Wednesday 9 April 2014

Interview with Jessica Ledwich




Interview with Jessica Ledwich


This post is a particularly exciting one as I have had the utter privilege to be able to interview a truly incredible photographer, Jessica Ledwich.



I originally found out about Jessica Ledwich from an article in The Huffington Post (click here) which was discussing one of her sequences of works called 'The Monstrous Feminine', I was completely blown away by her confrontational and macabre pieces, from there I researched her and the more I saw of her works the more I fell in love. I think her photographs are so powerful and really give a strong message as to what femininity in this day and age means. So I thought I would get in touch with her on the off chance that she might be interested in being the first interviewee for this blog and so I am truly honoured to be able to share with you all the words, thoughts and advice of Jessica Ledwich in the 10 questions that follow:

1. Why did you choose photography as your medium? 


Photography is only one of the mediums I employ in my artistic practice. What I love about photography is it allows you to create an imagined space. By choosing what to put in front of the camera you get to control what and how people engage with your image. 





2. Whose work has influenced you most and why? 

There are so many incredible artists out there whose work inspires me for different reasons. For some it is their ideas, others it is the level of craft in their work or their use of materials. But I would say that two of my early influences would have been Joel-Peter Witkin who treats confronting content with such beauty and Guy Bourdin who always had such wit and seduction in his pictures. 

3. What inspires you? 


Honestly? Great Art that makes you stand still for longer than 9 seconds and actually makes you feel and experience something. 


4. What makes a good photograph stand out from the rest? 

What is chosen to be left in or out of the frame. It’s not actually about composition but about understanding how your image will be read and how to control your own visual language. 

5. What made you switch from commercial photography to what you are doing today? 


My work has always been content driven. I always found myself wanting to bring in something to give it an edge. Commercial clients always got a little nervous with that. I was always more interested in subverting the image and generating a dialogue rather than merely representing it. 





6. What lies behind the rather sinister and macabre nature of your photographs?


The more bizarre and macabre aspects of human nature have always fascinated me. The things people do provide such great inspiration for my work. As they say, life is stranger than fiction. 



7. In ‘The Ferocious’ and ‘The Fantastical’ sequences that you have put together you have quite a confrontational message regarding femininity and fashion respectively: why did you choose to depict these subjects in this manner? 


Like most women, I spent a lot of time reading fashion magazines as a young girl and was acutely aware of this sense of women's sexuality being something that was scary, uncomfortable and somewhat threatening. I was also aware of this strong sense of fear surrounding the idea of ageing. That ageing is something everyone must avoid at all costs. 

For Monstrous Feminine I was interested to explore these ideas and attitudes. My work aims to hold up a mirror to these ideals and allow people to draw their own conclusions. I suppose this series is quite confrontational, however so is the reality of just how ingrained these attitudes are in our culture. 

Similarly I found myself questioning the role fashion plays in our sense of identity. For example the absurdity of sitting on a 7 year waiting list for a handbag that is essentially a piece of cow skin. Fashion is the vehicle of desire and its job is to sell a fantasy. There is nothing wrong with that per se, however I do think the industry needs to take some responsibility in the way it stereotypes notions of what is ‘desirable’ and the effect that has on the self esteem and behaviour of women, particularly young women. 




8. Would you say that your work is a reaction against your original background in fashion photography? 


Fashion photography is a medium that I understand well. I think there is an interesting dialogue to be had when using an advertising style to generate a dialogue about the industry. Having worked in the industry I understand what goes on behind the lens and what goes into the final image. The use of light, camera lens, make-up, and photo manipulation are all used to create an image that is significantly enhanced from the original. This is the power of photography. We still subconsciously believe that ‘the camera never lies’, but in fact it does it so well you don’t even know you’ve been lied to.


9. Among your work which is your favourite piece and why?


That is a very difficult because I enjoy them all for different reasons. I do love the absurdity of the woman trying to squeeze into her underwear – how many of us have had a moment like that in a changing room?!





10. How do you believe the power of photography can effect social change?


Photography is a medium we are all familiar with therefore it is a language that we can understand and hold a conversation in.
We are completely bombarded with images 24 hours a day so for something to make people stop and take notice means that it must speak to them on some level. 
Art has the capacity to effect social change if it makes people engage and think about something. Photography, through its very expression, is a very powerful tool to generate a dialogue.





I can't thank Jessica Ledwich, enough for sharing with me and you, my lovely readers her motivation and inspiration behind her powerful photographs. Here is a link to her website for you to peruse some more of her incredible works.



Thank you again,

The Raven's Eye Critic