Mandy Tay, a local amateur photographer who’s captured images all over the world from her own uniquely ethereal perspective, displayed her latest collection of works for one night only at the British Consulate on Friday 22nd of May. We caught up with Mandy at Enoteca in SoHo for a sly glass of Rioja and an opportunity to find out more about her works, beginning with the fiery flamenco piece that set her on the path to stardom.

Mandy’s story began when she entered a British Airways competition designed to draw photographers with a passion for cultural diversity. Submitting a dizzying vision of Spanish dance, steeped in ardour, Mandy unwittingly captivated the judges. “I honestly never thought that I might win the competition – I’m only an amateur photographer using basic equipment,” explained Mandy with characteristic humility.

Echoing the competition brief, Mandy’s artistic philosophy certainly made her the perfect entrant. “I don’t have a theme, in either subject matter or style,” she explains. “I just like to shoot things, all things, as they are so that I can portray them both accurately and beautifully.”

Speaking with Mandy about the piece, which is part of a set entitled ‘Spanish Fire’ she explained that the saturated colour palate is entirely authentic. “I didn’t manipulate the image at all in the end, I tried, but each little change took something away from the raw image, so I simply printed it directly.”

12 more pieces bringing imagery from from our very own SoHo to Greece, India, Japan and Russia were available for viewing, before being auctioned off later that night.