CLOSED

The studio is now under re-construction due to no photographic bookings or work enquires in the studio for a period of over 5 years (or any external communication/interest regarding my theory writing). Unfortunately, I have now slipped into a deep depression due to this factor, and completely stopped working (& subsequently have decided to withdraw my online presence entirely). I’m on long term creative hiatus until I recover & make a final decision on the viability of continuing to run the studio.

This is mainly due to all my photography marketing & efforts to gain employment/communicate with academics (regarding my writing), failing to garner any communication in return. I’m also carrying out a civil IP theft case against photographer Sam Neill after his plagiarism of a pitch for Sub Focus. Which has been heavily complicated by intimidation actions carried out by Sam & his manager Sebastian Weingartshofer of Worship Artists, who is also Sub Focus’s manager. These were implemented in an effort to halt civil action (and hide all evidence online of this dispute, that was published on this site for a period of two years).

Out of a number of extreme intimidation attempts, the most serious was reporting me to the police on false accusations of harassment for a period of 1.5 years, where I was taken into custody but not charged. This retaliatory police reporting (that was still attempted after I was questioned, for an entire year), has damaged my mental/emotional wellbeing, confidence in my work & caused physical illness (via heart problems). Finally, this heavily compounded a music industry blacklisting they had already instigated against me, when I first went public with this dispute. Which has caused me to lose all my prospective & existing music photography clients (since March 2023). So consequently, they have ended my 17 year long career in this field. These are serious crimes that have been committed against me, as intimidation to halt civil action, comes under perverting the course of justice. And the extreme harm it’s caused me is punishable with up to 7 years in prison. This has now been reported as a counterclaim to The Metropolitan Police, should complaints concerning these individuals from other victims be investigated.

Until this is resolved financially via a civil personal injury settlement, my reputation/work restored & these men held accountable industry-wide (via a public apology & dismissal from their posts), and/or sentenced to prison time, I do not see how my studio can operate in any capacity or medium. These outcomes would require Sub Focus to leave his management, and go fully public about their behaviour. As he’s in a conservatorship rather than a traditional managerial arrangement, the chances of that happening are slim to none, due to their complete control over him. But it’s worth sounding the alarm here publicly on what are suspect business practices, which are certainly financially abusive towards him (& corrupt management is also very common in the music industry).

In any case, I have done my best & publicly discussed this experience extensively. So accountability is most certainly on its way. Historically I have spoken about corruption before and outed individuals in separate incidents. Sometime down the line those individuals have lost their entire careers. It’s just not directly implemented by me, and usually it’s the cause and effect of long term bad behaviour. Which both individuals I’ve mentioned have exhibited for many years in this industry against others. But the timeline is in the lap of the gods on that one.

Sadly, I have now lost all the love for my crafts due to these challenges. Despite holding optimism & pushing forward with personal projects, right now I don’t see any point in carrying on due to my circumstances. I’m hoping a shift into traditional 9-5 work will bring some clarity & relief, and allow me to find another passion outside photography & writing to fill the gap. I have now been forced to abandon these mediums within music, but I’ve also decided to extend that across both these art-forms permanently. Sometimes giving up and accepting/surrendering to your current reality, is the best thing to do. In this instance I feel it’s the right path, as rectifying these problems is completely outside of my remit. The long and short of it, these have been such enduring & devastating blows, where I have been fighting fruitlessly for any opportunity at all to work using my art, I just don’t enjoy creating via these means anymore. So I won’t force it any longer. My brain & heart ultimately need a rest.

Therefore there will be no further new updates on this site, and all existing website material has been removed until further notice.

Any archive licensing enquiries please email: sarah@sarahginn.co.uk

My book & publications featuring my work are linked below: