Tahra Zafar
Inside the Workshop
There are some people whose work makes you want to look closer.
Tahra Zafar is one of them.
I went to her studio and workshop in North London to photograph her. I knew some of what she had done – costumes, characters, creatures, puppets, theatre, television and film. But spending time in her workshop gave me a much better sense of the person behind it all.
Tahra works across a remarkable range of creative worlds. She has been Head of Costume, Hair & Make-up for the Olympic and Paralympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies, worked on the Commonwealth Games, and helped bring some much-loved characters and creatures to life for film and television.
But the CV only tells part of the story.
The interesting bit was being in the workshop with her.
She opened boxes and pulled things out. Characters she had worked on appeared from shelves and cupboards. There were materials, ideas and bits of old projects everywhere. She talked about the work, how things were made, the problems that had to be solved and the people involved in making them happen.
And then there was Fozzie, named after Fozzie Bear from the Muppets. He spent much of the time keeping a close eye on what was going on, occasionally appearing in the middle of things as if he had been part of the production team all along.
We didn't really have a grand plan for the photographs.
We talked. We looked through things. We moved around the workshop. We found little corners and characters. And somewhere along the way the photographs started to happen.
What struck me most was Tahra's curiosity. She seems to be happiest when faced with something that hasn't quite been solved yet. A new material. A technical problem. A strange character that needs to be brought to life. A huge project involving hundreds of people.
This was less about a portrait of someone with an impressive list of credits, and more about someone completely at home in the middle of the work.
For me, that was the best part.
I went there to photograph Tahra.
I left having had a glimpse inside a very inspiring world.
