Story Focus

‘By the quiet of the lake he whispered goodbye, snowflakes kisses melting into his tracks as he slipped away behind white dusty lines.'  Laura works in narrative, carefully crafting together photography and poetry, breathing life into the written form; transporting her subjects to a spellbinding world based on their own reality and personal experiences.  Laura’s poems and imagery are layered in meaning and symbolism, captivating the attention of the audience: 'Summer creeped in gracefully over the garden gate, perfumed in floral scented notes, unveiling a layer of mist over his gaze'. All props are delicately designed by Laura, hand made or selectively sourced for each individual photographic art piece. The set is then incorporated into the location creating a magical realist world for her subjects to dwell, opening the path for her viewers to wander. Delve into the following highlighted features from the site from commissioned to personal projects and explore these unique and captivating stories.

Inspiration

Nature Unmasked

This environmental series was inspired by the Pandemic and Lockdown. While humanity suffered restricted behind closed door, the introduction of masks were made compulsory in parts of the globe; as air traffic stood still for a short while, nature was given a chance to breathe and flourish unimpeded by the normal levels of human activity and pollution.

‘Bird’, “Butterfly’ and ‘Bee’ represent critical elements in the circle of life as pollinators and spreaders of seeds.

A Life created

‘It began with a single name.  A soft whispered word waiting to be heard.  A delicate desire to blossom and flourish like scattered seeds thirsty for water. I yearned to be liberated from the tall walls history built around our city; to tear down social stigmas and traverse the state of dreams; rising tall from the clouds as a woman with great strength; ready to give birth to the possibility of dreams.’

Inspiration

What is in a name. Can it define our future? Does it affect who we become?

One woman, six names.

A Life Created’ as seen through the eye of the artist, takes the viewer on a magical and explorative journey of one woman’s self discovery. Inspired by the meaning behind her multiple names, delicate strands of Japanese and Korean heritage are knitted together blurring boundaries between surreal and real.  A poetic narrative of Yuko’s identity slowly unravels, breathing life into the human condition, our inner struggles and hidden desires; fragility of motherhood to making dreams and finally a sense of belonging immerse in Singapore.  Through the complexities and fluid nature of identity what we see is a colourful life surface through these meaningful names

Yuko Ashizawa

(Child of Abundance)

Miwon - The origin of beauty

(to be seen not just an object of beauty but to be seen as a person from the inside out.)

Keito- Knitting

(you can be anything you put your mind to)

Jahanala - ‘Light of the People’

Mrs Singapore Global 2019

Lady of the Starlit Sky

I am the Lady of the starlit sky
drawing back night’s evening cape
watching as the great stars align.
Strong, I rise from the rocks I climb,
bold against the weathered clock 
which looms above the passage of time.
I’m humbled by my journeys,
crossing worlds to feed the curious of minds
giving back creatively to champion change,
breaking boundaries and healing pain.
I’m drawn to waterfalls like fish in oceans,
channeling inner peace like the Tao of my name
I flow through life’s streams to unravel my dreams,
finding strength on the pitch where I play.
I am the scales, shaping the shifting tides
stepping into the ring with a rhythmic swing,
pounding out the beat to the dance of the drum within;
Fighting, for my part on this stage called life.

Inspiration

The magic of Maya’s constellation fills the dusky night sky. Twinkling stars configured in clusters of twos and threes significant of her auspicious arrival into the world, her date of birth and weight all of which repeat the same recurring pattern of numbers: born at 2.23am, weighing 3.23kg.  A grand total of 23 stars can be counted in the piece, a symbol of the 23 strokes in her Chinese name and her lucky number. Through the midnight blue celestial sphere a hidden fish outline can be traced with a finger. A silent nod to her astrological water sign, Pisces. Against the darkness Maya stands affirmative and illuminated, an intrepid explorer on the cusp of her universe. A golden rope falls from her dreamcatcher, loosely wrapping around her ankle, anchoring her to the core but not holding her back. (The rope acts as the unbiblical cord to her universe and a symbol for her rock climbing passion.) Behind, dark brown rocks rise, strong in nature and bold against the ocean. A reflection of Maya’s personality which I feel is one of independence, strength, courage and determination denoted by the sports she plays; Muay Thai, boxing, touch rugby and rock climbing. Either side of her waterfalls cascade down lower rocks, mirroring the Taoist philosophy of Wu Wei, “flow with the water and the water will flow with you” and her love for waterfalls.   In her hand she firmly grips a hand made golden dreamcatcher which shines brilliantly; semi filled with small paper maché stars and interwoven with bronzed sequins in the same recurring numerical pattern. A tiny emblem of goals already achieved. Scattered around her glinting in the soft light, a further collection of three large stars, close by but not quite within grasp, illustrating the possibility of hurdles to conquer. Finally, looming above her a solo shooting star inflames the horizon leaving a limitless path of wishes, dreams, aspirations for the future and journey ahead.

What is in a name and can it influence us on our road in life?

Maya was named after one of the great influential and cultural pioneering women of our time, Maya Angelou.  Her middle name Tao was chosen thanks to the ‘Tao of Pooh’ a wonderful discovery which in my research to this portrait I read, having previously very little knowledge on the subject of Taoism, subsequently I stumbled across Wang Wei, the great Chinese landscape painter and poet whose work was strongly influenced by Taoism.  I found this alluring given Maya’s middle name ‘Tao’ as well as her (heritage), passion for rock climbing and love of waterfalls.