Image by Rob Battersby “We all have moods, we are all deeply effected by things, there are underlying things that are just not addressed in a human being, and that comes under care, and care is consistency.” Elin, 2023
Sam Ivin, a photographer who creates manipulated portraits and facilitates art workshops with communities, did a takeover on Open Eye Gallery’s Instagram to mark the Carers Week 2025, sharing his work with unpaid carers and young carers. We share his works on our website, too.
Image by Sam Ivin 
Image by Sam Ivin These portraits of Elin and Martin are from my Who Cares? series, part of a commission called Lost Voices. In 2022 Cheshire West & Chester Council and Open Eye Gallery commissioned 3 photographers (check out Ciara Leeming and Tadgh Devlin) to document underrepresented communities’ experiences of the pandemic.
I chose to work with caregivers because I worked as a support worker during the pandemic. I was curious what it’s like to care for a partner or family member: were they able to get a break? How does it feel to care for a loved one?
Next series of portraits is from Who Cares?, a series documenting caregivers’ responsibilities and experiences of providing care during the Covid-19 pandemic. Here are some conversations with the caregivers.
Image by Sam Ivin “For one of my grandchildren, my mum knit this octopus with spiral tentacles. I can’t believe it when I go to my son’s house and look at that. She did that three and a half years ago, she can’t do anything now.” (Sue, 2023)
Image by Sam Ivin “What do you think of Cheshire Young Carers?”
“I like the woods here and the people here really help”. (Young carer, 2023)
Image by Sam Ivin “How did the Covid pandemic impact you and your family?”
“We wouldn’t go out as often during lockdown so we were stuck in the house. We don’t go out anymore. We hardly go out ‘cause we’ve got used to it during Covid.” (Young carer, 2023)
Image by Sam Ivin “It feels like we’re almost forgotten – before Covid, during Covid and after Covid. We’re like a secret army of people and there’s millions of us. And we’re doing this very valuable work because we want to, often because we have no choice and because it matters.” (Julia and Laurie, 2023)
Image by Sam Ivin 
Image by Sam Ivin I often facilitate photography and art workshops at the start of a project, it’s a great way to get to know people and give something in return for people participating.
Since 2023 I’ve returned to Cheshire to continue working with caregivers, I feel like there’s a lot more to document and understand. These masked portraits are from a recent project with Cheshire Young Carers called “The Mask Inside my Head”, a play written by Peter Cox MBE (Brookside, 1986-2003). It’s inspired by young carers who took part in creative photo workshops earlier this year.
The script will be given to schools around Cheshire for pupils to perform, spreading awareness of young carers experiences. Many young carers are not aware they are caregivers. This can make it difficult for them to get the support they need at school and at home. There’s around 40,000 young carers estimated to be in Cheshire.
Image by Sam Ivin Earlier this year I created the image for the new Buckinghamshire Library Card with young carers from Carers Bucks, highlighting the new membership options and perks they provide for unpaid carers at the libraries.
Image by Sam Ivin 
Image by Sam Ivin I was commissioned by Buckinghamshire Health Trust and Buckinghamshire Libraries to facilitate a series of creative photography workshops in-person and online. This culminated in a final session where we created bold, colourful light painting images, using slow shutter photography.
Text and images: Sam Ivin
Lead image: Rob Battersby
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