Jhoana Flores
Interview by Thomas Holland
Image by Jhoana Flores
Hi Jhoana, thank you for doing this interview with me, I really enjoy the idea behind the work, the idea of extended family and your cultural and personal relation to them, what inspired you to do this project?
I have never been close to my extended family. Coming from a strongly family-oriented culture, I longed but struggled to fit in with them while growing up without them. I grew up and have always lived in London, whereas their home is Ecuador. I wanted to somehow bridge that distance I felt, by using photography.
I really like the way you displayed the images both in the long single framed piece and the individual little framed images in a domestic setting, can you talk me through your process in generating work?
First, I thought of how to best express my feelings towards family, the distance I felt between us and the want to be closer. Then, when I had the opportunity to travel and be with them, the fleeting and mundane moments I shared with them were the most important. They stood out to me because they were new and rare, so they were special. When shooting these moments, I was mostly drawn to colour. A lot of the photos I took consisted of primary colours like red, blue and green. I noticed a pattern starting to form with colour. In Ecuador, I was always surrounded by colour. Whether it’s in traditional clothing, the food and especially the architecture of a home, colours are ingrained into our culture and country. I also focused on capturing fragments of these in-between moments, such as small details or crops and instances that represented a presence like shadows or reflections. While editing I paid attention to these visual details. As for the online and offline exhibition of the work, I kept thinking about how family photos are displayed. Traditionally they’re always framed and hung, or placed somewhere in the home. I wanted to include that as a way of finalising my feelings of family and these moments I shared with them.
Image by Jhoana Flores
What challenges did you face while putting this series together? Specifically how did covid restrict you? Did it restrict you?
At times it pushed me to keep going and at times it would be impossible to even try. I think we can all agree last year was really difficult, and it's still difficult now.
Can you summarise your time at LCC in 10 words or less?
An inclusive environment that allowed me to learn more about people. Not really 10 but close enough!
For anyone thinking of doing MA Photography at LCC, what advice would you give them?
Come with a lot of ideas, ready to develop them, to move on from them or change them completely. It's a long process but you grow along with it.
Image by Jhoana Flores
QUICK FIRE
Night out or Night in?
Night out please, I want to go out when it’s safe again!
What’s your favourite place to visit in your hometown?
The countryside, there’s an active volcano and they have the best cheese tortillas
What’s your favourite gallery in London?
The Photographers' Gallery is one
Roughly how many times have you sworn this year?
I don’t really swear actually
If you could change one thing about the art world, what would it be?
More opportunities for new people
and finally what’s next? any new projects? events? exhibitions? in the works? (that you’re allowed to talk about)
I’ll be exploring and developing my project outside of family. I’ve noticed that my fascination with space and human interaction runs deeper than I thought. So I would like to see where that takes me in the future.