I'm so excited to finally show you what I've been up to! It has been a long time coming, but I got to collaborate with two amazing creatives on a little project about a girl who is haunted by sweet but sometimes, sinister entities of another dimension. Her mind is ruled by an obsessed illustrator, whatever he draws comes true in her world. She tries to ignore them but she would secretly feel lonely without them.
A while back, I had a shoot with my friend, Jonathan Rae, who needed images for uni. He runs The Stylish Image, a street style blog based in Brisbane, he's got a keen eye for style and is quite accustomed to flattering the body and expertly capturing clothing. We ended up with images I liked so much, I couldn't let them go to waste...
So I got in contact with Shin Oderschvank from the Philippines and got him to work his magic! We worked SUPER close together, (which was surprisingly easy seeing considering we are on the other side of the world) developing a mini story and coming up with ideas for his illustrations. We were so excited every time we spoke, pretty much everyday, a few times a day! What drew me to him was his charming home - made, adorable yet sometimes sinister style.
Our project got into the latest issue; "Let me be your fantasy," of Haunt Mag! We are super stoked and humbled to be amongst cool chicks, Jessi Jae Joplin, and Audrey Kitching (whom I used to have the biggest crush on) and photographers, Vicky Ivie and Elena Kholkina, to name a few!
Hello Jonathan Rae and Shin Oh (we couldn't be anymore different but it really was a match made in heaven):
1. By day I am…
S: By day I avoid most people and just try my best to find inspirations in random things. At school I am a bit active and sharp, but at home I just read and draw a lot and lie in bed.
J: By day I am.... mostly in-between studying at uni, find people to photograph and working on my personal photography and design work.
2. And by night I….
S: At night I am usually just up and trying to fall asleep (I fail often). I tweet a lot. Haha. I use twitter as some sort of scratch paper for random thoughts (I get lots of unfollows all the time)...
J: And by night I…. am most likely hiding in bed, eating pizza, watching documentaries and researching other artists.
3. Describe your work in 3 words?
S: Ill, honest, and unfinished.
J: Brisbane Street Style
4. How did you get started?
S: Mum says I have been drawing since my youngest times. Me and pens have been inseparable since. There's this story my mum tells about when she sent me to preschool and once I got a notebook and a set of crayons, I drew immediately! Like, page after page after page. I think I blurrily remember that time. I can't be sure, though (might be a dream).
J: I’ve always been interested in fashion and style and photography, so shooting street style seemed like the perfect combination of those things for a project. So I started with a few shots of stylish friends I would see about the place and went from there around April of 2012.
5. What motivates you to create?
S: Hearing good music and seeing stuff from other artists and just plain boredom & procrastination. Also when I feel like crying, I distract myself by drawing or painting.
J: I really enjoy the process of creating itself and improving on something I’ve done before. I feel as though surrounding myself with friends who are also creative motivates me to create as well.
6. Who inspires you at the moment?
S: YOU! Haha :) many things. I have this crush in New York, and Allison Harvard and Lana Del Rey and my friend Eda and myself (does that sound too conceited?).
J: At the moment I am really inspired a lot by minimalist artists both in the visual arts and fashion industry.
7. Who would you most like to collaborate with (living or dead) and why?
S: In art I want to collaborate with Yoshitomo Nara, Akira Horikawa, Lennon & Yoko Ono, and IdKids. I am also interested in filming and photography, for that I dream to work with Allison Harvard, Eda Concepcion, Lana Del Rey, and basically anyone whose field of interest goes within mine.
J: I’d love to collaborate or at least intern with the team at ShowStudio in London, everything they produce is just so well produced and strong.
8. Favourite place to go when you get stuck for ideas?
S: I'm not really a big fan of moving (sometimes I need to draw more but my pile of blank papers is, like, two footsteps away, so I just sulk) (am amazingly lazy) so I only have my bed and my drawing table, and wait, the internet! Tumblr! Twitter! (sucker for social networks) Youtube! and I read books.
J: I usually end up browsing magazines, my favourite blogs and art journals
9. Dream pet of all time and why?
S: Can I tell you a story? I always wanted fish, kinda a la Elmo's World or animated Mr.Bean. I thought it was gonna be inspiring and unlike me, fish don't complain, so last month I bought three (named Blondie, Ah~, Jesus Christ). I was really giddy and I felt like a father, but then, after about 20 hours, the 3 died. Just like that. It's a bit of a traumatic experience. (I still have their fish-food here). Now I think I'll just settle to having a plushie around.
J: I used to have Tortoises when I lived in the UK, i miss them dearly, so I would have to say Tortoises again.