Introducing Robert Raynard

Over 100 artists are taking part in The Tate Staff Biennale which will take place on the last week of August on Level 5 of Tate Modern. Over the next few weeks The Rebel Magazine will be chatting to some of the Tate staff who are showing their artwork. Today it's the turn of Robert Raynard

Where did you grow up and what kind of education did you receive? "I was born in Dakar (Senegal) in 1966. I grew up in a suburb north of Paris in the 1970s and the 1980s went to school to university in Paris where I did a BA in English language and culture studies. As a teenager I was interested mainly in history, culture and had a passion for international cinema, I loved French crime films with Jean Paul Bemondo, Alfred Hitchcock‘s films, also literature, I started to collect postcards too. I only took on photography as a hobby when I was in my early twenties although and this interest has grown into a passion with time."

How long have you been working at the Tate and what's the best show you've seen there? "I came to live in the UK in October 1996 and first worked as a French Language Assistant in east London before taking on a job as a Visitor Assistant mainly at the then Tate Gallery I was employed by Trident Safeguards until 1999. I have been working for the Tate for 20 years, I love the diversity of works in the Tate collection, there are artworks which may appeal and sometimes surprise all kinds of visitors. One of the best shows I have seen in 20 years was definitely the Don McCullin show at Tate Britain but also Soul of A Nation and The Clock (by Christian Marclay) at Tate Modern."

What can you tell me about the work you're exhibiting in the Tate modern show? "My artwork is a photograph I took last year, in August, outside Victoria Station and it is called 1:27 p.m. — Flying Past Little Ben. I took the photograph for the purpose of displaying it in a group photography show called London Presence at Conway Hall. In the photograph time, movement and stillness are key elements, with a pigeon flying past the clock tower at 1:27 p.m only to be captured alongside the ticking of the clock and the gilded statue representing Anna Pavlova on top of the Victoria palace. All of those elements are captured in a brief moment of stillness by the photographer. Time resumed and we know that the brief stillness was replaced by movement which we can only imagine. However the statue‘s will remain paralysed it will remain kind of stoic."

How can people find out about your work - do you have a website or do Instagram? "I have got an Instagram account you will find me under the name rob.shots.with. passion however I don‘t have a website yet. I hope you will enjoy visiting my Instagram account here."

What's the best thing about working at the Tate? "The best thing about working at the Tate is the feeling of being part of a community of people, members of staff who can and want to offer our visitors the best welcome, and to introduce them to a great, sometimes unusual collection of artworks and exhibitions. We can also rely on each other and be rewarded for our skills."

The Tate Staff Biennale will take place on Level 6 of the Blavatnik Building of Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern