ACHE Magazine: What do you try to convey through your work? Why do you photograph?
AM: Who is your favorite photographer, and how have you been influenced by his/her work?
Gabrielle Murphy: I have always been looking at elements of escapism and release in imagery, though sometimes I feel it’s difficult to achieve that feeling standing behind the lens. The main reason I am compelled to photograph is to see that freedom and transformation in the visual. I am also interested in the psychological, too—the delicate, sad, longing, mad, and weird self. But let’s not be too serious! I shoot because it feels good.
GM: It’s too hard to name one. I originally began looking at photojournalists and portrait photographers like Nan Goldin, Nadav Kander, and Lise Sarfarti. My guilty pleasure then became fashion photography. I was indulging in Sarah Moon, Erwin Blumenfeld, and Camille Vivier. I think they have all inspired me in different ways, depending on the questions or angles their photographs convey.
AM: How long have you been shooting? How has your photography changed since you started? GM: I started shooting six years ago. First, experimenting with myself, then onto friends, now models with a team. I guess my work has become more refined, but I would never want to be too polished. Mistakes are happy surprises. Moving around has also shaped my work. There is an incredible variety of willing talent and collaborative exchange within London. I look forward to traveling to more places and continuing with what I used to shoot, snapshots and portraits. AM: How would you describe yourself as a person and as a photographer? GM: As a person, I’m odd, at times brash and awkward, yet sensitive and sentimental. I’m one to assess and question. As a photographer, I am still learning, so it’s difficult to describe myself. I can be shy at times behind the camera, but I am finding it’s easier with time bringing what’s inside my head to the visual forefront. AM: Who or what inspires you? GM: Surrealism, Chris Marker, Sylvie Guillem, Lise Sarfarti, Wim Wenders, electronica, existentialism, and mysticism. AM: Digital or film? Why? GM: Film for its tones, grains and its wonder. I get butterflies each time I develop a roll or collect one from the lab. I think, has it exposed? Did she blink? Is the feeling that I felt seen in the photograph? Film is a constant surprise. Digital is useful, too, especially in the post-production stages. However, for me, it lacks that ultimate surprise and cinematic feeling that analog produces.
AM: What, in your opinion, is art? Simple really! Communication for an absurd world. AM: How does fashion play into your work? GM: In my fashion photographs, I think the clothing is symbolic and loaded with connotations. Sure, fashion can be fun and playful, but I like to work with a considered and sometimes serious idea of fashion to help push my visual ideas further. It helps working with the right people on this. Minds must meet. AM: What mood do you love to capture in your work? Why? GM: I am drawn to sensitivity. I toy with surrealism and yearn to develop my own sort of abstract visual meaning. I think it’s important to answer your own questions in life, and the visual medium gives you a chance to define and explore that. AM: Do you prefer shoot on location or in the studio? How are the two different? GM: I like to shoot on location! Not necessarily outdoors, but a bedroom or warehouse with the right light. It’s fun to enter someone else’s space and use your immediate reaction in placing your subject or observing the light. When I shoot portraits in the warmer months, I pretty much always use natural light and rely on daylight or existing light, like lamps. I like this process, and it’s less of a logistical nightmare than using a studio, which frees up my creative direction. But since I live in London, I am restricted to the studio for most months of the year, and I can experiment with tungsten or HMIs. I sometimes miss shooting in my home country, Australia, and the ease of including the natural and rugged landscape elements into the composition.
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