Kelly Maker

You know the saying “Get it together?” We can’t express how much we love it when people do anything but; wear prints that aren’t supposed to be worn together, say things that aren’t supposed to be said, put together things that one wouldn’t necessarily think of. No wonder why we love Kelly Maker as well…

Comparing photography to collage work, how does each make you feel?

Collages are a collaboration of the subject as much as photography is a collaboration with the people involved. However collage is a lot more personal and isolated. When photographing, you have different personalities and ideas at hand to play off and utilise.It allows for the photographs to be something more than just one person’s creation. Whereas creating collages, it’s very much my vision, my ideas spread onto the image. If they are good, it’s my success, and if they are bad, it’s my failure; and mine alone. I enjoy each in different ways. When I want to be alone I’ll create art, and when I want to see people I’ll shoot. It’s a great way to balance my introverted and extroverted moods.

What do you pay attention to when capturing a moment?

Location and models are the main inspiration for any shot. I try to plan a shoot as best I can, but more often than not, it will end up being totally last minute and spontaneous. I seem to create better shoots when things go wrong. When a model is late or the weather isn’t right. I’m usually very rushed, so when there is a problem, it gives me a chance to step back and assess my surroundings.

How did the idea behind mixing books & pictures for a collage come about?

I’m extremely restless with my creativity and it was really an evolution of trying new things until I found something that worked. If you go to the end of my Instagram, you can actually see where it all started. First, I was hand drawing on badly printed images, then I was swapping out the backgrounds for different collages I had found online. Eventually I saw a photo online of a girl in a bodysuit. The composition was just so perfect, I started to think what I could do to make it even better. Thats when I removed the bodysuit and overlaid a scan of a book page that I had. And then my ‘edits’ were born and they have evolved again to moving collages and illustrations.

What is your story? How would you define your artistic journey?

It’s been a very short, very exciting, and fast journey for me thus far. I completed my first real photoshoot in March of 2016 in the backyard of my best friends house with her as the model. I had no experience and nothing but a cheap 35mm point and shoot I bought off eBay and a vintage broken Polaroid camera. After this I did as many shoots as I could afford until I started doing the collage work I do now. It’s been a lot of trial and error. Meeting new people and making my own way with little guidance. But it’s been fun and raw and I don’t think my style would have evolved this much if I had chosen to complete a technical education in photography and art. I’m 21 so I like to think my journey has only just started!