UNEARTHLY MAGAZINE
SUMMER 2013
CONTENTS
NATHALIA TAKEUCHI
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LUCY JAYNE BLANCHARD
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AILERA STONE BENJAMIN MCMAHON SELENE ALEXIA
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ROXANA HALLS
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CASSIE MOLLY CARTHY
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UNEARTHLY MAGAZINE
“The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.”
Editor-in-chief :
Selene Alexia
Art Director:
Ulia Ali
Founders:
Cassie Molly Carthy Lucy Jayne Blanchard Nathalia Takeuchi Selene Alexia
Contributors:
Ailera Stone Benjamin McMahon Roxana Halls
Quote by Alan Alda
COVER Photographer: Nathalia Takeuchi Model: Beatrice @Oxygen Models Styling: Danielle Goodman Make-up: Helen Bennett Hair: KT Gal Hairdresser Prop Designs: Sarah G. Photography Assistant: Adriana Takeuchi
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By Nathalia Takeuchi
Styling: Danielle Goodman Make-up: Helen Bennett Hair: KT Gal Hairdresser Prop Designs: Sarah G. Model: Beatrice @Oxygen Models Photography Assistant: Adriana Takeuchi
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Styling Photo 1 Shorts: Sister Jane Necklace: Jewellery by Jaymie Photo 2 Dress: Yunhui An Photo 3 Shirt: Sister Jane Sunglasses: Jewellery by Jaymie Photo 4 Shirt: Sister Jane Sunglasses: Jewellery by Jaymie Photo 5 Trousers: Yunhui An Necklace: Jewellery by Jaymie Photo 6 Dress: Yunhui An Jellies: JuJu Photo 7 Dress: Yunhui An Jellies: JuJu Photo 9 Shirt: Sister Jane Sunglasses: Jewellery by Jaymie
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NATHALIA TAKEUCHI www.nathaliatakeuchi.com nathaliatakeuchiphotography
Nathalia Takeuchi is a 22 year old Brazilian photographer based in London. She studies Photography in London and Graphic Design in Brazil, and uses both practices to create images that have a surreal and dreamy quality. In her series Midsummer Daydream she explores the use of colour and story telling to depict childhood imagination and escapism. She is left-handed, has a twin sister and owns far too many black and grey clothes. If she could be an animal, she would be a fish to explore the deep sea. “I found in photography a way of self-discovery and to escape into an idyllic world, where the sun is always bright and all I can hear are the birds singing and the trees rustling.�
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How do you define fantasy? How do you approach it in your work? For me fantasy is the bond between the real and unreal; the living imagination. I like playing with different compositions and colours to achieve images that don’t look real. What do you love to dream of? Unfortunately, I rarely remember my dreams but I love the ones that make me wake up feeling happy. What’s your most vivid childhood memory? I remember when I was around four, during a visit to a relative’s farm, my twin sister and I saw a family of frogs and they were all wearing clothes. I only believe this can be true because we both saw the same thing! Do you dream in black and white or colour? Colour What comes to your mind when you think of a blank space?
Where do you draw inspiration from? From nature, nice conversations and my memories. How long do you usually sleep? On weekdays I sleep around 6 hours and on weekends 8 or 9 hours if I can. What is your favourite story or narrative? The Lion King. My eyes get teary every time I watch it. Where do you set the limitations of reality? What's your definition of reality? I try not to look for limitations and that is probably the reason why I love using photography to escape reality, where everything is possible. Do you collect anything? I am not obsessed with collecting things, but I do keep lots of stuff that remind me of good memories like concert tickets, plane tickets, old notes, etc. Do you believe in magic?
A blank space reminds me of an endless white room.
I believe in magic but not the one magicians do.
Do you look for the beauty in destruction?
Are you nostalgic?
Definitely, beauty is everywhere and I love finding beauty in unusual places.
Yes, definitely. I always find myself thinking of my past.
Have you ever trespassed?
What’s your idyllic vision of your future?
Yes; the best places to shoot are the ones where we are not allowed in!
Having a lab and a cat, shooting on beautiful locations and travelling around the globe!
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OPEN SHELF BY LUCY JAYNE BLANCHARD
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LUCY JAYNE BLANCHARD Lucy Jayne Blanchard is a London based artist currently completing her BA Photography degree at London College of Communication, University of the Arts London. Her work usually focuses on personal aspects of her life, in particular documenting her feelings, emotions and thought processes in relation to her immediate family and the loss of her son Harley Jae. She believes art is a form of therapy which helps her assess and access her subconscious thoughts and channel them productively to produce a creative outcome. She is heavily influenced by photographers such as Sophie Calle and Richard Avedon and minimalist artists such as Mark Rothko. Freud and his psychoanalytical theories also help construct her work. ‘‘Open Shelf’ is an exploration of absence through artefacts.
lucyjayneblanchard.com
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How do you define fantasy? How do you approach it in your work? Fantasy for me is to be able to dream of ‘nothing’. Pure and white surroundings, peaceful and to achieve a ‘quiet’ mind. What do you love to dream of?
What are you inspired by? Strength and uniqueness. Difference rather than the ordinary. How long do you usually sleep? 7 hours.
Anything and everything that makes me smile. What is your most vivid childhood memory? Being burnt by my late uncle with a cigarette whilst in America. Do you dream in colour or black and white? Black and white or subtle shades. Nightmares usually contain a red colour palette.
What is your favourite story or narrative? ‘The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy’ by Tim Burton. Where do you set the limitations of reality/what’s your definition of reality? Reality is subjective depending on the owner/ partaker of it. Do you collect anything?
What comes to your mind when you think of a blank space?
Only objects that have sentimental value.
A white and endless corridor.
Do you believe in magic?
Do you look for beauty in destruction?
No. Are you nostalgic?
Try to, even if it is a small daisy in a construction site.
Extremely.
Have you ever trespassed?
What’s your idyllic vision of your future?
Yes, at Halloween when I was 15.
To be content.
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Models: Gintare, Gabija, Joginte
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Ailera Stone insists she lives in a tree house at world's end and takes pictures of ships coming home every night. The 22 years old photographer from Vilnius, Lithuania, now lives and studies photography in London. Her favourite letter is A, but that’s not because both her real name and her photography name start with it, and if she was an animal she would be a panther, black cat, raven or maybe even a dragonfly! "I always liked to escape into other worlds through books, movies and music, but I found out that the best way to do that is by taking pictures. My photography is a way to capture moments and make them magical, bring the dreams into this world."
www.ailerastone.com AileraStone Blog: autumninmyveins.blogspot.com
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What comes to your mind when you think of a blank space?
but feel I down about it all too.
Rest, relaxation. Not existing anymore.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Do you collect anything?
Everywhere I can; it can come from anything. Things that inspire me the most are music, books, movies, stories, people and certain locations.
I love vintage keys and pretty old notebooks, even if most of them are still empty. I can't keep myself from buying more every time I see something I really like.
What do you love to dream of?
Anything about mysterious tragic girls.
Worlds where I'm actually happy, where people are better (or there are no actual people). But I do have a lot more bad dreams than good ones. Or maybe I just don't remember the good ones as well.
What’s your most vivid childhood memory?
Do you dream in black and white or colour?
Demons in my ajar closet at night.
Colour. It's hard for me to imagine a dream in black and white, unless it was an old horror movie like dream.
What is your favourite story or narrative?
Are you nostalgic? Very. I'm always recreating all the scenes of my life, and all that could have been, but never was.
Have you ever trespassed? Yes, a couple of times, almost got caught too by security guards and dogs, but it was quite thrilling. I like abandoned places and the weird feeling you get inside them.
Do you look for the beauty in destruction or do you wallow? I do both, I guess. I see a lot of beauty in tragic things and they are part of life, but I can't help
How long do you usually sleep? About 8 hours. Though it doesn't matter how long I sleep, I always find it incredibly hard to wake up and I always feel tired.
Where do you set the limitations of reality? What's your definition of reality? It's extremely hard to tell for me, especially when I spend so much time creating other realities or experiencing realities that someone else created. I'm not limiting reality at all; all of the fiction I read is real for me too, because it's where I exist at that moment. So I would say that every single person has a different reality and we can never
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know how it truly is. We shape reality ourselves.
How do you define fantasy? How do you approach it in your work?
I was always the escaping kind; there’s nothing I love more than to forget about my life and to immerse myself in a good book, movie, show or a game. I’m really obsessive about these things too. If I start a story that I really love, it can take me days and I might not do anything else - not even go to sleep properly - but I will completely give in to it until it’s finished. It is wrong to forget about reality all-together, and it’s not that I do that all the time. My summers are really eventful compared to all the other time, and it’s when I actually live my own life. But when nothing is happening, why not experience other, more exciting realities? I’m constantly in my thoughts if I find life boring, and so I create my own stories then.
How do you use the notion of fantasy and alternative worlds in your work? Something born in the mind and not witnessed in the reality you share with all the ordinary people is fantasy, A lot of the stories I create are influenced by myths and fairy tales; impossible things happen there. Those worlds are a lot more beautiful, and have not been damaged by people like this one is, even if my part in those worlds is sometimes tragic and short lasting.
Do you believe in magic? Absolutely. I believe everything is in our minds and we see the world how we want to and believe it to be. If you don't believe in magic, you'll never be able to see it.
Do you believe in true creativity or do you feel everything is influenced by other
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things? I do think that influence can come in really weird, unbelievable small ways, so yes, probably most of the things are influenced somehow, if not by something direct, than just by the events or details that happened in your life, some of which you might have not consciously comprehended. The mind works in strange ways and we still haven't uncovered so many things about it, so who knows what creates some of our thoughts and if that can actually be proven to be a product of your own mind exclusively. I read a lot of myths and fairy tales, and do research on the internet, because everything's so easily available. I also create mood boards using pictures I find because I have access to the internet, so these influence me.
What makes you continue to take photos? What motivates you? I notice that I start to become neurotic, stressed
out and unstable, and then I know that it's really time to do something with myself to balance it out. But other than that, people who give me feedback and tell me that I inspired them in some way is a huge motivation to continue. If it wasn't for the internet, it would be a lot easier to give up and stop trying.
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PICTURES FROM HOME BY BENJAMIN MCMAHON
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BENJAMIN MCMAHON www.benjaminmcmahon.com He was born in the North, but live in the South and likes to take photographs. He was published in Vogue Magazine, The Gourmand, The Telegraph Magazine, Wire Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine, Elephant Magazine, FT Weekend.
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How do you define fantasy? How do you approach it in your work? I’m really not sure. I grew up with being told hundreds of stories and so many of them were filled with fantasy and magic. I’m not sure my work deals with fantasy though. It’s more just a fantasy that anyone would ever ask me to make pictures.
What do you love to dream of? I think the nicest dreams I have had recently have been about people that aren’t here anymore. There was a lovely one about my Grandma. We didn’t speak in the dream but she was there. It was very comforting and made me think she was watching out for me.
What is your most vivid childhood memory? There are quite a lot of them, my memory has always been pretty good. I remember falling in a pond when I was two or three as I was staring at a toy tractor someone gave me. I went to make some pictures in Whitby the other day and that brought back tons of memories. Being on a boat trip and feeling so sick that the man felt guilty about me sitting below deck and gave my mum her money back.
Do you dream in colour or black and white?
What are you inspired by? Everything really: people, photographs, sounds, music, stories, life.
How long do you usually sleep at night? I’ve never really been a good sleeper. Sometimes I’ll get lucky and get a good 7 hours, sometimes one or two.
What is your favourite story or narrative? Dumbo. Ever since I was a kid. Every time I’d say I can’t do something, or it’s too hard, my Mum would tell me I didn’t need the magic feather.
Where do you set the limitations of reality? What’s your definition of reality? My Mum is a storyteller so I grew up hearing millions of different stories about magic and mythology and things not been quite as you see them so I don’t think I really have one. Not yet anyway.
Do you collect anything? Everything really. I have boxes and boxes of things back home. I used to collect, yo-yos, McDonald’s toys, cars and now I suppose I collect photographs.
Do you believe in magic?
Both. I used to only ever want to make black and white pictures but I’ve gone the other way now.
I used to work as a magician so I should definitely say yes.
What comes to your mind when you think of a blank space?
Are you nostalgic?
I don’t think I’ve ever managed to empty my head enough to find out.
Do you look for beauty in destruction? I’m not sure I do that, no.
Extremely. I save most things. Cinema tickets, receipts from dates and things like that. I’ve boxes of post it notes of reminders and notebooks.
What’s your idyllic vision of your future? Making pictures is all I’ve ever really wanted to do so as long as I can continue to do so and make them better and more interesting I’ll be happy.
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By Selene Alexia
Model: Stacey Johnson Dresses: Joanne Fleming www.joanneflemingdesign.com .
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Selene Alexia is a South-African, Cypriot artist who discovered her passion for photography while studying architecture in the US. She is currently working and studying photography in London. Her work combines conceptual photography with fashion, and raises themes related to fantasy and escapism. She creates other worlds within each photograph, with the aim of plunging viewers into these fragmented glimpses of an alternate reality, challenging them to continue the stories she presents. She creates complex photographic composites in Photoshop, which appear realistic, but in fact often contains more than 50 individual photographs. She is a white wolf by nature, sharing many character traits with the wild animals, and adores to cook, especially food that blends many flavours together. Plus, she can’t stay away from chocolate from too long. Her series Forsaken Allure tells the story of a girl who was transported out of her time, to a place where her home is now in ruins and she is suddenly grown up. She finds herself lost somewhere between the realms of fantasy and reality. “Photography blends both truth and deception in a way that I feel no other art form can. You can never be sure where the lines are.”
www.selenealexia.com SeleneAlexiaPhotography
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What comes to your mind when you think of a blank space? A completely black space that engulfs you, and yet isn’t scary or intimidating. A blank space is more of a feeling for me than a visual thing. It’s a very comforting sort of darkness.
Do you collect anything? So many things! Mainly books, but also little things, like butterfly decorations and pins from tournaments I was part of. I also love collecting keys of all shapes and sizes, since I feel each hold a mystery. These keys inspire me so much.
myself entirely nostalgic. When I’m in a new place I generally don’t feel the need to return home, so saying I either am or am not nostalgic would not be truthful.
Have you ever trespassed? Yes I have. I completely fell in love with Lillesden school for girls, which is where this series was shot. I shot there on three different days and felt so inspired every time. It makes me sad knowing how many beautiful places have been torn down, but I guess that’s something that adds to the magic of visiting these sites.
Do you look for the beauty in destruction? What is your favourite story or narrative? The Night Angel trilogy, by Brent Weeks. Read it. No discussion.
Always. I believe that finding the little things that make every moment beautiful is really important in life. Those little things are what give me strength and courage.
What’s your most vivid childhood memory?
What do you love to dream of?
I built a tree house with this former neighbour of mine called Valentino, who was then one of my best friends, near his house. It took us a long time to get all the log planks up the olive tree and nail everything together, but we both really enjoyed it. We even took old kitchen towels and made curtains out of them for the windows of our little tree house.
Are you nostalgic? Yes and no. There are a lot of things in my past that I long for or dream of, but at the same time I try to remain focused on the present and on the future, and try accepting that past is past. I think everyone desires something from their past, like the innocence of childhood, but I can’t consider
I dream very vividly of stories that I later either write or create photoshoots of (or both!) I love those nights.
Do you dream in black and white or colour? Colour! I don’t actually believe anyone dreams in black and white, except maybe dogs, and even of that I’m not convinced.
How long do you usually sleep? Not long at all. Usually between 4 and 7 hours. I’m a morning person who also happens to love staying up late, so that doesn’t leave much time for sleep
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but I’m used to it.
What’s your idyllic vision of the future? A place where people are able to accept and support each other, with a high cultural appreciation. A world where people are able to find and pursue their passion, and everyone is able to work and contribute to society in some way or another.
Where do you set the limitations of reality/what’s your definition of reality? Reality for me is what you feel, see and understand every day. Each person has their own reality, moulded by the way they’re able to perceive the world. I believe we all view the world through certain filters, which are based on things like our past experiences and our mood. The only limitations in reality are physical; for example, I personally can’t fly out the window or teleport to Angel Falls, but in my fantasy I can. I believe any other “limitations” such as money and social constraints are something that we can change, so I personally refuse to view these as limitations but rather as challenges.
How do you define fantasy? How do you approach it in your work? Fantasy for me is everything. It’s the other worlds I create in my minds and feel I almost live in; it’s my daydreams and nightmares; it’s the worlds I escape to when reading, writing or creating. It’s that which surpasses the physical limitations of reality, gives me life and helps me dream of a better tomorrow. I at the moment I include fantasy in my work literally by creating scenes that cannot physically exist, by creating elaborate composites of many images in Photoshop. These are scenes from stories or alternate worlds that I’ve imagined. I also believe that if we didn’t dream or live in
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a realm of fantasy, we would not be able to improve the world we live in, so I try immerse the audience in a fantasy that’s the combined creation between myself and the viewer.
Do you believe in magic? Yes. If we don’t, the world would be a pretty boring place, don’t you think?
What makes you continue to take photos? What motivates you? The joy and pride I feel when I’m able to create something that I visualized in my mind keeps me going. Photography and writing are the two ways I explore and express my inner world, so I can’t stay away for long. If I haven’t created something for a while, I start dreaming of that story constantly, and everything I see during my day is somehow related to this story. It drives me half crazy until I do write it down or photograph it.
Do you believe in true creativity, or do you feel everything is influenced by something else? I feel that everything we make has been created in some form, or another, in the past. So it’s impossible to produce something completely new. That doesn’t make it any less unique or creative in my mind. If you take a photo of a girl levitating on a beach, that image won’t ever be exactly the same as one created by someone else because of how distinctive each of our perceptions of reality are. I believe we are constantly influenced and inspired by everything around us and everything that we have experienced. These are the things which make us unique, and are what influence our creative expression. The concepts behind an image may not be innovative, but the way they come together is.
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Cassie Carthy is a London born photographer, currently studying at the London College of Communications. Her work is driven by the interactions and collaborations with children in her life, exploring their perspectives on events and their unlimited imaginations, finding her place in the grey area between Fine art and Fashion photography.
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How do you define fantasy? How do you approach it in your work? Fantasy, for me, is the product of your imagination manipulating the reality you are in, or wish to be in. I think it’s a broad term, which can involve extreme things such as alternate realms and altered scenes of your current reality, to create something that you desire; whether it be the fantasy of a flying dragon at Hogwarts or just daydreaming of when your shift ends and you can walk through the golden arches of McDonalds with the sun shining. For me personally, photography is a means of escape. It allows me to create worlds and scenes that fascinate and entertain me when my reality fails to do so. My work always has a reference to, or root in films or music. These industries to me encompass my definition of fantasy, so I take a particular part, or idea, from a film or book or song and I attempt to stretch it and to mould it into a fantasy that intrigues me.
What do you love to dream of? I wouldn’t say I love any of my dreams because I don’t have a choice over what I am dreaming of. I would say that I am intrigue by dreams, by their structure, or rather lack of, by what influences them, what they can say, and what they can mean. My dreams tend to be fragments of what might happen the next day, so the scene and the narrative change but the people are always constant - they are people who mean a lot to me, and who are very close to me. Even in my ‘dream realm’ my relationships are rooted in reality. I don’t particularly enjoy dreaming because it makes me feel a little anxious knowing that I am not in control, but that it is generated by something within my subconscious. It scares me to have a part of myself that I cannot control. My dreams though usually fade away after about 10 minutes of waking up, so I can no longer remember any details of the dream, though I know that I have had a dream and that whatever happened unnerved me somehow. Maybe that’s why I feel the need to create these photographic fantasies. To regain control and have a definite image that I can say “that’s what happened,” and be safe in the knowledge that its not going to disappear.
What’s your most vivid childhood memory? Going to Chessington World Of Adventures, a theme park, when I was about eight years old, and still in key stage one of primary school . We took my ‘boyfriend’ at the time with us, which was exciting. We were on a ride called Dragon Falls, which is like a log flume, and we had just gone down the flume into the dragons mouth into pitch black; everything was quiet; all you could hear was the water as the boat slowly made its way through the tunnel. I then felt him kiss me on the cheek - just a peck - and I remember all of the excitement and adrenaline of the ride just washed away as I tried to work out if it really happened. The boat came out of the tunnel and I looked at him to see if he would say anything, but all he did was give me this guilty smile, and it was like the tunnel swallowed the moment. The secret of the kiss lay on the dragons tongue, and it would always be a mystery. I liked that idea so I never actually asked him if he did, but I heard him telling his friends in school the next Monday. He moved away not long after. We had a school disco on the day he left school, where we took a picture together to remember each other by. When I looked at the picture once it was developed I saw that a boy had walked behind us when we were taking the picture, wearing a black shirt with a red dragon on it, and it made me smile, as though the dragon was reminding me that he was part of our story and should be documented just like we were. I still have that picture. It always makes me smile.
Do you dream in black and white or colour? I’m not sure. I think the events of the dream drown out other details like the colour. I would say they are colourless but not black and white. They’re faded or muted, but whether that is just my memory of them I don’t know.
What comes to your mind when you think of a blank space? Visually it would be all white like a never-ending screen: no corners, no doors, and no hint of a shape.
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I would be able to see myself standing there as though it is an out of body experience. Perhaps that’s my way of dealing with the idea of being truly alone, by making it so I’m not the one that’s alone, but that I’m just seeing it in my mind.
come from anywhere, that why its so hard to define something that will trigger my imagination to shove an image in my head and bug me until I have produced it to the standard that it wants, and until I do that it will haunt me.
Do you look for the beauty in destruction?
How long do you usually sleep?
Of course. I think its something that everybody does, whether consciously or not. As human beings its innate in us to evolve and adapt, and part of that is to find something beautiful, whether that is visually or atmospherically, in order to start to upgrade our reality. We constantly seek things which are bigger, better and brighter, and in order to achieve this we have to be able to find the parts that are the best and grow on them. We wouldn’t live in the world that we live in if we didn’t. We wouldn’t have things like art and photography, if we just saw destruction. We also wouldn’t feel the need for improvement because there would be nothing to improve on; nothing to start from. If there was no beauty what would you point your camera at?
I sleep in hour-long intervals. It is very rare that I sleep straight through the night, but I am a serial napper. I love napping. I am a night owl, practically nocturnal as my friends say, and my general sleep cycle would be to fall asleep between 5 and 7 am wake up at 8. I apparently have a natural alarm clock. If I don’t have to get up then I will drift off to sleep around 9 and get up between 10 and 11. If I have the chance I will take an hours nap in the day although I don’t get to do that as much as I would like.
Have you ever trespassed? I wouldn’t say I make a habit of it, but yes I have. Back in Ireland, where my family is from, there is an abandoned castle which we explored more than once, but the way I see it is we are giving the building back a purpose otherwise it would just be standing there for nothing.
Where do you draw inspiration from? There are a select few artist who have greatly influence my work, and helped mould what I would photograph, and how I would do this. Photographers such as Sally Mann, Jill Goldber, Vee Speers, and the collaborative group Aes + F to name a few. They continually reappear when I am generating a project. In terms of inspiration, as corny as it sounds, it can
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What is your favourite story or narrative? My favourite narratives are Moulin Rouge, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Beetlejuice. I enjoy reading and always have; if I don’t have a book on the go I feel as though I’m being lazy somehow, but these stories never really stay with me like movies do. These movies have been my favourite since I was very young. They encompass what my work is about, and they deal with issues and situations you would find in your every day life with characters who are ‘real’ in terms of personality, but are conveyed in this fantastical mysterious realm that is familiar and yet alien at the same time. They have the perfect amount of humour, emotion and visual excitement so that I don’t get bored.
Where do you set the limitations of reality? What’s your definition of reality? Visually I believe there are no limitations, because you can make something in your reality. I believe reality lacks control, and harbours so many ugly things, namely humans, our behaviour, thoughts,
and prejudices. The main limitation I feel is not being free of these things. It is only when you are inside your imagination, creating your fantasies, that you are truly free. Once you ground yourself and you present your work, these things are there again on the shoulders of your critics whispering in their ears. I would say that reality is any moment that you have lived, and if you are someone who is fortunate enough to be able to live inside their own head and truly experience their fantasies, then your limitations on reality are lessened as they are now dependent upon your imagination, and can include anything you can conceive of.
Do you collect anything? Yes, and my excuse is that everything can be a prop. I have a growing collection of clothes as I refuse to let go of outfits that I have photographed, if they are mine to keep of course. I feel that the clothes hold an element of the magic of the moment photographed. Of course I can reuse outfits, but I guess I hold onto them for sentimental reasons. I also collect books, as I think they are an amazing thing to have, regardless of their content. Also just interesting looking things: walking sticks, hats, unusual objects that can be kept and photographed when needed. This means I never get bored in my room, because there is so much to look at. My Mum always jokes that I’m going to be a hoarder, and sometimes in panic, I decide to get rid of a few thing. That feeling quickly vanishes as I realize that I don’t want to part with my stuff and the solution is to get better storage or a bigger room!
Do you believe in magic? That depends on the definition of Magic. I define Magic as an atmosphere of awe and wonderment, with the ability to capture your attention and engulf your imagination, whether this is through illusion, beauty or religion. For me personally, magic is about the moments in reality where I feel I am not limited, such as the excitement of a photo shoot, where you forget that this scene you have created is not actually the world in which you live in, and for that moment you enjoy it.
Are you nostalgic? Very much so. I dwell on things and obsessively think of how I could have done something better so my mind is always in the past. The older I get, the worse the world seems to me, since you understand the darker side of people, even those people you love, and you are let in on secrets that shatter your saint-like view of people which you can never change again. The world seems more manipulative, with so much politics and ethics. The world of a child is blunt and honest; if they don’t like something they say it. Children are by far not innocent angelic creatures. They are cruel, and selfish but they have it worked out: their life is simple because that’s the way they make it. They do as they need and please, they work from instincts, are organic and wise, and seem as though they have a lot to learn, whereas, I believe we make their lives more complex and twisted and sinister by teaching them life lessons. That’s why I take photos of children. It is my way of holding onto that world. I am corrupt now that I am older so I cannot fully return to it, no matter how many times I watch Peter Pan, so the only way I can enjoy it is to witness and experience it through my lens, and to make sure there is that natural barrier between the worlds.
What’s your idyllic vision of your future? In terms of my career, to be able to live from just photography and be able to take the images that intrigue and fascinate me rather then have to conform too much. Adapting is natural as it invokes the need to evolve, which betters your work, but I hope that I won’t have to lose the essence of my work. To be able to pick up a Magazine off the shelf and see my work in it, or have my photo book in a shop, and to be able to feel the proud feeling of standing in your own exhibition, safe in the knowledge that tomorrow you get to continue living this life by creating the next series. I suppose if we are talking idyllically, then I would like to have my own studio, perhaps my own magazine, and have made my mark in the art world however small or big that mark is.
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