Could you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I am a photo artist working from Melbourne. I grew up in remote mining towns in central Queensland (Emerald and Capella mainly), I travelled a lot as a child, even having 4 months off school at one stage so we could travel right around Australia. My homework for those 4 months was to write a foolscap page each day of what we did. I then worked and travelled overseas as a hairdresser for 8 years before moving to Melbourne in 1999 to begin a career in photography.
When did your interest in photography first begin?
I have always been artistic but it has taken me a long time to find my medium. I wasn’t one of those people who was given a camera at a young age and went wow and that was that. I used to paint, sew, bake and design elaborate cakes, I can make just about anything with my hands. My first career was hairdressing and I had a great time creating weird and wonderful hairstyles. I went through this fantastic transition where I combined my urge to create with the beginnings of my interest in photography. I shaved elaborate patterns into peoples hair with a cut throat razor and then painted them and photographed them. This painted hair project ended up being the very first exhibition I had. It was held at the Blue Train cafe in Melbourne.
I was drawn to photography as it incorporated all my skills. I often panit backgrounds, make props, do the hair and make up. Sometimes I don’t think of myself as a photographer as the action of taking the photo is such a small part, I am a set designer, hair and make up artist, costume maker. Basically I create a theatrical production in front of the camera and then shoot it.
What influences and inspires your work?
Daily life influences and inspires my work. I always keep a little sketch pad in my bag, and write or scribble ideas down. I could be sitting on a tram, or riding my bike or at the movies. It is just those split second glimpses of that light or that person that inspires an idea.
I was first inspired by photography when I saw Jerry Uelsmann work. I love surrealism. I think my first interest in art as a child was discovering Salvadir Dali. My most recent influence has been Miranda July. She is fantastic, so multi-talented. I love her film “Me myself and everyone I know”. Miranda is a filmmaker, performing artist and writer.
How has your style of photography changed since you first began?
The main change in my photography has been that I am slowly mocing further and further away from technology. I have always shot on film with medium format and then scanned the images to do manipulations and montages. However I am increasingly finding that my time and energy is being taken away by my computer, so I am moving more and more towards shooting in camera. I am also moving from medium format to large format. This gives me a transparency of 5 x 4 inch and allows me to have even more clarity when enlarging the images for exhibiting. I want to be in front of the camera creating, not stuck at a computer manipulating or downloading.
Do you ever have creative slumps? How do you break out of them?
So far I have not had a creative slump. I guess the closest thing to it would be the whole proces of organizing and having an exhibition. I always give myself several months off after completing a body of work and having an exhibition.
Were the images in your latest exhibition ‘Childhood Fears’ your own fears as a child?
I think it is hard to separate artwork from your own self as it comes from your imagination, which is fed from your life. These are not directly my fears but a collection of experiences I have seen in my life. The fear of abandonment, the fear of being left out or not belonging are common to us all. These are my interpretations of those fears.
What was it about the theme “Childhood Fears” that fascinated you?
It is where our innermost thoughts and emotions are played out. I wanted to show that dangers of the imagination are just as potent as the fears felt in reality. They are often not rationally understood, however the effects are no less significant.
Your images have the feeling of watching a movie – is it difficult to tell your stories with still images?
No, not at all. I feel it enhances the imagination of the viewer. My images are a snapshot, mid moment, they don’t begin or end. It leaves you to your own imagination, to draw your own conclusions.
Your photos are taken traditionally (with film) and then enhanced digitally afterwards – how has technology changed the way you work as a photographer?
Mostly it has allowed me to create my images with a very small budget. It has opened up the door to unlimited creativity. There are certain images that I have montaged together which technically could have been shot in camera, given unlimited time and budget. It allows me to create without limitations. I use Photoshop as a tool not a feature.
The subjects in your photos mimic the surreal. Do dreams ever influence your work?
Not dreams necessarily, but that moment in bed just before you go to sleep, when your mind has all the day’s events jumping around, and then your mind becomes clear just before you sleep. I keep a sketch book beside my bed and a great deal of my ideas come to me just before I go to sleep.
How long does it take to plan a photo shoot for an exhibition – what is the creative process?
I plan my compositions using scrapbooks of drawings and collages to construct a mood and a balanced visual theme, I spend time experimenting with colours. I then source and adapt or design the locations or studio sets. I am constantly rummaging through second hand shops sourcing props or just plain making them if I can’t find what I’m looking for. I am lucky that I am good with my hands and have been able to turn my talents into set design and styling and as I was a hairdresser I also do the hair and make up for the shoots. It is important to me to control every aspect of the image. It is the finer detail that can make or break an image. It can take anywhere from 1 to 3 months to plan a shoot. Sketching the idea, sourcing the props, model, location etc. I am absolutely definite about detail and if I decide that I want a blue bird with a pink beak then I will go to the nth degree to find it, and won’t settle for anything less. Basically in short it goes like this, I story board my images first, then source the details, then shoot, then digital post production.
And lastly, what’s the biggest thrill you have had as a photographer?
Being able to have the opportunity in life to work in a creative way. To create and construct images from my imagination and enjoy what I do.