The Creative Issue
M U S I C + A R T + FA S H I O N + H O M E + T R AV E L
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HILARY FAYE SLOANE
A triple threat, this photographer is also a graphic designer and collage artist with a few projects on the go.
Do you remember your early relationship with photography? Photographing significant moments was always important in my family, so I've been lucky to grow up around this obsession with documentation. My dad took it upon himself to be the designated photographer of the family and has built a large collection of memories on film. At the time I often found it annoying having a camera intruding on these moments but now I am grateful to have this archive to look back on. I didn't start taking my own photos until my teens when I took the subject darkroom photography, which involved making pinhole cameras and developing our own photos. In retrospect, it’s almost unbelievable that this subject was offered in a rural public high school – I hope that darkroom is still in action.
relief from the computer screen. There's nothing quite like making something with your actual hands.
What’s something you’d love to photograph but haven’t yet? I'd really like to utilise my photography to tell an important story that hasn’t yet been heard. I suppose I’d like to move away from travel photography and more towards photo essays, so I can produce more in-depth work.
What three things can’t you live without? Learning. Cycling. Conversation.
How do you think being Australian affects your work? Growing up in predominately white rural Australia, which can be very monocultural, made me eager to get outside and find out what else is going on in the world.
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What do you do when not taking photos? I make a living by doing graphic design and also have a couple of other creative outlets such as collaging and animation. I find making collages a very satisfying labour and a welcome
When/where do you get your best ideas? Internally, the way I view the world and my values shape what I find beautiful or how I find it. External inspiration intensifies, of course, when I’m travelling. To be honest, I’m not sure why I compose certain photographs. I just go with what feels right and try not to overthink. What’s been your favourite place to photograph overseas? I know it’s such a cliché to say, but India really is an incredible place, an onslaught on your senses. I only saw a tiny fraction of the country and hope to go back one day.
Whose work leaves you mesmerised? I’ve always loved Tracey Moffatt’s work. In more recent times: Harley Weir, Richard Mosse, Osma Harvilahti, Daisuke Yokota and Nguan. What are you working on? I’m currently taking a break from graphic design and travelling around North East Asia. I’ve really enjoyed working on some collaborative photoshoots before leaving Melbourne, and would love to find some similar projects while I’m in Asia. So who knows what I’ll be working on next! hilaryfaye.com and @hilary__faye
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FLORA Foraging for plants, riding in buggy carts and toiling on Photoshop are all part of a day's work for photographer Lilli Waters. PHOTOS LILLI WATERS
What’s the story behind your series 'Pistil (Floral Seduction)'? 'Pistil' is a series of photographic images which reunites female figures with inflorescent arrangements using a layered aesthetic. Finding inspiration through nature, there is a focus on the finer details of the plants, revealing the vitality, strangeness and fragility; the sensuality and feminine allure inherent in the flora. This series exposes a woman's deeply-rooted connection to nature and fertility and the ways in which she relates directly and symbolically to the plant world. When did you get the idea for the series? Saint Cloche, a gallery in Sydney, asked me to photograph a series based on botanicals. At first I was a little intimidated not having a huge knowledge of plants, but my mother is a botanical painter, so I was surrounded by paintings of plants on the walls and spent many hours as a child playing in the bush and climbing trees, so this series most certainly ties in with my influences and close bond with nature. In the beginning, I was using mainly foraged things from around my neighbourhood, including weeds which were easy to grab, and then sought out more unusual and tropical plants, such as the South African Lilies. How have you created the images? My little sister was kind enough to lend me her little space with its beautiful natural window light and a few extra hands on some days; on others it has been in my backyard. The beautiful plants have come from several different places: local foragers and florists, the Melbourne flower show, as well as The Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, who were kind enough to drive me around on the back of a buggy and collect handfuls of anything I wanted. I felt like royalty on that buggy with my buckets full. All of the images are manipulated in some way. I can’t paint and so Photoshop acts as my paintbrush.
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You also photograph weddings; how do you balance personal projects with work? A few years ago I started a wedding photography business called I Got You Babe, so nowadays I find myself in the company of loved-up couples in the more summery months. Once the days begin to calm
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THE UNKNOWN RIDER Stick ’em up or stick ’em together, the choice is yours. Michael Tunk, collage artist and creator of 'The Unknown Rider' series, wows us with some wild, Wild West. WORDS JANA ROOSE ART MICHAEL TUNK
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THE ESSENTIALS
Fact: creatives always surround themselves with interesting items. So we got three such ladies to show us their favoured loot.
Alanna Quinn theayu.com.au What did you want to be as a kid? I forever had my head in books and wanted to be a writer of some sort. That, and being on Young Talent Time. I used to pester my mum to take me out to the talent school to try out but we never made it out there (and probably for good reason). What do you do now? I’ve just finished my studies in Ayurveda as an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant, along with becoming a mother. I also work with a close friend on our Vedic-inspired perfume brand Ayu. If you could swap possessions with anyone, who would it be? I’m not sure there’s anyone I’d want to swap possessions with, I’m pretty happy with what I have. What’s something you didn’t buy, but wish you had? Usually after no more than an hour’s deliberation I’ve succumbed and bought it.
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What is your most impressive little-known skill? A karaoke rendition of Daryl Braithwaite’s ‘Horses’.
What bores you? Technology. It over complicates things for me and I’m very simple in this area! What excites you? Exploring the world. What does the rest of 2016 have in store for you? Expanding our range of perfumes for Ayu and exploring new categories. My favourite things… IN BED linen sheets: I’ve had my fair share of lying in bed trying to catch up on sleep since my baby arrived and linen sheets make it all the more enticing and hard to leave. I think I own just about every colour of IN BED sheets there are. Ayu Perfume oil: I never leave the house without putting on some of our scented oil. At the moment my current favourite is our amber-based Ode scent. Matin Studio: I’m loving this beautiful brand, it’s super comfortable and easy to wear. Fresh flowers: Every weekend we go to the markets to buy fresh flowers for the house; the more fragrant the better Chai tea: I need my daily dose of chai tea and love nothing more than blending up my own batch of Ayurvedic spices and brewing tea on the weekends.
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Kareena Zerefos kareenazerefos.com What did you want to be as a kid? I always wanted to be an artist when I grew up... and someone that rescues wild animals or abandoned pets. What do you do now? Unfortunately I live in a small apartment, so I haven’t been able to pursue my dream of being a halfway house for animals… but, I’m an artist. I spend most of my time drawing, painting, making and doing a little design. I also run a store supporting local, independent artists, called Lawrence St Makers. If you could swap possessions with anyone, who would it be? Hmm. I’m not sure if it counts, but I remember visiting the Château Grimaldi in Antibes, France as a teenager, where Picasso lived and painted for a short time. I wouldn’t mind swapping my warehouse studio for an ancient acropolis on the Mediterranean. If that’s too much to ask, I’d like to swap a painting with Melbourne artist, Adam Lee. What’s something you didn’t buy, but wish you had? I wish I’d bought one of John Dolan’s sketches, when I’d pass by him sitting on the pavement with his dog in Shoreditch. What is your most impressive little-known skill? A great sense of direction. Well, at least I think it’s impressive. I’m a geography nerd, and like to think I’m like a migratory bird. What bores you? Status anxiety, but I don’t mean the accessories brand (because they’re genuinely great!). I mean feeling like you have to ‘keep up with the Joneses, as they say. What excites you? Travelling to new places, or returning to old places with new eyes.
What does the rest of 2016 have in store for you? More drawing, painting, making and a little design. I’m planning to have a solo exhibition in Melbourne later in the year, and also to finish my Masters. My favourite things… The Hare screen-print: Symbolically I find the hare to be an embodiment of intuition and transformation, and can be a guide for connecting us to universal cycles and movement. Lily Lim ceramics: I met Lily through my store Lawrence St Makers. I fell in love with the fragility and delicacy of her white and gold pieces, so I had to keep a pair for myself. Max Berry’s Blackberries & Broken Trunks painting: Max and I both studied at the College of Fine Arts, and I’ve been in awe of his work from those early days. This work resonated a sense of connectedness to self and also to nature. Wooden board: It was an unexpected gift from a local fellow, who I’d never met before, called Peter. He handcrafts these lovely boards from offcuts of timber as a hobby. Natalie Marie rings: I love her fine, intricate jewellery. The organic twig-like ring was a gift from my sister for my 30th birthday. Golden Eye ointment: last year I took the train from Sydney to Broken Hill. A group of us took a detour to nearby Silverton, where I found this tiny ointment jar. I think it’s from the Victorian era.
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ROADSIDE PHOTOS DAVID COHEN DE LARA FASHION NICKI COLBRAN
This page: Carson Darling-Blair dress, $POA. Sarah & Sebastian earring, $1,350 (worn throughout). Henson signet ring from Poepke, $275 (worn throughout). Opposite: Acne top, $1,000. Zimmermann pants, $250. Reliquia earring, $110 (worn throughout).
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HOUSE ON THE CORNER
A butcher's shop to a bead store, it now plays home to ceramicist Carly Buteux, her boyfriend Joe and their dog Bam. PHOTOS LYNDEN FOSS STYLING TAHNEE CARROLL
Our House We live in a corner shop space in the Inner West suburb of Marrickville. We’ve lived here for about a year and a half and really love the independent community of the area – there are a bunch of small breweries close by and we have a really great farmers’ market. I live here with my boyfriend Joe and our dog Bam. We have a shared workspace out the back where I make ceramics for my label Public Holiday. Joe is a top-notch bicycle mechanic and works partly from our space and also at a bike shop. Cupid Joe and I met through mutual friends and hit it off straight away. On our first date he made me dinner and drew me a picture of Godzilla which sealed the deal. The Hood Our street is filled with long-residing lovely old ladies who tell us our home was originally a butcher’s shop. The previous owner also ran a bead shop in here too. It used to have a children’s mural on the outside – we’re about to have local illustrator Georgia Hill bring new life to the exterior with one of her amazing patterned black and white murals. Public Holiday My ceramics label is about fun, functional and experimental forms. I make mugs, bowls, spoons, planters and all types of objects to enhance daily life. I have been making ceramics for almost three years. It began with an urge to get my hands dirty and the need to escape from the computer. I started night classes and was immediately hooked.
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