The shot of my dad in this set ended up as ‘rejected’ from my family project but I keep coming back to it. When someone has their eyes closed in a photograph you feel instantly more comfortable looking at them. You can be the voyeur without feeling guilty. You are alone in your looking.

I remember seeing Sam Taylor Woods’ footage at The National Portrait Gallery of David Beckham, sleeping. It was mesmerizing. More recently the portrait of the Queen by Chris Levine which appeared on the cover of the Guardian Saturday supplement  in 2008. Without absence do we really understand the power of presence? I think it certainly helps you appreciate it.