Through Thy Lens

  It might be a new year but we  don’t intend to change our old ways.  Yes we are still determined to share with our readers snippets and pages from the life stories of young creative millennials. To kick off 2019, we are revisiting themes like homecoming, creative evolution in foreign spaces & the intricacies of portrait photography through the work of London-based creative Ashley Biack. Enjoy…

• Who is Ashley Biack ?  How would you describe yourself in a few words ? 

Ashley Biack is a multilingual third culture almost lawyer turned creative from Cameroon, just trying to make it in this marketing and advertising jungle. That’s probably a mouthful so don’t read this out loud! I’m currently working in advertising at Vice Media and hoping to become a creative strategist extraordinaire.

• On a scale from 0 – 10 ; how would you rate your interest in photography?

My interest in photography is definitely an all too consuming 10.

• What kind of photography are you most drawn to ? Portrait, Landscape or Abstract ?

I’ve always been drawn to portraiture even though I practiced a lot of landscape work at some point.

• When and how did you develop your current interest in photography?

I’ve been dabbling with cameras since I was about 13 but I think I really started shooting at 15. It started off as a necessity at first because everyone in my arts class needed to pick a medium through which they would make art that we’d have to exhibit and get graded on for our class. My classmates were all fairly good at drawing and painting while I wasn’t, so I “resorted” to photography.

• How would you describe the impact of photography on your life? 

I’d love to say it’s had a tremendous impact on my life but that’s not the case. Not yet anyway. I think it’s probably because I feel like it’s an essential to me, like sleeping and eating. It’s just something that I felt was always meant to be a part of me. To the point where it’s just completely normal for me to be weighed down by my camera on a regular basis. If I had to pinpoint some sort of addition that it’s brought to my life, i’d say excitement. You know that feeling you get when you shoot a ridiculously crisp, properly exposed shot with fantastic composition and you envision it as the cover of a magazine or something? I chase that feeling a lot. It’s also pushed me to be discover a lot more as well as change my perspective on things.

• Our last conversation was centred around your recent trip back home and photographs from said trip. Would you mind sharing how photography may have altered your travel experiences in general and this recent travel experience in particular?

Yet again, photography has pushed me to want to be outside more and discover. I rarely go on trips to sit and relax — i’m always looking to learn about how others outside of my daily life live. Part of travelling is documenting what i’ve learned. With regards to my recent trip back home, I really had the intention to make imagery rather than capture it. This is probably due to the fact that I get easily wrapped up in the way others capture their Africa and in some cases I find people who would do it the way I would. Luckily most of my shots ended up being far from manicured. The images I captured were completely different from what I initially envisioned — in a good way.

• What inspires you? 

Young creatives inspire me! It’s amazing to see what our generation is doing in the creative world, as well as the interesting ways in which they tackle social issues through photography. I also love looking at old photographs taken by African photographers, especially Cameroonian ones. It’s always nice to see what others before us did. One of Samuel Fosso’s self portraits is literally my desktop background. Another thing is seeing others being inspired by my work. Someone recreated a conceptual shot of mine and I was not only grateful but also quite motivated to keep going!

• Beijing, Johannesburg, Exeter, London only to name a few of the different cities where you’ve lived in recent years. Do you think any of these cities has had an impact on your creativity? If yes how so?

I’d say London has probably had the most impact on my creativity and prior to that Johannesburg. To be honest, i’ve only just gotten very serious about the craft and i’d have to thank South Africa for that. There was so much beauty that I couldn’t not capture. I love London, and I love the London creative scene. I’ve immersed myself so much that i’m worried it’s affected my style of shooting and editing to a certain extent haha! I’ve even picked up film because there has been a crazy resurgence of film photography in London. I’m not complaining though.

• You’ve rolled out your self titled portfolio website (ASHLEY BIACK). What direction do you see for your work in upcoming years ? Any chances that photography might evolve to become more than just a hobby?

Wow thanks for reminding me about the website, I really need to purchase a domain! I hope to become so good at portraiture and editing that it hurts. I also hope to travel a lot more for photography work. To be honest I don’t see photography becoming a full time job because at some time I feel like your job stops being fulfilling and just becomes this mundane thing. Definitely do not want that to happen with photography but I definitely want to grow my presence more with that side.

• In your opinion, what role does creativity play in shaping the “African narrative”?

Oh my goodness. The world has no idea how much creativity is in Africa. You know those almost mainstream platforms like OkayAfrica and CNN African Voices that showcase African talent? They only know the ones who have bubbled to the top. They’re not ready for the underground creatives. Looking at this question differently, i’d say as African creatives we are responsible for the imagery we put out of the continent. There are already so many stereotypes about huts and flies on young black babies that it’d be a shame if we contributed to that image.

• What’s next for you? any projects or ideas you would like to share?

I’m thinking about doing a photography series on the Hispanic community in London. I love Latinx culture and I think they deserve more exposure than they do now in London.

• What advice would you give my readers? 

I’m assuming this is regarding creativity? I’d say don’t be so hard on yourself. Your work will grow as you develop yourself. The stuff or way I shoot now is completely different from what I did 3 years ago. Also likes don’t equal talent. Shoot for the love of shooting and the rest will follow.

Thanks Ashley for taking the time to share your work and story with us . You can follow up with Ashley on her instagram