Interview by Mia Kingsley
It has been a while but ‘Mia Meets…’ has returned! And to get us back into the swing of things we have the pleasure of meeting the talented Rachel Hodgson. Recently completing her degree at LCF the 21 year old photographer, illustrator and all round creative magic girl is on the rise. We chat about her recent project ‘Tumblr Girls’, Frida Kahlo and that perfect mix between delicate and sassy! Rachel uses 5×4, believes in embracing the awkwardness in portraiture and likes to draw girls with red cheeks. Her particular techniques and style make up a wonderful collection of work that has a special twinkle of its own. Meet the lovely Rachel Hodgson…
How did you get into photography?
When I was around 8 my parents bought me a little camera for Christmas that I would take lots of pictures with. I would put the pictures in photo albums that I bought from the Disney shop that had Winnie the Pooh on. So I guess I have just continued to take pictures from then.
Tell us about your style…
I like using old school photography processes and colouring in my pictures by hand with different materials like crayons, pens, paint. I like to experiment with different techniques, as I am not too precious with my images. I don’t mind if it goes wrong but sometimes the mistakes look best.
What the best thing about shooting on 5×4?
I am limited to the amount of pictures I can take, so I have to be more thoughtful when taking each picture.
You use positive paper, and then colour in the prints, what inspired you to try out this process?
I am inspired by vintage hand coloured photography but especially when they have been badly painted and look awkward. But I have been experimenting with painting and making marks on top of my pictures since I first learnt to use the darkroom at college.
Your recent project involved shooting the current ‘it’ girls of tumblr, tell us about it…
I am interested in the community of creative girls on the Internet, especially on tumblr you can find lots of great artists, illustrators, photographers etc sharing their work. I had followed a lot of these girls on tumblr for a while and decided to contact them to take their portrait for my uni project, using the old 5×4 large format cam. I wanted to capture the girls looking delicate and feminine but also sassy.
What are the quotes about?
I think girls say some really great stuff on the Internet. I hand wrote the quotes taken from their tumblrs on to the portraits, stuff like “snack all day and fart all night” and “reblob if your on your period”. The quotes are funny but also relatable for a lot of girls.
Which artist do you admire?
Frida Kahlo
You are also into drawing and illustrating, tell us about your style and your signature girls…
I draw lots of girls in dresses with saggy boobs and red cheeks in a kind of naïve and retro style.
What’s your favourite colour?
Pink
If you could take any portrait dead or alive, who or what would it be?
Frida
What’s your main goal in art, what do you want people to feel when they see your portraits?
Happy and inspired I guess
What’s next for you? Any exciting projects ahead?
If anyone would like to give me a job, that would be great! I also need to start selling my drawings on the Internet if people want them, I just have so many now!
Thank you Rachel!! Good luck with the job hunt 🙂 If you would like to see more of Rachel’s wonderful work including her signature ladies follow these links below:
The next ‘Mia Meets…’ will be out in a week but until then for more Mia Kingsley:
cargocollective.com/miamagnoliakingsley
miamagnoliakingsley.tumblr.com
xxx
