Redirect to SiP

I wanted to introduce the toy photography work that I am involved with. This is a collaboration with the wonderful team over at Stuck in Plastic (SiP Link).

Back in 2018, having been on Instagram for about a year and a half. My photography was getting noticed by the Stuck in Plastic crew. You see, I had joined in 2018, #Sipgoes52. This was 52 weeks containing 52 words given each week. The task was to creatively put those words into pictures that related with your own interpretation. At the end of this project I published a book, and it can be viewed here … https://issuu.com/b3vbev/docs/legolife_52v

In June 2018, the team asked me to be a feature guest and introduce myself explaining who I was and the reason why I started shooting toy photography. As you can imagine, I was thrilled to have been asked and you can read my story via the blog post (Link).

I became involved in toy photography by accident really. I was in the process of completing a Bachelor of Arts in Photography and this study helped me reflect on my photographic practice over the years. In retrospect, back in 1996 I had been studying at the same University, Carmarthen School of Art at HND level, and I remember vividly one of the projects given was to photograph an Inanimate Object. Inexperienced, I had no idea what I was going to shoot, let alone my creative output was, well very much thought of inside a box.

I set myself a challenge and in 2016, I started shooting toy photography. Ironically, I played with Lego as a kid, so how I never thought to use this was something that resonates with me to this day. Perhaps, if I knew then, what I know now! but then hindsight is a wonderful thing.

During that same year, I produced a series of images using a LEGO minifigure version of myself as a way to pay homage to Sherman’s work. I recreated her original images using the minifigure as a stand-in for the artist. Not an easy task, as I was limited to certain positions. Three years later, I messaged Sherman some pix and she said, “love the LEGO images” which is incredible and a real compliment. In 2019, I was fortunate to visit the  Cindy Sherman  exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery  in London. It was incredible and inspiring to see her collection together. Her work will continue to inspire artists around the world for many years to come.

But just  who is Cindy Sherman , you ask? Well she happens to be one of the most influential, important contemporary artists of our time. Her body of work consists of photographs from the mid-1970s to present day. Sherman is famous for her use of makeup, costumes, props and prosthetics to create complex and ambiguous photographic self-portraits. She invents fictitious characters and photographs herself in imaginary situations.

Many people will not understand Cindy Sherman or LEGO building, and that’s ok. That being said, what they do not realise is that toy photography can be challenging at times, pushing your creativity to the limits, whilst also being fun, engaging and rewarding.

In 2019, the Stuck in Plastic crew were sending me products to review and I began writing blogs for them. The latter part of that year, the team invited me to become a valued member of the crew and to this day, I continue to write blogs, review products and as a result of this collaborative work, many of my images have been shared by The LEGO Group on their official social media.

Who are we?

We are a creative collective of toy photographers rooted in the old continent of Europe. Our crew can be found from the south of France to the north of Finland (Current  crew  has roots in France, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom). 

What do we do?

We take pictures of toys. 
We organise once a year a toy photography safari weekend in Europe. 
We organise once a year a real live exhibition around the World.
We participate in various LEGO events around the world with Pop Up Art exhibitions and photo seminars. 
And we are always open for new collaborations. 

Why do we do it?

That is a good question. 
And has been the title of a  series of blogpost. 

And while the inner drive off every photographer is different, we all like our toys. We like to take our toys out for epic photoshoots in the studio or out in the field. 

We like to tell stories. And we like to share our adventures with the world. 

Both with other  photographers  and people who like to enjoy our work on the screen or printed big in art galleries and board rooms alike.  

See you online or in the real world. 

The SiP Crew

We started off 2020 building from a team of five to eight members. At the time I was in my final year of a Masters Degree with Falmouth University and working self employed, then the global pandemic hit the world and my practice. This changed how my MA work in progress was able to proceed, and yet my toy photography was able to continue in my home studio. I was not only researching for my academic studies, but I was now also looking at other practitioners who were shooting toy photography.

The main reason for my connection to this endearing product is because I am passionate about photography, and I love seeing creative imagery. This genre not only allows me to show my creativity, it is also challenging and this continues to excite me.

During that year, Stuck in Plastic kept me creatively active and I adore the crew for given me the opportunity to continue to develop and grow in this genre of photography. However, with growth comes more interaction and this sometimes leads to our work being used without our permission. Therefore, I recently wrote a post explaining the issues surrounding Copyright, you can read it here (Blog Link).

Our collaboration continues with The LEGO Group and we look forward to the exciting projects and exhibitions we have coming your way throughout 2021.

If you haven’t yet clicked on the links yet … please do!

Find us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/stuckinplastic/