Sian Davey

On the 2nd November Sian Davey came to talk to us about her work, I found the talk very inspirational and it was very interesting to hear about her work as she works very differently to anyone I know. She predominantly takes shoots in film, she uses her Mamiya 7 everyday shoots and sometimes uses 10x8.

To start off she a year in painting and was having such a good year but politely got asked her leave as she did not produce any work, she was actually quite gutted because she saw potential and she went to loads of exhibitions, getting inspiration etc. but she understood why they were asking her to leave.

Davey was a Psychotherapist for 15 years then went to see an exhibition and changed her mind overnight that she wanted to be a photographer.

It took her two years to pick up a camera as she didn’t know how to use one.

She told us she doesn't know anything about equipment and doesn't use any including flash - this surprised me a lot considering she is a professional camera.

She then studied BA Photography here, at Plymouth College of Art but only for 6 months as she found out she was pregnant with her daughter Alice and a year a half later she went to do an MA at Plymouth University.

She then went to tell us about her project Looking for Alice she had only being taking photos for two or three years before this project. Which she started this in her MA.

Looking for Alice

Alice has Down Syndrome but the project is not about that, its about a relationship with difference. Sian emotionally rejected her when she was born and she was filled with fear and uncertainty, Alice was treated like a diagnosis. When they got the high reading they got strongly advised to abort her they were in shock but there was no question about keeping her. She started photographing Alice when she was a year old and this project has helped shine a light on how much she is loved.

Its a story about love and what gets in the way of that

In the past lots of people would reject them so they would end up in these institutions and not given the right care or love. She wanted to create a project to show how they are loved.

She wrote lists for 3 or 4 months trying to figure out a way of showing this. She walked beside her daughters life for three years, all the narratives she had been writing in lists appeared in the film negatives.

She wanted to show the exclusion Alice goes through in life and she knows that Alice internalises all the discrimination but she just wants her to feel love.

The project is about love and about loving each other, and the extents we go to hide that.

Alice looks at you and sees how great you are, they come with an extraordinary gift.  

She has made grown men cry as when she sees people are really sad she will go up to them and holds there face and she sees how great they are.

She wants there to be a bigger conversation about how people don't see how great these children are, also that they are still people.

She wants to capture how Alice is slowly being treated like an alien in her own community. That is what the message is behind the image below.

An Icy Morning

Davey told us how, to her, light looks different in every location, it has different colours etc.

When Alice was first born her grandmother held her out at arms length in rejection but two years later Alice turned into her teacher and her grandmother now accepts and loves her.

Alice with Grandmother

She told us how she buys and paints things that will look good in photos so when the moment comes the space is ready to be shot. For example the pillow in the image below.

The project has ended up she still takes loads of images but not driven, it's now more of a mother's instinct

Martha

While she was taking the pictures of Alice she was taking images for another project about her daughter Martha, as Martha didn't like it that she was always taking photos of Alice. She took photos of Martha before Alice but then her focus shifted.

The project began in a domestic space on their holidays, in an Indian barber shop to be precise. They were both very freaked out (Martha and the barber) and she found that kinda funny, the barber had never cut women hair before.

Martha had a 'mournfulness; of not wanting to be at home, she wanted to be out in the world.

Davey said the great thing about following people is you see the development of friendships.

Throughout this project she saw things a mother probably wouldn't want to see and that a daughter wouldn't want her mum to see. She needed Martha's friends to trust her as she was going to be following them around for 3 months. They were very happy with how the images turned out and they celebrated the images as her launch. They are not the type of images they would have ever taken of each other, she said it will probably be a few more years until they truly realise what has been captured.

She got to join in the fun with her daughter. Martha would just phone her up and tell her where they would be and she would chuck a coat over her pjs and go and meet them. For example:

For this image Martha phoned her up drunk saying they were at this kebab shop in Torquay at around five in the morning. She grew a coat on over her pyjamas and drove dow to meet her. She only had 10 minutes before the shop way closing and it was hard to around them all up to get a good shot. She said the funny thing was that they didn't even want a lift home afterwards they were just happy walking the streets.

A temporary ice rink had been built in Plymouths city centre and she got a phone call to say that they had broken in so she raced down to take some photos. When she got down there she realised there wasn't much light so she improved and used a phone torch (she then laughed and said that this is the extent of equipment she uses).

She had build up a relationship where they knew the boundaries of taking photos.

Her next project is about her son Joseph Wolf, she has taken a few photos for it already. She is going to be experimenting with 10x8. As she takes more photos the project is becoming a little more conceptual. He has made it clear that when his friends come round not to take pictures.

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Someone asked if she ever takes photos in black and white and this was her response. She sees in colour and dreams in colour so she photographs in colour, where she goes there is a different colour pallet that she wants to capture.

She also got asked if she has a family album, with 'snapshots' and her answer was a defiant no. There is family album and no snaps and she doesn't regret it. She said that she doesn't need a a family album to remind herself of how much she loves her family

Davey told us how she does commercial work and they have finally let her use her film camera which is great because that is the way she works best. More and more people are using film in commercial work as it has a look and feel to it.

She ended the talk by telling us how we need to be able to hear our own voice to get our own style, listen to yourself and follow how you feel. If you look at other peoples work all the time your work will become generic.