylum seekers had become particularly intense. It became clear to me that I wanted to meet these people and to collaborate on a photography project.

“That is how I started ExileVision - a photography course for asylum seekers who had fled Guinea, South Africa, Turkey and Zimbabwe. It was funded by the Greater Bristol Foundation and the aim was for asylum seekers to use the camera as a vehicle for expression. The resulting exhibition consisted of three to four works from each asylum seeker and a video piece by myself. This experience was a unique opportunity for these individuals to communicate past the boundaries of their marginalization.

“I am trying now, as well as doing my own photographic work, to take ExileVision forward to work on an international project, with refugees living in the Kountaya Refugee Camp in Guinea.”