André Penteado's most recent project Dad's Clothes explores issues concerning the death of his father, who committed suicide in São Paulo last January at the age of 72. He had been living in London for the previous year, and had only been able to communicate with his father by phone and email. To help document and cope with the loss, André took a series of photographs of himself in his father's clothes.

Okay, so this photo (see top) you took in Brazil – tell us about how this one came about.

I use this as a portrait shot, but it was actually taken at a fashion shoot. The designer wanted to do it in this ghetto area, it was almost like a favela. All his clothes were kind of distressed and rough so it seemed appropriate. The model had just come from a rave, and she was so tired she was sleeping between shoots.

And for balance, let's see one of your photos from London.

This guy is a friend of mine called Amechi from London.

Amechi

He's the London fashion editor of Flux, and also an occasional stylist and tailor. I asked him to pose for me in his studio on Kingsland Road.

Cool! More beautiful Brazilian girls please.

Okay, here's another shot I did in Brazil.

This is a girl I met at a rave. There were a group of people going to beach parties in 1999/2000. I was doing a series of women who I think were beautiful but not models, and Juliana was one of them.

So, do you prefer to work in the studio, or on location?

I am more of a location guy. Even in the studio I just use one light. Most portraits are just done wherever. I'm doing a series of portraits of people where they live at the moment, mostly in their bedrooms. Photography should connect us to the world that its subject lives in.

From Home to the The Photographer's Gallery - 80 Cameras

And one of your recent London projects, on CCTV, is all about mapping the cameras that populate the city, so pretty ‘psychogeographic’ as they say. Tell us more.

I don't get why people say London is so terribly dangerous. Brazil is much worse than London. I can get that, you know, sometimes things happen. But it's nothing compared to Brazil. Being dragged out of your car, taken to a cash machine at gun point, held overnight to make more withdrawals, that kind of thing. So when I came here, and I saw CCTV on every corner, everywhere, I wondered whether anyone looked at the tapes, and how it all worked. I decided to document them on walks to places I was visiting (such as The Photographer’s Gallery). I marked the positions of all the CCTV cameras on a map, and took photos of them.

For your latest project you put on the clothes of your late father. How do you feel about being photographed?

I prefer to take pictures actually. Some people don't like to be in front of the camera. They get too self-conscious. It's all to do with how people see others in magazines I think.

andre

How did it feel, taking photos in your father's clothes?

I was back in his flat going through his stuff, when I decided to photograph them. This developed, and before giving them away, I tried them on. When I put them on, they still had his scent, and this gave me a sense of closeness. I hadn't had this while I was living in London for the last year. It gave me a sense of self-discovery, and how I have followed his steps in life. It was a really strange feeling.

Was it difficult to present these photos publicly?

After I did them, I showed them to friends and family. It was okay, even though it was a bit weird. Once I showed it to some people at a review magazine, and now I have grown more comfortable with it. It just took me time to think about why I did the photos. They deal with a lot of issues like death and suicide. In Brazil people don't hide this - we talk about things, we show them to each other. People are very honest. I prefer this.

Do you think it’s brought you some kind of peace? What our American cousins might call ‘closure’.

I don't know... All these things take time to heal. All the emotions are still here. I am taking other photos which are related to death. I kept all his medical exams and x-rays, and I'm thinking about using these in an exhibition. I think this is something that will be with you your whole life. I'm seeing a support group for people in this situation, and I’m working through this on different levels.

You can see more of André Penteado's photography, including the rest of Dad's Clothes, at his website - www.andrepenteado.com