Table of Contents<\/p> I grew up in Melbourne and moved to Brisbane about 14 years ago with my husband and two children. I put together my first Photoshop composite of my daughter when she was about two and a half (she\u2019s now 23!). I think it was Photoshop 2 or 3. Over the years I dabbled as a hobby but didn\u2019t take to it seriously. \u00a0I\u2019ve run my own graphic design business since 1996. <\/span><\/p>\n I started out working with other people\u2019s images and a few snapshots of my own but eventually, I wanted more control over the images, including control over the copyright. I had a few friends who were generous enough to loan me cameras but it wasn\u2019t until I bought my first DSLR in 2012 that I really got interested in photography.<\/span><\/p>\n When I first started photography I did a bit of everything! From photographing pregnant friends, babies, families, pets, landscapes to still life images. It was a great way to learn. Soon I realized I wanted to do more conceptual portraiture and composting work. I wanted to work on a single image or a small series where I\u2019m directly expressing myself than be working on 20 images for clients.<\/span><\/p>\n It was a total accident, really! I was looking for public domain images to practice restoring and recoloring when I came across this archive on Flickr. Two images, in particular, caught my eye \u2013 the young couple from \u201cFresh\u201d and the little girl from \u201cInnocence\u201d. The young couple appeared to be a multi-racial couple. People appeared somber in photographs back then but I thought this couple looked kind of sad. I started thinking about how hard it still is to cross racial divides today and wondered just how much harder it must have been in Romania in the 1930\u2019s. <\/span><\/p>\n They\u2019re a young couple in love, they should be happy! The little girl from \u201cInnocence\u201d appealed to me immediately as I wasn\u2019t sure if she was happy or sad, good or bad. It just took a little longer to develop the concept for her.<\/span><\/p>\n I checked He was immensely supportive and a little further down the track when I decided to start producing prints he very generously gave me access to higher resolution versions of the images. I try to always send a print of anything I do to him as a \u2018thank you\u2019. He has the most comprehensive collection of this series to date!<\/span><\/p>\n It was more about re-imagining the past, rather than deliberately bringing them into the present. What might their lives have been? Because we will likely never know, that opened up the options to fantastical ideas and new realities. These people were born into a poor country at a time of war. I wanted something better for them, something special.<\/span><\/p>\n I think the idea that people from the past really weren\u2019t that different to us. If it weren\u2019t for the limited technology available at the time, perhaps we\u2019d see them differently.<\/span><\/p>\n I think it breaks down barriers in many ways. We can see and talk to people from other countries and cultures. This project was a classic example of that situation – I came across something by chance on the internet and ended up developing a relationship with people on the other side of the world (thank you Google Translate)!<\/p>\n The Self Preservation series was a deeply emotional series for me. I was struggling with depression at the time and trying to find ways to express how I felt. This series approaches things from the perspective of aging. I would internalize my thoughts pose to make myself as small as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n Nasty Little Critters is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek reflection of childhood and parenthood. With the passing of several family members and my children reaching adulthood, I found myself reflecting both on the sweet highlights and the painful losses of family relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n Most of the main characters in this series are toys from both my and my children\u2019s childhood, albeit a little altered! They all have personal meaning to me and in some cases represent particular family members. The views are distorted and extreme but represent the darker side of how we feel about those we love unconditionally and those who we know intimately through shared history. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I see a lot of expressions of how wonderful parenthood is \u2013 and it is! But there are also moments of incredible fear and pain. This series is a bit of a visual scream for me! I wasn\u2019t so much choice what to construct as I was purging my feelings.<\/span><\/p>\n I don\u2019t necessarily think of it in that context but I guess my work has allowed me to express my feelings in a way that is socially acceptable! I am aware of using my work as an example to my kids that it\u2019s normal to have ups and downs and it\u2019s okay to express your feelings about them.<\/span><\/p>\n I really like the idea of images being somewhat ambiguous \u2013 is it real or not, is it nice or not? I have my personal interpretation of an image but it\u2019s just that, personal. I want people to have their own interpretation of the work. I also like the idea that if something cannot be clearly categorized or labeled, it\u2019s much harder to make a judgment about it. So many people try to believe that the world is black and white when it will always be many shades of grey.<\/p>\n Many times it\u2019s my story but sometimes I\u2019m a bit shy about it and cloak it in another story instead! There are often small elements in my images that really only have significant meaning to me. I like to emphasise that things are not always what they seem.<\/span><\/p>\n I think as cameras become more automated and easy to use, it will become more about composition and constructing the light. The story has to be much stronger to stand out in a crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019d like to think that as the technological playing field evens out and many people have access to good quality equipment, people start to appreciate that it\u2019s about more than your camera. It\u2019s about what\u2019s in your mind, whether you are shooting products for a client or a fantasy composite.<\/span><\/p>\n Haha I\u2019m having a bit of a creative block at the moment! I had a really busy period at the end of last year and the start of this year with the artwork for the Aurora album cover and the Nasty Little Creatures series. Maybe by the time I finally get around to packing up everything from those two projects I\u2019ll have a clearer idea of what comes next. I am looking at the possibility of a book of the Dancing with Costic\u0103 series but I need to sort out my budget on that!<\/span><\/p>\n Jane Long’s website:\u00a0janelong.photomerchant.net<\/a><\/p>\n Costica Ascinte Archive:\u00a0colectiacosticaacsinte.eu<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.photojaanic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/melbourne-0316-167-edit-lr.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nTell us about your background and initiation into photography? <\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
What was your engagement with photography when you started out? <\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nHow did Dancing with Costica<\/a> happen? What about the original images that fascinated you? <\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
How did you manage to get permission to use the archival images<\/a>?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a> carefully on the Flickr Commons page for permissions but given that I was doing more than just reproducing the images, I took the first image to the curator of the archive, Cezar Popescu to ask if he was okay with what I was doing. <\/span><\/p>\nIn this project, you re-visit and re-imagine history. What does bringing past into the present mean to you? <\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThis work has been published widely on the internet. What do you think ‘clicked’ with the audience?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
How do you think technology enables us to make sense of the world we live in? <\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nYour project Self Preservation<\/a> looks disturbing, we wonder if working on it gave you sleepless nights. <\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nYour project Nasty Little Critters<\/a> looks\u00a0quite edgy – can you tell us a bit about it? How did you conceive the project? <\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nWhat about parenthood and family intrigued you to work on this idea? <\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nYour work deals a lot with family and children. how does being a mother inform your work?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
What comes across in all your projects is surrealism – as an artist, what are the concerns or ideas you are grappling with? <\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
The world of photography is expanding with new technology and platforms for dissemination. What do you think is going to make an important image?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
What are you currently working on?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n