Spotlight: Rozalind Williams
1. What got you into photography?
I was a musician for a long while whilst I was growing up; I was enrolled in a music school in my teens and I was learning to play the guitar and drums. On a whim I went to go and see a photography exhibition of Henri-Cartier Bresson’s work. I came away from it with a feverish feeling that I couldn’t quite make sense of. I went home and my Mother saw a change in me without us exchanging a word, it’s like I was awoken to something, like I was viciously in love with someone but had no idea who it was.
For a while I thought it was a deep desire to be a model and tried to get signed but it didn’t feel the same. I realized it in the middle of modelling for an album cover, draped with fruit and crushed red fabric. His style and passion couldn’t be further away from mine and still be called photography, but in that moment I knew I’m supposed to take images, not like Henri, but because of Henri and how his work made me feel.
2. What inspires your work?
Lots of things, my dreams are very vivid and always have been which can be a grand source of inspiration throughout my life. Though, I’ve actually been stifled for inspiration lately. I’m usually an inspired person and new ideas could keep me awake for half of the night, but recently there’s been a lull. So, in order to get that inspiration back I’ve been looking for ideas within less obvious places, such as Brain Blessed’s amazing storytelling abilities, poets like Kate Tempest and Geneen Marie Haugan, and performance artists such as Marina Abramović and Millie Brown.
3. Which photographers have influenced you over the years?
In the beginning, it was mainly documentary photographers like Henri, Lee Miller and Robert Capa. But, when I discovered creators of fantasy and abstract storytellers, such as Tim Walker, Mario Testino, Rankin and Nick Knight the doors of possibility really opened up for me. It’s almost as if, in some cases, you could say more in the studio than you could within the action, it certainly suited what I want to say and who I wanted to be a whole lot better.
Though, don’t get me wrong, I still love to find creative and notable folks and document them being them. To create a character of your own choice is great, reliable, stable and steady; to find a character and let them be who they are in front of your lens can surprise the daylights out of you, turn your ideas about-face and blow your mind.
4. Are you working on anything specific right now that you'd like to tell us about?
I’m very lucky to have a few collaborations with couturiers Eva Jacobs and Gore Couture and Anastasija Potjomkina the RottenZombieFairy coming up soon. I had a bunch of editorials and interviews come out in September, so you should have a look at them! I’m also doing independent business study at the moment and going to a lot of seminars about online business and marketing; this is something I’ve previously learned whilst I was going along but I’ve benefitted greatly by being a little more studious and ordered about my learning of the business side of the industry.
I’m finding that when you work from home, your muses can sometimes become quiet. There’s only so much you can learn and experiment with whilst at home in your hooded leopard print dressing gown. I’ve therefore been trying to surround myself with artists of all kinds; to join in with their vibes, collaborate and feed from their energy. I feel that you need a lot of input when it comes to making images, especially when you feel lacklustre or uninspired.
5. What is photography for you?
A ravenous muse-like metaphorical monster that needs to be fed with creation and creativity. If it’s not, I simply don’t feel like myself and experience the “itch” that is common with a lot of creative people. It’s everything to me, my lifeblood and my soul fire.
6. If you could shoot anything or anyone, what/who would it be?
I would photograph Frances Bean Cobain and Andreja Pejić in the Las Vegas Neon Museum wearing Roberto Cavalli gowns. Though, I’d worry if I could to do so much beauty justice, my heart would be literally bursting with excitement and gratitude.
