Our featured artists for October are photographer Ashley Armitage, multimedia digital artist Sofia Lee, and painter / #1 Sub Pop receptionist Derek Erdman. Opening reception is Thursday, October 8 from 7 to 9 pm at Cairo, and the exhibition runs through November 8.
Ashley Armitage
Ashley Armitage is a young photographer whose images provide a glimpse into the hidden moments of girlhood. We asked Ashley a few questions about what inspires her.
How did you arrive at your chosen medium?
Photography kinda just happened naturally for me (but I was also terrible at every other form of visual art).
As a millennial, I always had technology around me; I was ALWAYS taking selfies with my mom's Nokia phone or making videos with my dad's Sony camcorder. Then when I was 15, my dad got me my first film camera, a Canon AE-1. I've been taking film photos ever since.
What is your favorite part of your process?
I think pre-shooting is my favorite, when I'm getting inspired. I'm inspired by media I find on the internet, like 1970s/80s advertising and voyeuristic porn stills/photography. I love to take those and flip them around to make them my own. Let me find an example of what I'm talking about.
An example of what Ashley's talking about, via Tumblr
I love this phase in the creative process because there's so much potential energy there. It's exciting and suspenseful to see how this inspiration/starting point will evolve into my own work.
How do you begin work on a new piece?
I scroll through Tumblr and Instagram. I watch old films and music videos. I go through my old photo albums and yearbooks.
What artists are you excited about right now?
I'm really excited about Claire Milbrath, Rebecca Storm, Dafy Hagai, Naomi Wong, Hana Haley.
Sofia Lee
Sofia Lee is a photographer and digital artist whose work dissects design eras to explore themes of modern consumerism and the pervasive influence of design on our daily lives. She studied Commercial Photography at Seattle Central Community College and her work has appeared in numerous publications.
How did you arrive at your chosen medium?
i’ve always liked making images but strangely i didn’t get into photography until i got a smartphone and came to the Pacific Northwest. i was so enamoured with my new surroundings that i ended up devoting a lot of energy to capturing it. thus, Instagram was my main medium for the longest time.
i have since received formal training in Commercial Photography at Seattle Central Creative Academy, which is where my foundation in studio photography comes from. although i have access to modern cameras, i make it a point to shoot with early ’00s digicams in a lot of my work. because i grew up with most of my memories captured digitally, i am drawn to the look of the images that these decade(s)-old sensors/processors produce.
conversely, i refuse to shoot film in any serious project.
What is your favorite part of your process?
that’s difficult to pick. i suppose while there’s a lot of satisfaction in conducting a shoot, nothing really beats looking at a collection of photos afterwards and going, “a-ha! that’s the one.”
How do you begin work on a new piece?
i’m at the thrift store all the time and i end up picking up a lot of design cues from different eras. once i’ve noted some patterns, i start forming ideas on what i want to say about them and it evolves into a series. i usually create style or design guidelines for these so the pieces become cohesive. these guidelines encompass things such as typeface, palette, motifs and these show up in anything from photos to GIFs, from pixel art to video, etc.
What artists are you excited about right now?
lately i’ve been thinking a lot about Takashi Murakami and filmmaker Tetsuya Nakashima.
Derek Erdman
Derek Erdman is a very famous artist. You've probably seen his paintings, and have possibly even thought to yourself that you wanted one of your own.
How did you arrive at your chosen medium?
Out of ease of decorating my own house, and the results of best time & materials efficiency. I am very lazy.
What is your favorite part of your process?
Eating, watching true crime shows on YouTube.
How do you begin work on a new piece?
Usually with jumping jacks. I like to do 200 at a time.
What artists are you excited about right now?
Peter Liversidge, Ashley Armitage, Jason Polan, Ishmael Butler