INTERVIEW Rebecca Cairns
Can you describe the first photos you ever took? To be honest, I don’t really remember when this would have occured or what the exact subject matter would have been. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if they were photographs of myself – or maybe some kind of landscape. It was in high school that I first started experimenting with photography – both analog and digital – but the portraits I took were more for the sake of experimentation. What are you currently working on? I’m currently just trying to get the final fixings completed for my upcoming solo show in Toronto. Other than that, I’ve just been signed on as an artist at “Ghost Press” and will be releasing a book through this company within the next few months. As for my actual images, I’m still shooting self portraits, as I probably always will – but I am always searching for new approaches and have been trying to incorporate other people/presences into some of my most recent images. I’ve also been experimenting a lot with darkroom prints – painting, scratching and burning the images. In your own words, describe your work. Infinite, endless images and patterns, flowing out through my brain… a fixation of exploring the depths of reality (or lack thereof). Do you like to look at the work of other young, contemporary photographers, or do you find it distracting? Oh no, I absolutely love doing this. Exploring the work of others is really one of the only things I like to do even more than taking my own photographs. I think it’s an absolutely crucial thing for one to do, as well- as I believe exposing oneself to the work of others will in turn help build and expand ones awareness, knowledge and creative processes. Regardless of the reaction that the work may or may not provoke within me, I truly adore following peoples’ work and watching them grow as as artists, and as people. Which artists do you feel most influence your work? As for photographers, there’s Diane Arbus, Duane Michals, Cindy Sherman, Ralph Meatyard, Joel-Peter Witkin, Francesca Woodman, Sara Moon… And writers, Charles Bukowski, Mark Z. Danielewski, John Fante, Pablo Neruda…
All images, Rebecca Cairns