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HOLLY BYNOE
Tell us a little about your background... where you are from ?
I hail from a small island in the southern Caribbean called Bequia, which is one of the thirty-two islands that make up Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. I lived there for the first seventeen years of my life then moved to Trinidad and Tobago to do my first undergrad, then moved again to new York city in 2001 to attempt my second. I moved back home to St. Vincent in the summer of 2006.
When have you starting photography and under what circumstances ?
In 2003 I was looking through my undergrad book and saw photography as an option, I was currently studying Media and communication and I loved the feel of analog film. I thought that it would be a great asset to see what would come to life and voila, as it would be the art form that speaks to me the most became clear and visible.
What inspires you?
Strange meetings, muses, love, warm days, odd tempos, clear words that make my soul ache, masculinity, femininity, love and honesty.
How would you describe your photos for someone who's never seen them ?
A journey in discovering the familiar, when you look at my images, you get a little glimpse into a weird paradise, a paradise that exists in my imagination, in my subconscious utopian ideals. I may not even be aware of it until the image has been produced; this is when my emotional investment manifests itself.
Have you had any formal education or are you self-taught ?
I had some formal training but only the basics, I stepped out from that formality as soon as I knew I could control more around me.
What is your view on the current art market and how do you see photography within this ?
I think it is somewhat corrupt for an artist to concentrate on money while trying to create, this makes creativity impossible in my eyes, however I know of artists that can pull it off and make it seem effortless. Photography is fast becoming one of the ways in which the future becomes less visually illiterate. And it will grow and become more profound as a way to evoke a measure of sense and time.
How do the public and the critics perceive your work ?
I have no clue really how critics perceive my work, but some words that I have gotten describing what I do include: beautiful, genuine, haunting, absurd, sensitive, dark, conceptual, alluring. Both my peers and my critics offer me these words. I look at faces when I get the chance to and I see wide-eyed wonder, sometimes I see confusion and sometimes I see smiles. I try to take all of these in be as unbiased as I can. There is so much I have left to learn I am only skimming the surface.
What's the strangest request you've had ?
I am severely open minded so much isn’t strange anymore. However I have been asked to cover events like baby showers, I think it is strange because why would someone want an artist like me to cover and event and expect ordinary photographs. I need time and dedication by all around me in my creative process.
What makes you happy ?
Freedom, ultimate freedom to do whatever my whims and fancies dredge up. I get a sheer tingle from excitement knowing that this time isn’t here yet, I have gotten a brief taste of it and it was sweet, I know when it finally manifests itself that it will be powerful and a catapult for me. Currently most of my happiness comes from being with my family and loved ones, artistically I am in a fortress. I will break this fortress down and when I do, I am not entirely sure what will happen but I can smell the beginnings of it and it lights a fire in my mind.
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