From Bristol with Love - Photographer, Kai _ Safe Harbour

Tall, bearded and built like an ox, Kai Murphy’s intimidating silhouette juxtaposes his soft demeanor and philosophical attitude. A photographer in the traditional sense he opts for film over digital on most occasions. Sourcing old, often expired films donated by friends, scavenged from ships, junk shops and car boot sales. When successful this game of film roulette produces a whimsical nostalgia not matched in the apps of the iphone 4s. His subject matter is often linked to very personal associations of romance, people and places. Seeking out the new, his work documents a journey from initial meeting to a more developed perspective as the relationship progresses.

What I liked about Kai was his delicate nature and the energy and passion bursting out of him when he spoke of his work. He really believed in what he was doing, and went about it in a calm, organic way. Originally from he countryside he grew up on the river in a houseboat close to the border of three counties near to where Kate Moss now resides.

 

Martina Randles: You cite yourself as an absorber of cultures, what does this mean?
Kai Murphy: It means I can’t stop thinking about everything that I don’t know. My Granddad told me an amazing thing once “Those who don’t know history are deemed to repeat it”, I think about this all the time.

Martina Randles: What inspires you to take pictures?
Kai Murphy: The same feeling that you get when you hear an amazing piece of music… something just clicks, your gut rolls over and away you go.

Martina Randles: How many cameras do you have?
Kai Murphy: I own about 40 cameras, not all are working. My favorite camera to use is my Adox Sport 6x9. The oldest camera I own is also the biggest a Hunter Penrose process camera from 1893, I’m still looking for a decent wheelbarrow to transport it.

Martina Randles: What's better film or digital?
Kai Murphy: Its not a case of which is better, its more a case of whichever you prefer to use. When I get my hands on a friend’s digital camera I’m like a kid in a sweet shop, I can’t stop pushing the buttons. I’ll take a thousand pictures in one fell swoop. When I use film I am much more aware of the situations I get myself into, and the environment around me. I owned a digital camera once; it cost me about £150 it broke after a couple of months. I bought a 1967 Olympus Trip from a charity shop recently for £5 its still working today. I think it’s whatever floats your boat… film floats mine.

Martina Randles: Why did you decide to go to India, to you find yourself?
Kai Murphy: I have never had any intentions to find myself; I think if I ever did I would end up in a feedback loop of doom. I enjoy finding other people. I ended up in India because I was jealous of my girlfriend who had just bought tickets to go. I had just packed in my editing job and decided to join her - then discovered she was trying to get away from me.



Martina Randles: Have you ever been blown away by a photograph?
Kai Murphy: My friend Tom Mead took a great picture of a goat in China.

Martina Randles: You were a film maker before photography, how was that?
Kai Murphy: The film industry is fucking horrible yet it is utterly addictive chasing a dream, you discover you didn’t really know what the dream entailed - it becomes an endurance test.

Martina Randles: What are the differences?
Kai Murphy: To me photography and filmmaking are the same thing. I love to tell stories and to understand the natural narratives and rhythms that are happening all around us. A photograph is a film but with no exposition.

Martina Randles: What's Bristol saying?
Kai Murphy: Bristol is saying grab me by the balls or I’ll kick you in the ass.

Martina Randles: Where do you plan to take your work? 
Kai Murphy: Well I just took it to the Dollar Street Gallery, but anywhere in the public eye is great. This year my goal is to make a book and have my cameras pay the rent.

Where he creates, he encourages others to create

Here is an edited interview with an inspirational photographer, Paul Barbera, originally written for Academy for Men. His generosity has connected me with some delightful people in Melbourne, the perfect Melburnian to feature on my blog.  

Where They Create, he creates
   
Paul Barbera shoots ACNE Stockholm for Where They Create

Released on Frame this month, Where They Create is a weighty hard backed publication born out of Photographer Paul Barbera’s blog of the same name. It offers a glimpse into the international design spaces of Fantastic Man, Olaf Breuning, Julie Verhoeven, Opening Ceremony and Matali Crasset to name a few. Still very much a side project squeezed into a hectic photography schedule, this self-professed labour of love, has grown organically from an ingrained fascination with the world, to a voluminous reference of creative working environments.

Barbera maintains another blog, entitled Love Lost, a sumptuously voyeuristic peek into the bedrooms and occasional panties of smoulderingly unconventional muses. Hunger for exploration bubbles over into most probably all of his artistic endeavours, shooting editorial for high-end glossies including Vogue Living, Jalouse, View on Colour, Bloom and Elle Decoration.

Barbera is an effusive combination; disarming, dyslexic and driven, belonging to the pre Y Generation, son of migrants, he understands the value of working hard. He began shooting for Marie Clare at 24 and has lived in Rome, Warsaw, Berlin, Singapore and Amsterdam. Maneuvering his way with ease through the exchange I was surprised to discover Barbera rarely gave interviews in person or posed for photographs, the curious had become the subject of curiosity.  

Martina Randles: So tell me, what was the appeal of the project, how did it come about, was it a natural evolution? 
Paul Barbera: I can't just walk into a studio, it’s a way of getting into peoples faces, photography is a by product more than anything. It started 20 years ago documenting my best friend in high school, painter, Dominic Wood, the whole family are painters, it began in his fathers studio and has been evolving ever since.  

Martina Randles: You’ve managed to cover a lot of ground, how do you decide on where to shoot? 
Paul Barbera: Scott McCleland loves Where They Create and will pull me into jobs where I can work on my projects, recently I shot two artists in Beijing and one in the Kennedy headquarters. I don't care where it is, if a job comes up I take it, its completely random I can't wait to go to Russia. I had this job in Thailand and I took four weeks off to shoot, then I struggled to find places in Bangkok.

Martina Randles: You’ve just been working in China and have recently moved to New York, how do they compare? 
Paul Barbera: New York feels like a third world city compared to China, the doors have opened and they might close again. I shot some stuff in Beijing and Shanghai, for Nike, they are trying to introduce women’s exercise to Chinese women but they're not allowed to sweat and they are all skinny anyway, it’s an uphill battle. I could make a book on New York there are so many spaces to shoot, and to dig up, it’s such an important city in the world.

 
Pages from the book Where They Create  

Martina Randles: What original and obscure places has Where They Create taken you to? 
Paul Barbera: The internet has changed everything I go to Bangkok, Shanghai - it’s not like all of sudden you enter another world, its difficult to find culturally original. I went to one of the Dutch colonies to shoot a very famous Curaçaoan artist; he was off his head totally drunk, I spent half a day with him I wasn't allowed to shoot. I get very restless when I don’t shoot anything, fortunately we ended up at a local surf beach, there was an old lady selling coke and little bits of food. She lived there with a little generator, painting her dreams and making little sculptures of aluminum foil, she couldn't understand why I was so interested in photographing her.   

Martina Randles: How important in terms of ‘bigger than you’ social development is your work? Would you like to go to say, Iraq to find creative’s? 
Paul Barbera: I'm a big fan of Poland and the Polish, I spent a summer in Warsaw and shot a Street Art Festival for a friend’s magazine Beast, there was no budget. The Polish went to Europe and realised that London isn't as great as they thought it would be, came home and bought there energy with them. In Amsterdam in particular you have this attitude that every Polish person is a crook and cheap laborer, because that’s what they are in Amsterdam. But actually there is so much going on there, I have out four or five spaces online and two made it into the book. I'm a fan of Poland. That’s my little bit, you change the landscape, but you’re right I’d love to go to Iraq, I’d love to go to Palestine, but I’d have to do it when stuff comes up, economically I can't afford to just take six months off.  

Martina Randles: What was the biggest change you encountered when switching to digital? Paul Barbera: My interaction socially up until digital was the camera, that was the way that I dealt with people in a social context. Now I shoot so much, my surroundings, in the blog and love lost that I don't do any private stuff. There was this supposed civilized weekend away with some Czech people that turned out to be a complete two day non-sleeping bender. One guy fell off a balcony and cracked his face open, it was pretty graphic, and I’d documented the whole sequence from the train ride until the morning. I couldn’t be bothered doing that now when I’m out with my friends, its quite a funny story.  

Martina Randles: What camera do you use? 
Paul Barbera: It’s a dialogue that’s not important, not relevant. You've got love your equipment, what it is that you're using, but it doesn't matter what that thing is. Years ago shooting a lot of ad work I was way too young; 25 and working on bigger than me ad campaigns. I was shooting above my weight - I spent 30 grand on camera kit and had four assistants. It was about bringing confidence to the shoot; the client was spending a lot of money. I was young creating an illusion of mirrors; I don't play that game anymore.

Where They Create, is available to buy from Frame and most good bookstores.
   
Paul Barbera shoots Fantastic Man, Amsterdam for Where They Create
     
Paul Barbera shoots Pandarosa, Berlin for Where They Create

Snow Shoot - Behind the Scenes

A pictorial account: all images are the property of Martina Randles

Urban outfitters in Australia through the medium of art....

I very nearly forgot about this exhibition until I stumbled across the photographs from the opening. It was produced in conjunction with Urban Outfitters the American fashion retailer with a quirky slant, bent on increasing their brand awareness within Australia. Whether it’s to promote their online sales (UK brand ASOS have massively increased sales to Aus by offering free shipping) or they are planning to open a store here (as opposed to Sydney) in the coming months remains to be seen. Either way they spent some cash gaining taste maker kudos, they enlisted Three Thousand/Right Angle Studio to co-promote the exhibition which features 10 up and coming fashion photographers, each with their own style and varying degree of success. The after party/warehouse rave was quite a big affair, I signed up thinking it was a $10 entry job, arrived paid no entrance and was treated to a free bar. It reminded me of the squat parties I used to attend in London (there was only two toilets - however at least these had running water). The club eventually became the toilet queue which was highly amusing, alcohol and weeing go hand in hand. Dear Patti Smith Gallery, Collingwood was home to the smaller art based fronting of the evening, each photographer displayed one massive print, I wasn’t blown away. Perhaps I was missing some information, however I was a little broken from a heavy week, so didn’t hang around too long to find out. My complimentary Rekordelig cider took me up Smith Street and halfway home, maybe the photographers (and more of their work) will reappear at some point.

Back from the brink

Sorry for falling off the radar I have been momentarily out of action *(sickness related)./ But have no fear I'm back! This evening there are two openings of interest to report on...



My friend Vikrum who looks after the Apiary Studios on Hackney Road is hosting an exhibition entitled 'Come meet the strangers' a collection of works, live performance and installation by photographer Iulia Filipovscaia who explores the interplay between different mediums as a reflection of our increasingly technological based reality. With live photography, screenings and new developments in her 'o' project, the evening appears intriguing.


Iulia's images are from past works

39-39 open there doors this evening a fun shop with a concept store ethos, located 2-4 Old Street. The 'made in the uk' leather gloves featured on their blog look great. And I’m pleased to report I've made it onto their site in the style pages, good choice my friend. Must make sure I don't wear the same outfit tonight. With Gareth Pugh behind the decks there is sure to be some dancing involved.

Behind the scenes - Quality Knitwear shoot

Here are some behind the scenes images from a shoot I styled a few weeks ago, it had been raining heavily all week and amazingly the sun decided to poke its head out for the morning. After an early start we managed to arrive on location ready to shoot around 9am, the models were all brilliant, very responsive and open to direction and the photographer just did her thing, it was a great. In fact the whole team was amazing, everyone worked very hard and maintained there spirits. I'm very excited to see the finished product. What a wonderful day. We even made friends with a potentially feral cat who we named Steve, he had rather large balls and was extremely keen of the camera, loving the attention, he wanted to be in all the photographs.



Diet Coke anyone?


My favourite look

The bosses

Giving direction

Steve giving us blue steel

smoldering

The Big Flowery Bang!

I read the press release for this body of work and was lost in the fancy explanation, the fusion of nature and the big bang was I believe the crux of it. It's sentimental yet I have a penchant for images of flowers, especially when delivered in an interesting way. Allium's look amazing, in fact we had one growing in our front garden, which is surprising considering how feral it is out there. The photographs are the work of Alexander James who delivers slick commercial images for stock books and advertising. Does something become uncool when one makes money out of it?

Helmut Newton's Berlin

We were lucky enough to get in free to the Helmut Newton exhibition as they were closing up when we arrived, I would have liked longer to absorb the vast array of images however such as pull between partying and culture, it wasn't possible. Upon entering you are greeted with walls full of iconic images from the permanent display - Private Property. It held my attention for too long as I unfortunately didn't leave the two rooms scanning the familiar images hung on white - large format they jumped out at me. I clocked the celebrities, models and images I had referenced for numerous projects, and relived the energy I felt when I was a Newton virgin. I can't express how much the works ignited my desire for fashion and photography all those moons ago - marrying the two in a celebration of the female form. Erotic, sexy and powerful, his work engages the very essence of what it means to be a woman. Amazonian ladies stand tall and nonchalant gazing down upon you, smoking dandies, female on female, fun and fantasy, this is a world I would love to be part of, sheer glamour...



You can check out his work in a coffee table book which will set you back one hundred smackers, or pop along to his gallery when you're next in Berlin. There is an excellent book shop attached with a vast array of books to pour over and cheeky postcards to purchase. The area the gallery can be found is Zoologischer Garten, which plays home to a healthy array of museums and places of interest, including you guessed it, a zoo.

It's worth noting that on Thursdays the Newton Museum is late night opening 6-10pm which is free to enter.

There is also a Helmut Newton Bar, which will have to wait until next time.

These things come in two's

For those of you in Bristol at a loose end, well you better head down to Photographique Baldwin Street, quickly, the People and Places exhibition closes today. It features the work of two Bristol boys, Kai Murphy and Luke Vagnolini, one half centers on the streets of Bristol, cleverly shot with thoughtful composition and the other on a trip to India. Do not fear though the Indian shots are not your usual run of the mill hypercolour fodder, the films used are often expired and have been donated, found lying around junk shops.






For the London based people:

I was also blown away by the 'happy accidents' images posted from Matt Stuart's show at KK Outlet, Hoxton Square, London, the exhibition runs until the 26th February - i'll be sure to check them out when I'm down next. I love the swan skip, fantastic!

Yesterday I saw...

A very ginger Florence aka Florence and the Machine, boy she's got quite a set of lungs on her, we could hear her down the other side of the office no problem... and a very blue Norman Cook, aka 'fatboy slim', he's just been painted up to look like a smurf for a shoot with Rankin. I'm going to miss it when they leave us and head to a new studio in Kentish Town. I going to miss Dazed too, which reminds me, need to get cracking on looking for a job...