Financial Secretary, UAW Local 651 (c) Brian Griffin.

Brian Griffin, the Surrealist influenced portrait photographer best known for his images of post-punk musicians of the 1980s, is currently working on a personal project in Michigan – in many ways a complimentary study to his celebrated book Work from London's Broadgate development – and he's agreed to keep 1854 visitors updated on his progress with occasional posts and pictures. Here's his latest entry...

My moustache continues to grow as my head rests on the pillow at night, in my guest house in Ann Arbor, the once home to Iggy and the Stooges. I'm slowly metamorphosing into a Michigan Auto Worker, to the accompaniment of the horns of the freight trains that pass nearby throughout the night. Snow falls, snow thaws, snow falls.

I feel I'm photographing the work mates of my late parents, also factory workers, as on this trip I mix with so many workers and retirees of an industry that is going through massive upheavals.

On Wednesday at one of the Flint, Local UAW buildings they celebrated "White Shirt Day", which is the anniversary of the 1936/7 Sit-Down strike. A very moving moment occurred when 3 to 400 of them from all ages linked hands and sang a song of solidarity. A tear ran down my cheek.

I feel this is the first pure documentary piece of work that I've done since art college days, which will continue my ever evolving project on America.

It's snowing again and I'll be off up the freeway to Flint like a fisherman, hoping in my case of catching a good image. Sometimes I return with nothing but that is the beauty of the quest, and that is why I continue to go back.

See his last entry here.