Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
An evolving project exploring architecture, place and the people connected to them.
The Beginning
The Z Mansion was the starting point for a new direction in my work.
Painting this historic building in Tucson led me to look beyond its architecture and become interested in the history, people and communities connected to it. The more I learned, the more I wanted to understand how the stories of the people who inhabit a place become part of its history.
That interest has developed into a much wider exploration of Tucson, bringing together photography, painting, research and writing.
Stage One: Tucson
In November 2026, I travel to Tucson to begin exploring these ideas in person.
I will be photographing the city through my own artistic perspective, from its distinctive adobe architecture and historic neighbourhoods to the desert landscapes that surround it. I also plan to photograph the All Souls Procession, an extraordinary event that brings together art, remembrance and community.
Alongside the architecture and landscape, I want to meet the people whose lives are tied to these places.
The Z Mansion has opened a window into a network of people and organisations working within the Tucson community. I hope to spend time with people connected to the mansion and Avant Recovery, listen to their stories and, where appropriate, make photographs that reflect something of their lives and experiences.
I also want to learn more about Marana Health Care and its place in the region's history. Established in the 1950s to serve agricultural field workers, its story offers another way to explore the relationship between healthcare, community and the changing history of Tucson. I hope to learn more about its connections with the people and organisations I am getting to know.
Other conversations and visits will take shape during the trip. I am particularly interested in the connections between food, community support and the people working to help those experiencing homelessness.
I am going with a camera, an open mind and a genuine curiosity about the place and the people I will meet.
Where It Leads
This first visit is a chance to look, listen, photograph and learn. It is also time to spend with people I have come to know through the Z Mansion, exchange ideas and consider what might develop from those conversations.
I can already see possibilities for the work. Photographs may become the starting points for paintings. Research may reveal histories worth exploring further. Conversations may lead me towards people, places and ideas I would not otherwise have encountered.
The photographs, paintings and research will develop alongside one another, allowing the work to grow from what I discover rather than forcing it into a predetermined outcome.
This approach connects naturally with my ongoing work in Northampton, where I am documenting the architecture and residents of ten houses designed by Alexander Ellis Anderson. Although the places and histories are very different, both projects begin with a curiosity about the built environment and the lives that unfold within it.
This is stage one. The work begins in Tucson.
Tim Muddiman