Yen 85 – Photo Issue

PHOTO ISSUE Selfies, Bad Gals Club, Stonefield and Emma Louise

M U S I C + A R T + FA S H I O N + H O M E + T R AV E L

YEN GUEST ARTIST PAGE

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JENNY SHARAF

Streams of paint and photographic prints collide in this San Francisco-based artist’s work.

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YEN GUEST ARTIST PAGE

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YEN INTERVIEW

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A SAFE SPACE

Photographer Sarah Stockman takes us inside Bad Gals Club, one of the many private feminist groups on Facebook.

PHOTOS SARAH STOCKMAN

Can you tell us a bit about the Bad Gals Club? Bad Gals Club is one of many closed feminist Facebook groups that have popped up in the past couple years. Originally we were mostly people from Melbourne but we’ve expanded to include members from the rest of Australia and overseas.

It started as a group of musicians looking for a place to network and just talk about life. Now it’s a safe space or as close as we can get to that, for anyone who identifies as a Bad Gal and wants to be a part of an online community.

How did you come across it? It’s a private closed group so to become a member someone who is already a member has to add you. My friend added me out of the blue one day back when the group hadn’t reached its 1,000-gal cap yet, so I was approved by an admin pretty much straight away.

At first I had no idea what it was, but it very quickly became the only reason I go on Facebook.

What are your Bad Gals credentials? I think a Bad Gal is free to define themselves as long as it doesn’t cut down or oppress another Bad Gal. So really my Bad Gal credentials are just that, a ‘screw your social conditioning’ I’m here to speak for myself kinda attitude, a belief that we are all so much more than others have perceived us to be in the past or unfortunately present, a love for all my fellow BGs and a desire to listen and share with them all.

What have you taken from the Club? It’s such a hard thing to pin down because it’s forever evolving, as I’m still a member. So other than this series which really is just the gift that keeps on giving, I’ve made friends, I’ve felt supported and received advice when I needed it, and I got to give back when others needed the same. It’s given me a community driven to support and educate each other as they navigate the world as an intersectional feminist. It’s given us a place to be unashamed to be angry or sexual or sad or proud, you’re free to be exactly who you are, and who you might normally hide online or in your everyday life.

It’s a constant source of self-reflection and an opportunity to learn and better yourself. Also it’s just so fun, it’s really hilarious a lot of the time because it’s so honest. It’s like going out for drinks with a 1,000 close friends but you’re actually just sitting on your couch and they’re these people, some that you know and some that you really don’t, but you feel close because you’re all a part of the same thing.

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When did you get the idea to do a series of the women involved? As a photographer I compulsively feel the need to

document my life and those around me. This group has been a significant part of my life and online activity for the past year so naturally I wanted to try to capture it. I also don’t think there are enough women photographing women in the way that they would like to be depicted.

Were members open to it? I posted in the group originally thinking I’d get a handful of responses, but the response I got was far more enthusiastic than I was expecting, which was great but also meant I had to choose between people at the beginning. Really no convincing was needed at all, everyone that volunteered was overjoyed to be a part of it and were so open and accommodating I really couldn’t have been happier with it all.

Same goes for when I did the first interview about the series, everyone was really on board, we discussed with the admins what would be appropriate to share with the outside world and what wouldn’t. Obviously it’s a private community and talking about what goes on inside needed to be approached with sensitivity. Right from the start, before I knew this series would gain any attention, I told everyone that they had full control over their images; that the images at the heart of it all are something special for them and I, and subsequently would never be published anywhere without their consent. I’ve stuck to that and everyone seems really thrilled and honoured to be a part of something that’s being used as a platform to talk about online spaces for women and non-binary people.

What did you want to capture in these portraits? For the most part, I make work for my own satisfaction and for the people I photograph. Portraits have been my main creative outlet or subject matter for a while now, whether I choose to embed more meaning or discuss things within it, or if i’m just out there to take pictures of the people around me and document our lives.

I’ve always gone into shooting my friends or strangers/ models with an outlook that I want to photograph them how they want to be photographed and perceived. I want the people I photograph to have something they can look back on and be proud of or happy with forever; hopefully with more sentimentality and pride than just happy snaps from an event or the selfies they’ve taken on their phones. That’s part of the reason I always shoot film, apart from its artistic advantage in comparison to digital, I think it has more of a timeless sentimentality to it and a different approach than the digital media that floods our lives, one that maybe will stand out from the rest later on.

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YEN PHOTO

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LOST IN EGYPT Step inside Italian photographer Claudia Corrent’s cotton candy pastel dreams of the desert and the Red Sea. PHOTOS CLAUDIA CORRENT

Who are you and what do you do? My name is Claudia Corrent and I am a freelance photographer. I have a humanistic background and I graduated in philosophy.

Where did you grow up? I grew up in a small town in northern Italy. My city is called Bolzano and is in the midst of the Alps. It is 300 kilometres from Venice.

My hometown is interesting because I live on the border with Germany, so it is a borderland where identity is a concept in transformation and is inextricably connected to the territory.

When did you first start taking photographs? When I was a young girl, when my father gave me a camera. While at university I did some photography courses and from there I realised that photography was a great way to tell stories.

What did you learn at university and how do you use it now? I’m finishing my last exams and my thesis will be devoted to the philosophy of the landscape and landscape photography in Italian photographers. Philosophy is a wonderful discipline although it may seem of little use, actually in thinking, trying to determine what are the platitudes, banalities, is one way to think deeply about things. So it was very useful as a basis for understanding and investigating with an eye.

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SWEET JEET PHOTOS JOSHUA HEATH FASHION NICKI COLBRAN

This page: Michael Lo Sordo top, $599. COS skirt, $150.

Opposite: Max Mara jumpsuit, $1,260. Acne boots, $760 (worn throughout). Sarah & Sebastian earring, $170 (worn throughout).

YEN BEAUTY

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GET A GOOD WHIFF Let Mother Nature inspire the fragrances you wear.

DIRECTION ISABELLA SCHIMID & CLAYTON ILOLAHIA PHOTOS NOEL MCLAUGHLIN STYLING IMOGENE ROACHE

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SPRING Zadig & Voltaire This is Her! 50ml, $95. Hermes Muguet Porcelaine 100ml, $325. Atelier Cologne Jasmin Angelique 100ml, $215.

Frederic Malle Carnal Flower Body Butter 200ml, $254. Prada Les Infusions de Prada Mimosa 100ml, $175.

YEN BEAUTY

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SUMMER Malin & Goetz Citron Vert 100ml, $226. Lubin Gin Fizz 100ml, $269. Santa Maria Novella Acqua di Fior d’Arancio 250ml, $40. Etat Libre d’Orange Cologne 100ml, $185.

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YEN MODE

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UP NORTH

Take a twirl around Kirby Pill and Luke Daniel's retro surf-inspired home.

PHOTOS LYNDEN FOSS STYLING TAHNEE CARROLL

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YEN MODE

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Our House We live in a lovely little fibro cottage in Knockrow, Northern Rivers NSW. The house has been moved around the street (which used to be one huge property) a few times; our 94-yearold neighbour Violet told us she spent a part of her childhood in the place which is cool. We have only been here a few months after making the move up from Sydney. Myself, my partner Luke and our little Olive Bloom live there. I’m a stylist/ visual merchandiser and co-run a vintage label, Sybil & Johnny (sybilandjohnny.com.au), and Luke hand shapes surfboards under Daniels Surfboards.

The Hood There is a strong community presence around this whole area in every little town, people always give you time, eye contact and a sweet smile. It’s so comforting knowing Olive will grow up around such great energy.

Paths Crossed We met through mutual friends in Bali. I was living on the Gold Coast at that time and planning my move to the big smoke (Sydney). We kept in contact, met up again after I made the move and we’ve had a lot of fun times since. Luke and I love going to gigs – especially now with miss Bloom in our lives, dates are few and far between so we make the most of a night off and go see live music. Most memorable was when Luke surprised me with tickets to Unwritten Law for my birthday. I was so excited I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face and we had the best time listening to old favourites I thought I would never have the opportunity to see live.

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