Congratulations to photographer, Ash Cheatham for placing 3rd in our 5th Edition!

 Who are you?

In short, I’m a wife, mom, explorer, entrepreneur, and artist. I live and work in Houston, TX. I started practising photography in 2001 in high school. I grew up in Detroit, MI which was a photographers playground with all the abandoned buildings. I love re-discovering the past and unearthing what is left after neglect and exposure to the elements. I’m an adventure addict. I’ve travelled to over 25 countries. Experiencing other cultures is something I truly value and has definitely influenced my artwork. Those who know me would describe me as a passionate person. I am direct and not scared to talk about hard things. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I care deeply about other people. I have been volunteering with an underage sex trafficking rescue centre for 5 years along with helping set up a halfway house for orphaned teens being aged out of the system in El Salvador. Seeing the world and making an impact in others lives is what matters to me the most. Silver Screen is part of my first fine art series since college. This was a personal and emotional triumph to complete these works. To have already had such great success and feedback is astounding and I am so grateful.

What inspired you to begin utilizing photography?

I fell in love with photography in my high school darkroom. I found every excuse possible to spend my time there. The magic of watching paper develop in the chemistry was utterly intoxicating; I was addicted. I studied fine art photography at Oakland Community College (OCC) in their extensive darkroom and studio. It was at OCC where I was able to explore many different film and processing techniques. I concentrated on cross-processing color slides and colour-infrared film. I have now turned my focus towards conceptual art. The color shifts and tones from alternative film processing heavily influence my digital work today. 

Can you discuss the inspiration and thought process behind "Silver Screen?"

I was inspired by the war and post-war eras need to escape from reality. Avoiding our own reality during the pandemic through Tiger King, TikTok, movies, social media, and general hiding. Some withdraw from hard situations all the time, but it was illuminated in our collective world crisis. “Silver Screen” depicts those of us who bury our heads in the sand and try to disappear from what is going on around us all together, escaping into someone else's reality to avoid processing the real world. Flirting with the invisible line of a mental health break and repudiation. 

Silver Screen" is part of a series, can you tell us about it?

Gently Seeping, depicts the delusional state that many people are blissfully unaware they are in. I display vivid scenes characterizing the things we do to nurture ourselves, yet simultaneously destroy us. Everyday examples that I have drawn inspiration from include: visiting a beauty salon then having a cigarette. Ordering a Big Mac meal with Diet Coke. Getting behind the wheel drunk while buckling the seatbelt. The pandemic has only exacerbated the delusions even more. COVID has displayed a dramatic divide between those who live completely unchanged, and those who have locked themselves away. When COVID ambushed our lives, I saw first-hand the "save yourself" mentality that has left us at war against each other. Where is the line drawn between pleasure and risk? I want to press into those invisible boundaries deep in our subconscious that we place on ourselves. 

I purposefully chose the gas mask without its big filter to portray the relentless bare-minimum mindset society continues to display. The mask illustrates a positive action someone does to better themselves or their life but is then often rendered useless amidst the other choices they continue to make. The smoke in some of the images represents the danger we allow to seep into our lives while feeling protected with our faulty gas mask. Some scenes are focused on a specific contradictory concept. Several represent those content with an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality, willfully ignoring the suffering of others or our planet. This series is set in an indistinct time period. I mix vintage with modern aesthetic, combining for an almost post-apocalyptic feel with a cross-processed quality. These windows of augmented reality more accurately express what true-life obscures.

The "Gently Seeping" series seems to capture reality in a very surreal way, can you talk about the process to achieve this balance?

The balance lies in keeping the subjects relatable by posing them in common life situations. Taking the mundane activities we can all connect with and adding a bizarre twist. Common everyday people, poses, and scenarios like watching a movie together. I kept the gas mask as a constant throughout the series; covering the face can often create a surreal feel. The gas masks and smoke are made ordinary to the subjects, as if they have always existed.

Can you explain why you choose Photography as a medium for your work and voice as opposed to others?

I was born in the Metro Detroit area in 1985 which means I’m unquestionably a Millennial. I was relentlessly nurtured by technology as it exploded during my childhood. I became fixated by the complexities of human nature in the information age. In my current concepts, I illustrate how technological advancements have changed the way people interact with one another and themselves. My aim is to increase awareness to the viewer that people are much more complex than they would like to admit. It only makes sense to me to use a medium that has evolved so drastically over the last few decades to capture my message. The rapid change from film to digital, to pocket cameras, to phones, to even helmets is indicative of how dynamic we are as humans. I can’t think of a more perfect tool to use as my voice. 

Have you experimented with other mediums? If so, which ones and how?

I worked with other mediums in high school and college; mainly working with metals, stained glass, and sculpture. I consider myself a pretty creative person overall and will generally insert myself into any avenue possible when it comes to artistic tasks, whether that was theme and design for client cards, invitations, renovating our home, or making something instead of buying it. In terms of putting artwork out there for the world, I would say “no”. I have only worked in photography since college. In my next series, however, I am extremely excited as I will be creating a lot of the costuming and props for the scenes.

Can you talk about your biggest learning experience during the process of photographing your subjects ?

My biggest learning experience was giving myself permission to redo some of my favorite shots. The first iteration of “Silver Screen” was a shot I was extremely proud of, but it could have been better. I was conflicted about redoing it and putting unnecessary pressure on myself as an artist. I felt like a failure for not getting it right the first time since I spent so much time planning and orchestrating the scenes. It took me a while to get rid of my own head-trash. Obviously, I am glad I did since it won 3rd place! Ultimately it made me realize this is an important step in critiquing one's own work and part of the journey to becoming a better artist. The images I remade are some of the strongest in the series. 

Separately, learning how to work with the smoke bombs was a challange. I did not composite any of the images and shot exactly what was in front of me. For most of the photos I had only a 10 second window for the perfect shot based on needing a specific type of smoke: the wispy start, full billowing, or the tail-end where the fog sets in. The most difficult scene was making the smoke come out of the phone. I had to do lots of research and it took quite a bit of engineering for it to work. I only had one small explosion! 

What projects are you working on currently? Can you discuss them?

In my next project, Mother Nature, I will be exploring the spiritual connection and relationship between mothers, daughters, and our earth. Celebrating the nexus of earth and birth through female subjects in a landscape they feel most connected to nature or where they consider home. Whether their “home” is where their ancestors lived, where they were born, where they were raised, or even where they are simply drawn to.

Earth has a motherly relationship with humans as we do with our own children. I want to delve into the generational union we have with the earth through the transformation of giving birth and life and examine the unique bond passed down from mother to daughter to granddaughter. Girls are born with all the eggs they will have in their lifetime. In effect, mothers have also carried their grandbabies through their daughters. This series will be a reflection of our essence; intending to shed light on women’s natural and magical link to creation while exposing our similarities to mother nature.

To accomplish this, I will be posing mothers and daughters, and/or granddaughters of different ages and ethnicities in a natural setting. They will be dressed or covered in ancestral, cultural, or environmental symbols that they personally connect to, creating a textural contrast between skin and the scenery elements. Before photographing, I will be guiding them in a short meditation to spiritually connect with each other and their surroundings. 

I don’t have a sneak peek yet, but I will be starting on this project very soon!

Lastly, I like to ask everyone what advice they would give to their fellow artists/photographers, what is your advice?

Keep gathering ideas and don’t pressure yourself to start on them until you know you are ready. I kept a place where all my ideas went for years before I felt ready to express them. Whenever I felt inspired I wrote it down in as much detail as I could. Doing this eventually led me to this series. While I wasn’t able to execute due to equipment or time or supplies, I still wrote them down. I still gave myself time to think them through. That extra time helped me narrow down the really stand out ideas from the weaker ones. Please don’t misunderstand that waiting to be ready was not a passive act. I was saving money for a new camera, lenses, lights, making lists of supplies to gather for the shots, and finding locations. So as soon as I had the means, I started shooting. Step by step goals and planning was what I needed to keep me focused and on track. Additionally, be brave with your ideas. I’ve been told this series isn’t “pretty” so it may not sell as well as other artwork. Instead, I embraced the advice I was given by another curator, “some work is meant to be seen and is just as important as work meant to be sold”. That gave me a lot of courage to move forward full steam ahead in putting my dark, edgy work out there.

To view more of Ash Cheatham’s work:

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