I’m very sad to hear of the passing of Emma O’Kane, a wonderful human being and one of Ireland’s greatest dancers and choreographers. I’d seen her in many shows before I first met her properly a number of years ago on an arts residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig, and we made some photographs together. There was something in the pictures that was new to her, and she developed a show out of them. We wanted to develop it into a dance piece and film that we’d both work on, but unfortunately it didn't get funded.

When you’re making a portrait of someone, it helps to fall in love with them a little. It was very easy indeed to fall in love with Emma.