Art Month Sydney has indeed started and Australian photographer Bradley Scott is currently exhibiting his work at the Black Eye Gallery. His raw, sexy images made us want to know more about him, so we decided to ask him a few questions…
Bradley Scott’s photography work is very real, ‘in your face’ and also quite kinky. He has now collected a selection of his images into a book called LOLA, which you can see, touch, browse, smell and purchase at the Black Eye Gallery in Darlinghurst. His work is simply inspired by life sequences that we all might have experienced or will experience one day. It’s the image of the juicy burger you are craving, right before you get a bite. It’s a woman lying naked in your bed after sex. It’s a drunk girl dancing with a tree on the streets… Bradley Scott is not the kind of photographer who keeps a safe working distance between his lens and the models. These honest images give you the feeling that you are right there, ready to bite this burger.
Your work could obviously be compared to the one of Terry Richardson. Does he inspire you?
Absolutely! Terry Richardson was actually the first photographer I started looking into. I wanted to understand why I liked his work so much, and I realised it’s because his images are so real and raw. It’s not just a beautiful image in a nice fashion studio; it’s a whole sequence of life.
You say you shoot your own life’s fantasies, how do you select your subjects?
Sometimes I just see something I really like and then I decide to shoot it. My work is probably close to documentary photography. Even if I have an idea of what I want to shoot, a lot of my work is spontaneous and has to do with my experience of life.
Some pictures are very intimate… Do you know you models personally? If not, how do you make them feel so comfortable?
Some of the guys are good friends of mine but most of my models are met on the day. I don’t have a particular strategy to make them feel at ease… I am just really honest about what I am doing. I am polite: I say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’!
Sometimes it takes a lot of time and patience to get exactly what I want… I might have to shoot between 400 and 500 pictures to keep only one! But I can only need a few shots to get what I was looking for.
One of the model comes back quite often in your book. Is she your muse?
I wouldn’t say I have a muse. The girl lying naked on the bed is actually a friend of mine. She is an artist, a great writer, and we just enjoy working together every time she’s around.
A lot of your pictures were taken in Los-Angeles. Would you like to live and work there?
I love L-A. My first professional photography experience was in L-A in 2010. I’ve been there twice to do some photography work and I will definitely go back again. However I really like living in Sydney and I don’t think I will leave this city.
Do you think Sydney is a good place to become an internationally recognised photographer?
Yes. I think we have heaps of great artists and photographers. It means a lot of concurrence, but also great aspirations.
Talking about concurrence, the photography industry has evolved a lot recently, with more and more people having access to retouching programmes. Do you think this is affecting professional photographers?
I am sure it is. I don’t think I am personally affected, because my work is more artistic than professional/commercial. However, a good photographer might get less work just because another photographer, who can’t even make use of his camera, can do magic with PhotoShop. It is becoming harder and harder to make a living with photography.
Do you retouch your images?
No, 90 per cent of my work is film photography so I just scan the negatives into digital photos. I might retouch the colours sometimes but I will never retouch my models. If my subject has a scarce, then it has to be part of the sequence I am creating and I will keep it. I want my images to be as authentic as possible so I don’t see the point retouching them.
Are you against this kind of manipulations?
No. I understand that it is useful sometimes, it just doesn’t make sense in my work.
Describe your work in three words.
Honest, sexy and fun, or at least I hope it is!
Discover Bradley’s work
The Black Eye Gallery
3/138 Darlinghurst Rd,
Darlinghurst
March 9 – March 22
Tuesday – Sunday 10am-6pm
More exhibitions from Art Month Sydney
Credit: Bradley Scott