I’m delighted to bring you the work and words of Corinne Perry, a talented British film photographer with a particular motivation.
There’s much much more to delve into below, so I’ll sign off until a bit later.
Over to you, Corinne.
 
 

Hi Corinne, what’s this picture, then?

Corinne Perry - Wallflower
Corinne Perry – Wallflower

CP: This is a self-portrait from my ongoing body of work Wallflower. The series explores traumatic memories and emotions, portraying a sense of psychological entrapment experienced since childhood.
The photograph has been intimately hand coloured, enabling me to add further layers of emotion upon the surface of the gelatin silver print, until the image is born.
 
 

Ok, so who are you? (the short version, please)

Corinne Perry - Delirium
Corinne Perry – Delirium

CP: I am a self-portrait photographer, creating deeply personal reflections of my natural melancholic temperament. My photography is a form of therapy, a personal, emotional and sometimes turbulent struggle with the complexity of emotions.
I studied photography at Birmingham City University graduating in 2012 and currently reside within the West Midlands, UK.
 
 

When did you start shooting film and what drives you to keep shooting?

Corinne Perry - Wallflower
Corinne Perry – Wallflower

CP: I first began to use film whilst studying Photography at University. I was going through an emotionally difficult time and felt discontent with the self-portraits I was taking with my digital camera. I yearned for a sense of intimacy with my materials and turned to film.
Something about its tactile and sensory qualities felt instinctively right. Part of this intimacy allows me to enter into a meditative-like state, enabling me to explore my often repressed and sometimes painful emotions in front of the camera, the most intimate mode of looking. The sense of catharsis I feel when using film, is what drives my continued use of the medium.
Corinne Perry - Misery
Corinne Perry – Misery

 

Who or what influenced your photography when you first started out and who continues to influence you today?

Corinne Perry - Wallflower
Corinne Perry – Wallflower

CP: My work is deeply inspired by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman’s Victorian Novella ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ which tells the story of a woman’s descent into madness after she is confined to her bedroom.
This has been a lasting influence upon my work inspiring me to create photographs within my bedroom. I feel I can relate elements of my emotional state, to that of the woman within the Novella.
 
 

Are you a mixed medium photographer? What drives your choice to use film or digital from one day to the next?

Corinne Perry - Wallflower
Corinne Perry – Wallflower

CP: I began to hand colour my photographs whilst studying at University. A combination of studying Art before attending University and seeing some Victorian hand coloured prints, is what initially inspired me to hand colour. Most often I use watercolour paints, using colour to both expand upon the emotions expressed within the self-portrait and create further layers of pain. The use of film is so deeply entwined with my self-portraiture, that using digital is not an option.
 
 

What’s your next challenge…your next step? How do you see yourself improving your technique? What aspect of your photography would you like to try and master in the next 12 months?

Corinne Perry - Wallflower
Corinne Perry – Wallflower

CP: Creating self-portraiture has really aided my mental state. I aim through its ongoing use as therapy to continue to build upon the transformation of my mind set into that of a much more positive nature. I am interested in how my work will develop both conceptually and aesthetically, as this alters.
Although I am not against experimentation, I am content with my technique. I don’t feel I am a very technical minded photographer, preferring to work upon instinct and emotion.
 
 

Do you have a subject matter or style you always find yourself being drawn to? Why?

Corinne Perry - Wallflower
Corinne Perry – Wallflower

CP: Self-portraiture, I wouldn’t say it’s my preferred subject matter but it’s my only one. I often heavily distress my surroundings, transforming them into metaphors of my pain.
I need the physical act of being in the photograph to immerse myself within the tactile, sensory and therapeutic experience that photography is.
 
 

You have 2 minutes to prepare for an unknown assignment. You can take one camera, one lens, two films and you have no idea what you’ll be shooting. What do you take with you and why?

Corinne Perry - Wallflower
Corinne Perry – Wallflower

Corinne Perry - Misery
Corinne Perry – Misery

CP: I would use my Canon AV1, Ilford HP5 and my tripod. I have been using this camera, and film since the start of this therapeutic journey and feel a strong emotional connection with these materials.
 
 

You have an unlimited supply of film to shoot in one location for the rest of your life. What do you take, where do you go and why?

Corinne Perry - Wallflower
Corinne Perry – Wallflower

CP: It would be Ilford HP5+. As I use natural light, I pretty much always use this film as I feel its high speed and graininess emphasises the depth of the emotions I am portraying; and allows me to feel at one with my medium.
I love the poetic nature of black and white film, and the way it can so easily evoke notions of the gothic, alluding to the dark and evocative nature of my work. Using film is part of who I am now, and I just can’t think of an existence without it.
 
 

You can never use film again. What’s your last roll of film, where and how will you expose it and why?

Corinne Perry - Delerium
Corinne Perry – Delerium

CP: I only create self-portraits within my bedroom; the room I believe is the keeper of my trapped and repressed emotions. I would find it emotionally very difficult to create self-portraits in a location other than this deeply personal room.
 
 

What do you think is the biggest misconception about film photography today and how would you set it straight?

Corinne Perry - Wallflower
Corinne Perry – Wallflower

CP: I think using traditional photographic methods such as film and the darkroom can seem quite difficult. Personally before I started to use film and the darkroom I always thought of it being something that was much too difficult to even attempt. But when I started to use film it felt natural and instinctive.
 
 

In your opinion, what’s the future of film photography?

Corinne Perry - Misery
Corinne Perry – Misery

CP: I think it has a really positive future and that more photographers are continuing to use or turning to film, because of its tactile and sensory qualities that are just not possible with digital.
~ Corinne Perry
 


 
There’s a ridiculous trend right now where more and more people refer to self portraits as “selfies”, even going as far as offering to help others take a “selfie style photo”. Yes I know where the term came from but it’s called a self portrait, dammit.
Anyway…
The antithesis to all this nonsensical chatter is in my opinion, work like that of Corinne’s.
To the casual observer it may seem strange. The hand-colored aspect of some of her pieces may initially be taken as subtle printing or scanning errors but give it a second look and mental cogs start whirring. A seemingly innocuous image such as the sixth featured here (Wallflower, under the mixed media question), begins to elicit a feeling that it’s not simply a “pretty picture” but something altogether different, something much more; and learning more about Corinne and what drives her to create these pieces adds to that feeling without giving everything away.
Sadly, even with words to accompany her pictures, I can really only guess at their true meaning…and I guess that’s what keeps me coming back. Perhaps I can figure it out one day but maybe that’s not the point.
This form of photography isn’t one which normally appeals to me.  That said, Corinne’s pieces have an honesty and depth to them; and they retain a reality that I haven’t personally encountered very often.
They’re refreshing, they make me think and they put me in a mood I can’t quite put my finger on. To me, that’s exactly where I want to be.
Thank you, Corinne.
There’s only seven days to wait until the next EMULSIVE interviewee but I can’t tell you who it is just yet. If you’re struggling with things to do, please scroll up and read through Corinne’s one more time. Trust me, it just gets better and better every time. Please make sure you look up Corinne over at her website (www.corinneperry.com) or Twitter.
As ever, keep shooting, folks!
~ EMULSIVE
 
 

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5 responses to “EMULSIVE interview #112: I am Corinne Perry and this is why I shoot film – NSFW”

  1. Terry Farnell Avatar

    This is beautiful work; yes there are echoes of Francesca Woodman, but also of Lauren Simonutti and Susan Burnstine. All are unique and I’m looking forward to seeing more of Corinne’s work.

  2. Dejavu with the images of francesca woodman i had, but slightly different like it.

  3. @Corinne_Perry @BelieveInFilm I absolutely love “The Yellow Wallpaper” and can see how it inspires your work. Gorgeous photos.

  4. @Corinne_Perry @BelieveInFilm I LOVE “The Yellow Wallpaper” and can see how it inspired you. L

 

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