Artist Lexi Laine
Lexi Laine is a U.K born artist with a B.F.A (Hons.) Fine Arts from the University of the Creative Arts. She is a free diving fine arts photographer with all of her amazingly being made whilst holding her breadth underwater.
What inspired you to start creating art?
I have always been drawn to making art since I was a child. It was my favourite subject at high school and I went on to study fine art at college. After graduating I started working as a commercial photographer which I found rewarding but soon realised that I needed to have a creative outlet that was purely for me. I began making underwater photographs without any end goal of where the pictures would be shown - I had no brief to fulfil or client to satisfy. And for this reason I could experiment and play and push boundaries within myself and what I am capable of achieving both physically and creatively. I trained to become a freediver and have learnt how to hold my breath for minutes at a time.
“Escondidas”
By Lexi Laine (Finalist 2nd Edition)
Photography
“‘Escondidas’ 2020 (meaning hidden) was inspired by the fact that such a small percentage of living artists represented by galleries in Europe and North America are women. I wanted to make a piece of work that showed blurry shapes of women with water disrupting the gaze.”
What inspires your work now?
I am hugely inspired by the underwater world. It is a natural resource that I feel compelled to celebrate and also be an advocate for change on how the oceans are treated by us as a human race. Aesthetically, I love how the light can interact with people underwater and I strive to create photographs that appear painterly. Blurring boundaries between mediums is something that I love the idea of. Another influence is definitely the work of baroque and renaissance artists and their dramatic use of light in their paintings.
“Descenso”
By Lexi Laine
Photography
“‘Descenso’ 2020 (meaning fall) is photographed underwater - both myself as the photographer and the model are freedivers. I wanted to create an image where the figure is falling, dramatic yet somehow melancholic. This was shot in one of the incredible clearwater cenotes of Mexico, this particular one being around thirty metres deep. It took a lot of trust for Kiki to do a pose like this, seemingly falling into the depths.”
What mediums do you work in and experiment with?
I am working entirely in digital photography at the moment. I love the idea of maybe switching this up at some point in the future and maybe combining photography and painting together but for now I’m happy with how I’m producing my work. I first started taking photos when I was at art school - back in the days of analogue film. I spent days at a time in the dark room and was completely seduced with the medium as a means for self expression. I often think I might return to traditional film photography too. Maybe soon!
“Cardumen”
By Lexi Laine
Photography
“‘Cardumen’ 2020 Inspired by heavenly scenes in baroque ceiling frescoes, Cardumen meaning shoal, portrays five images of a woman underwater in various stages of fluid dance. Combined together, it’s as if the figures are being gently pulled by the current. The dark muted tones and the eerie branches are a stark contrast to the pale limbs and delicate fabric. The circumstance of this scene seems incongruous but also at the same time somehow harmonious.”
Are there any particular brands of art supplies you prefer using (if so why)?
So as a photographer I guess my medium is camera equipment. I have found Sony equipment to be absolutely brilliant for what I do. I mainly use an A7Riii which produces huge file sizes so I can make enormous prints of my work. It also uses an insanely good focusing system which is the best thing for underwater work. In order to use my Sony gear underwater, I use an aluminum housing made by Nauticam. Print wise I am a fan of Hahnemuhle Photo Rag which is a gorgeous fine art paper.
“Dorada”
By Lexi Laine
Photography
“‘Dorada’ 2020 was photographed in a freshwater cenote in the Yucatan peninsular of Mexico. Thousands of small gold fish filled this particular pool and rather than be afraid of us, when we began shooting they swarmed around us. When I realised that the shoot would be filled with these fish, I asked Laura to switch into a perfect pale orange dress that she had brought with her. Everything came together for this image, the light was incredible that day and Laura’s freediving skills puts her perfectly at ease in this environment.”
Do you have any particular ways that you work through a creative block?
I think the tempting thing with a creative block is to stop producing. I think the only way that I personally can work through creative block is by just doing that - working through it. I carry on even if everything I make is hopeless. I have enough faith in myself to know that eventually I’ll come out the other side of the low.
“Ghost Nets”
By Lexi Laine
Photography
“‘Ghost Nets’ 2020 This was shot underwater featuring five fearless freediving women as subjects. This piece is named after commercial fishing nets that have been lost, abandoned, or discarded at sea. These nets often nearly invisible in the dim light, can be left tangled on a rocky reef or drifting in the open sea. If you google ghost nets and look at images you will see the horrors of beautiful turtles, seals, dolphins and whales entangled in this dangerous ocean waste. An estimated 640,000 tonnes of this fishing gear ends up dumped in the ocean every year. I wanted to make an image that on first appearance is beautiful, with ethereal figures and nice light. But when you realise what is happening, I want to show the sadness and darkness that I feel when I see ghost nets in the ocean. Seeing women seemingly trapped here is shocking, yet this is what we do to beautiful ocean animals all the time.”
Can you give any piece of advice to your fellow artists on what you have learned while you practiced your craft (that school or a book did not teach)?
Definitely I would say that mistakes and setbacks are a good thing. In the beginning I used to let things knock me down if they didn’t go to plan. For example, a trip where I spent four days driving along coastline in another country, desperately trying to find water clear enough to shoot in, only to fail. These kinds of setbacks can be time consuming, expensive and soul destroying. But now I try to look at each so called ‘failed’ shoot as inevitable. It makes those perfectly clear, stunning light days all the more sweet. And I also tell myself that if it were easy then everyone would be doing it! I guess what I’m trying to say is realise that there will always be ups and downs on the journey but it all shapes us as people and makes us into the artists we are meant to be.
To view more of Lexi Laine’s work