Photograph by Jonathan Worth CC-BY

Diane Smyth is a writer, editor and educator, best known for her work at The British Journal of Photography. Here Diane speaks about early copies of The Face magazine, the joys of cleaning a local leisure centre and the ongoing influence of Borges’ short stories.

The Festival Q+A

What did you want to be when you were growing up? A writer

Can you remember the first photograph that inspired you? It’s not a particular photograph, but when I was 15 I covered all the walls of my bedroom with photographs ripped out of The Face magazine. An immersive experience!

What is the worst job you have ever done? Cleaning the local leisure centre, though it wasn’t all bad. The woman I worked with was 60 and amazingly fit – cleaning a leisure centre is even better exercise than using it.

Who do you  admire and why? Yesterday I interviewed a young Ukrainian artist called Sofiia Vinnichenko, who has a super interesting outlook on searching for meaning.

Where do you feel at home? Home is where the heart is.

What is your greatest fear? Something bad happening to my son.

What is your most treasured possession? I prefer not to treasure possessions, and books/art/music/people aren’t exactly possessions…

What do you think people often overlook or misunderstand in relation to your work? Interesting question, because in my writing and journalism I often prefer to minimise myself. It’s not about me? Maybe there’s a more positive way to frame ‘overlooked’?

What advice would you give to your younger self? You’re doing the right thing.

If you could study any subject, what would it be? A PhD on the relationship between capitalism and the medium of photography. If anyone would like to fund this, or has tips on funding it, let me know…

What currently inspires you?

  • Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project
  • Borges’ short stories
  • Faiza Shaheen’s Know Your Place
  • My son
  • Crazy P’s Cruel Mistress (currently on repeat)

Diane Smyth is editor of the British Journal of Photography and the Photoworks Annual, and teaches history and theory of photography to BA and MA students at the London College of Communication. Her writing has appeared in publications such as The Guardian, The FT Weekend Magazine, The Art Newspaper, and Apollo, as well as in photobooks and catalogues. Diane is on Instagram at @dismy

On Friday 18th October, Diane will be in conversation with artists Bandia Ribeira and Ritual Inhabitual, as part of The World a Wave Festival Symposium.