Totally transformed

For John Parker, photography was a salvation after a serious mental health crisis. He tells Amy Davies more about it

- Amy Davies

Up until fairly recently, photographer John Parker was working as a pensions administrator in an office. Following a breakdown, he’d returned to work part time, but was then offered redundancy; at the same time he felt he needed more time to work on his photographic exhibition. ‘It was as if the planets had aligned,’ he explains. ‘I clearly remember the first day after I had left work. I was wandering through the gardens of Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire, the sun was shining and all I had for company was my camera and the squirrels. I couldn’t stop smiling to myself.’

John studied fine art at the Hull School of Art, graduating in 1989. At the time, he specialised in photography, and it was 30 years later that photography was to play a major part in John’s journey back from the breakdown he experienced in 2019. ‘As part of your recovery, you are encouraged to get out of the house, go for walks or exercise. I mentioned to my counsellor that I was having trouble with motivation, and he suggested I combine the exercise with something I enjoy. I mentioned I used to be a keen photographer and it seemed to be the perfect solution.