CK → A while back I got a random email from a photographer who had seen some of the pinhole paper negative images I had taken in Mexico. He kindly asked me to view some of his images (Walking With Giants), which he thought had a similar look and feel to my images. After a few minutes of viewing his website, I knew we shared a similar creative vision. Being in Cape Town, South Africa made it difficult to communicate a bit, but we found a way to make it work. I think you'll find Arnold's images compelling, provocative and inspiring. It has been a pleasure getting to know more about this artist through this interview.

CK

Arnold

I'm always curious how different photographers get started with photography. Please tell me about how you got into photography. I'm also interested in hearing how the name "liquid light" came to be the name of your website.

I wanted to paint or draw when I went to art school. One of my subjects included photography for which we took pinhole images. I loved the dreamlike abstract quality of the pinhole cameras as well as the lack of detail. I read in a recent David Lynch interview that he shot some initial scenes for Inland Empire on video and eventually decided to film the entire movie on video (a consumer quality camera) because the murky quality left more "room to dream". I had a similar realization that photography needn't be a 'cold and clinical' recording device but has the ability to ignite the imagination and could be used as an expressive tool similar to abstracted painting. I was hooked.

The name "Liquid Light" seemed appropriate as many of my images have a fluid quality or theme about them. My life philosophy to some degree revolves around being fluid or flexible. To be flexible in body or mind is to be alive and to flourish, when one become stuck in ones ideas and views is to become stagnant.

CK

Arnold

Nudity in art has always seemed to be a bit of a sore subject in the world at large. But for those with an artful eye, the human body can be transformed into a work of art. I think some of your photographs truly celebrate the beautiful forms of nature and the human body.

I am interested in hearing more about your creative process of how you pair one image with another to create these compelling diptychs.

Most of my nude photography is fairly non-erotic and I try not distinguish between human bodies and other natural objects (like plants or trees) i.e. to treat the body as a natural phenomena. However, in some of the diptychs I was consciously using suggestive or graphic reproductive images and shapes as a tool to bring the viewer back to some primal or instinctual level of consciousness. I think the role of the artist, (whether it be music, visual or movement) is to remind people that there is more to life than the nine to five grind, McDonalds and paying the mortgage. However we've become so jaded in our visual language through constant bombardment from the media and television that its hard to communicate with people at a core level. Somehow I don't think a cheesy sunset picture is going to do the trick anymore. It is too easy for the viewer to dismiss an image if they've seen it a million times already. Humans have become very complex and need to be engaged with in new ways.

Many of my favorite authors and film-makers end their stories without any obvious conclusion or specific morals. Although initially frustrating, they are more satisfying as an experience because it requires effort on the viewers part to fill in the blanks and understand the authors' message. Similarly, I like diptychs because the viewer is forced to use their imagination and subconscious associations in order to try and decipher an image. My choices in the pairings were based more on whether on some subconscious level the images 'sparked' when brought together rather than any intellectual decisions.

CK

Arnold

We all are connected to the earth in one way or another. Your photos of human forms somehow blending with the earth is intriguing to me. We come from the earth and we return to it. Please tell me more about your process of creating these unique photos.

My photos have a lot to do with my understanding and experience of reality (see following question below). It isn't always a conscious decision to express these views but something that seems to come to the fore in my work even if the projects don't always start out that way. 

For the Transmutation series the photos were taken with a polarizer and a red filter. This caused vignetting to occur and removed most of the detail in the images. The pictures were frequently taken out of focus for added effect. The result is similar to that of a pinhole camera but with the convenience of a 35mm SLR. Getting the desired exposure right for the 'effect' I wanted wasn't always easy as I sometimes had to over or under-expose by up to two stops. I've recently hauled out some of the over-exposed negs that were never used and started playing with them in Photoshop. The resulting images, like the one above, have been placed on Flickr as they have quite a different feel to the original series.

Apart from a few exceptions, I usually asked the models not to pose for the camera. Most of the models were photographed around familiar streams and ravines (where they spent a lot of time as children) and were comfortable to play and interact with their environment. This helped the figures to look like they belonged to and were part of their environment.

I should probably also clarify the nudity, as some overt PC types are always quick to jump to conclusions. For the Transmutation series, and most of my photography for that matter, I am trying to create a timeless quality in the photographs. Somehow I don't think it would look very convincing if the models wore Nike trainers and track suits while dissolving into the ether. If one look at Edward Weston's nude photographs from the 1930's, they look like they could have been taken yesterday even though the pictures are 70+ years old. Compare with any lifestyle magazine from the 80's which has dated. Conceptually, clothing would interfere with the notion of blending with the environment.

CK

Arnold

Your photos give me a sense that I'm peering into another dimension. Why do think that is?

Since I was a small child I've always felt there was more to reality than what can be seen with the naked eye or traditional science would have one believe. This wasn't something taught to me but rather something I instinctively knew. However it took my to my twenties before I discovered meditation and Tai Chi Chuan and found ways in which I could access and experience some of this expanded 'reality'. Science seems to finally be catching up with the arcane knowledge of the yogi's and shamans in the form of quantum physics. Notions of concepts such as space, time and evolution are being challenged, although unfortunately most prescribed text books to are still largely outdated. Most people are still walking around with a concept of the world that equates to people from the middle ages believing the world is flat.

CK

Arnold

Grouping and labeling photos galleries, can be a tricky thing. I really enjoy how you have put together your photo galleries on your website. When you look at the photos all together, they give you totally different feel than just seeing one image alone.

Please tell me more about your thought process of grouping images and where did the title of your photo series "A conversation with Haruki Murakami and Nobuyoshi Araki" come from?

I'm glad you picked up on that as I spend a lot of time arranging the sequence of images. Images are seldom viewed exclusively on their own and exist in a broader context. I always try and find a visual or conceptual link between the images. A lot is due to my photographic training/studies. Whilst studying, there was an emphasis to create a cohesive series of images and I guess it stuck. We got together as a group after each project and discussed each others' work. I found it very constructive as it helped me not to be too precious about images and consider criticism which at times could come across as harsh.

The title "A conversation with Haruki Murakami and Nobuyoshi Araki" came from my admiration for the Japanese author and artist. Nobuyoshi Araki has the ability to photograph a cloud, his cat, a lover, a Tokyo skyline and his lunch in the space of a few hours and make it seem like the most natural and creative surreal thing in the world. He often represents this myriad of subject matter sequentially next to each other in his books and exhibitions. Coming from a very puritanical fine art art background, where one would never consider such a thing, I found his work very refreshing and made me reconsider my own fine art 'prejudices'. He also has an incredible ability to tell stories and mess with your head, not only through individual images, but through his editing and arrangement of them which has a lot of appeal to me. Haruki Murakami is often referred to as a literary David Lynch. His characters are  everyday people usually engaged in very mundane, everyday activities. When the monotony of their lives seem to reach a peak, they find themselves in altered dimensions embroiled in bizarre intrigues. I imagine if the two of them got together it might look something like the series.

A snapshot of the photo gallery titled "A conversation with Haruki Murakami and Nobuyoshi Araki"

CK

Arnold

Your images are very provocative to me. So many thoughts go through me head when I look at different images in your Liquid Light Photography Portfolio. Instead of thinking, why? I find myself thinking why not?.

Please tell me more about how you create images that tell stories and provoke thoughts and emotions.

I'm not necessarily consciously trying to be provocative. I guess some of the images seem 'different' because my approach is not to document my environment or subject, but to use it as the starting point for a creative process. Sometimes it is planned and other times it boils down to opportunity e.g. the image above; my pregnant wife hanging up the baby-to-be's' washing in anticipation of the birth, a Bali mask on the wall, a digital camera, an overactive imagination and a sense of humor thrown in for good measure... From a technical point of view, this series was shot on digital which allowed me take take on a certain 'Why not?' attitude/stance. Most of these images would not have existed without digital. I'm a lot more self-restrictive when I shoot film, mainly due to the cost and time involved. Although I prefer the quality of film, digital allows me to be more spontaneous and explore ideas without worrying about whether the idea is conceptually sound or not.

CK

Arnold

I've seen your collaborations and movies. Please tell me more about how your skills in photography find there way in the world of motion pictures.

Rapid Eye Movement

Document #8
Starring Katherine Gay Bull

Like any medium I think the challenge is to make it you 'own'. i.e. get your own vision or way of seeing across. Being a photographer naturally helps in this process, whether it be composition, exposure, styling, cropping, editing etc. It seems like a natural progression for me and something I'd like to explore more in the future. Sadly it's tricky to realize when you have limited budget. Cape Town has many 'lost' public spaces begging me to tell their stories.

CK

Arnold

What comes next for you?
Do you have any future project lined up that you're excited about?

I'm toying with the idea of making more overtly political work. I find the current global power structures very distressing. I read an article in the late 90's that pointed out that the new generation find the idea of war inconceivable due to the fact that they've grown up in a 'global village' and consider themselves 'citizens' of this conceptual environment. Bombing another country seems unthinkable when you've got friends on Myspace, Flickr etc. from across the globe. Yet here we are in a post 9-11 world and its all gone to hell. Its as if an older generation has stolen our children's promise of a safer and more conscientious world.  I also want to deal with the many environmental issues surrounding this, of which South Africa is part and parcel. The single highest point of green house emissions are situated in South Africa, and as our economy is largely driven by mining, we've got the highest green house gas emissions per capita in the world.

It is always a pleasure to get to know new artists like Arnold. His passion to create thought provoking images is inspiring to me.
He also has reminded me that all artists have the capability to change the way people see the world around them through the art they create.Thanks Arnold putting your heart and soul into these questions and I wish you well, wherever your creative endeavors take you.

photos © Arnold Erasmus, reproduced by permission