Unlocked photography project

'Unlocked' is an innovative photography project exploring and challenging perceptions of disability. Photograph: Lisa Gunn

Artist Lisa Gunn worked with children from Penn Hall School.

'This is Monique. Here I have photographed her in a darkened studio environment, highlighting her face and body so that the wheelchair is not immediately obvious. This brings up the question of whether people generally see the person or the wheelchair first.' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

'Here we can see you how still the water is with Monique floating completely free … no wheelchair, crutches or helper.

'When I look at this image it makes me feel like I’m holding my breath … like a long pause in time.' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

'Because Monique was so still the reflections on the surface are extremely interesting … there are hardly any ripples to break it up.' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

'This is Jay. Jay is a very independent minded individual who is inspired by many artists. He is particularly interested in the works of the Brazilian painter Fabian Perez.' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

'In this project I have helped Jay to create a representation of one of the characters frequently used in Perez’s work.' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

'To enable Jay to create a representation of Study for Whiskey, we erected a makeshift photographic studio in the art classroom at Penn Hall School.

'I used minimal studio lighting and long exposures when taking the images to capture the light from the match, which we used as the main source of lighting.' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

'I like the idea that Jay has decided to represent himself in the pose of a gangster … something you would not associate with disability or the wheelchair. ' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

'Nana wants to create work based around her multi-cultural identity. She has decided to express this by using images of herself in her Western cultural clothing alongside her traditional African dress.' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

'I asked Nana what is a strong symbol of her culture and she introduced the bowl to the imagery. She just put it on her head and there it stayed for the rest of the studio session.' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

'I think Nana’s choice to use colour contrast between these images will make a very striking exhibit.' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

'All that shines through here is Nana’s beautiful, bubbly and fun personality. The disabled identity in these images is completely gone. The work is not about her disability… it is about who she really is.' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

'Alex did a water session with the group at the early stages of the project, and he really performed and worked with the camera. For this session I had a video camera and the stills camera operating simultaneously.' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

'When Alex first viewed the images we had created, he exclaimed, “I look like an angel!”' Photograph: Lisa Gunn

A selection of images from the project will be shown at Wolverhampton Art Gallery from 17th July-30th (foyer exhibition) and 9th-30th August (main exhibition). The project has been made possible through funding from Creative Partnerships and Media-Box. Photograph: Lisa Gunn