IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW: Henry Hargreaves

QUESTION: What are your main sources of inspiration?

"My ideas come from all elements. But the web is a big source of inspiration, especially Tumblr pages. I like loosely curated galleries where the theme is 'it just looks cool!'."

QUESTION: Food is a predominant factor in a lot of your work. Why?

"I worked in restaurants for years and am actually part-owner of two. Food is something we interact with many times a day but seldom see in any other perspective than 'get it in my belly'. It's a massively untapped genre and it's also easily accessible."

QUESTION: Your 'Last Meal' series invokes conflicting feelings of intrigue and repulsion. What prompted its creation?

"That was the feeling I had when I decided to do this series. I discovered a wiki page about last meals and was fascinated by their requests. For a moment I felt like I had an insight into these people's minds and then realised they'd committed heinous crimes.

I knew then that I wanted to do this a photo series. I wanted to create the meals as I imagined the condemned man would have seen them the moment before he picked up his cutlery."

QUESTION: What would you choose as your final meal?

"There's a burger at Minetta Tavern in New York called the Black Label burger. I think it's the finest on the planet. After a few mouthfuls of this you get that feeling of 'it doesn't get any better than this, if I have to go take me now while I'm still up on cloud 9...'."

QUESTION: Tell us about project 3DD and the reaction to it so far.

"I've always been interested in old-school 3D and so found out on a blog how to do it. I did a small fashion shoot in it and thought it could make a really cool project. But what my subject would be was the challenge. It needed to reflect the medium, which is gimmicky but fun. BOOBS!

"The reaction to it has been really positive. But if people don't like it I don't care as it wasn't for their enjoyment."

QUESTION: Bright colours run throughout your work. How did you learn about using colour to create such striking imagery?

"Most of my photography and colour skills are self-taught. I feel this really helps me because I don't feel bogged down by the 'right way' of doing something.

"I just think there's a lack of colour in most photography. Most things look good in high contrast black and white, yet unmemorable. But to make something look good in vivid colours is much more memorable."