Mobile Photography and Art Interview – Hope In Adversity Interview with Susan Latty from Sydney, Australia
I am currently shielding for twelve weeks as my Dr has said I am in the high risk category. In my home, we have all had to make adaptions to adjust to this pandemic, although, at least, currently, we are all well. I’ve been recalling many of the good words our dear friend and talented artist Carolyn Hall Young shared with us, not least ‘in any given situation we can always choose, hope over fear‘ – let’s all choose hope.
I am aware there are many others also in a similar situation at the moment and I felt it would be a good idea to create an interview, reflecting these times with stunning imagery. This is a new series of interview with mobile photographers and artists discovering what they’re creating and how in these difficult times. Our fifth interview is with talented mobile photographer, Susan Latty from Australia. I have always found Latty’s photography and her work extremely uplifting as I previously mentioned in our intimate interview with her, I recognise her spirit, I have felt it in one other in my lifetime, enjoy!
If you are social distancing or social isolating at this time, are you using any additional time you may have to create mobile digital art or photography?
My husband and I decided to cancel all commitments and isolate ourselves mid March ahead of the Australian Government recommendations as we watched with horror as things deteriorated so rapidly overseas. We are both retired and healthy and felt it was an easy decision. We also felt privileged to have the choice.
I am relishing having more time to create mobile art. Normally I only work on editing my images in the evening so spending extra time during the day feels like a gift. I like to be active and continue to go for a walk or bike ride each day whilst observing social distancing. I’m also spending much more time in my garden so inspiration for images is endless.
If so, have you noticed the style of art that you’re creating changing from what you would normally create?
Yes, I feel my art is gradually changing and developing. Certainly in response to this extraordinary situation as I grapple with the implications personally and at a community level, but also due to some recent mentoring with Jane Schultz. Her input and support has offered me broader technical skills and perhaps more bravery to express myself.
If yes to the above, can you explain how your art has changed?
One of my goals for this year was to learn Procreate. Learning Procreate coincided with the devastating fires here in Australia which were followed by floods, and now the horror of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Creating mobile art offers me a chance to respond to these events both creatively and emotionally. It also helps me readjust my focus. With the constant bombardment of shocking news and such a fluid, deteriorating situation, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. It breaks my heart to see what others are enduring and the profound grief and fear they must be feeling. Creating my art gives me a chance to pause and refocus. It helps me be in the moment, noticing and capturing what’s around me and then being able to sit with this, using the subject matter as a point of departure to express what is in my heart.
As my technical repertoire has expanded, I have wanted to challenge myself on multiple levels. I want to take more risks experimenting with these newly acquired tools, trust my instincts with unexpected editing results while fiercely protecting my authenticity.
Have you found additional inspiration to create at this time?
My inspiration always begins with observed beauty around me which then offers a starting point to respond emotionally to my day as I work on the image. I value that even as the world is changing so rapidly in so many profound ways, I can still delight in the rhythm of the day and the ephemeral beauty around me. I find this comforting and it helps me be in the moment. The emotions I am experiencing in response to our current situation are very powerful, and my art helps me find a balance between witnessing, with compassion, the world events and caring for my own emotional health.
Is creating mobile digital art/photography helping you at this time specially, how and why?
During such unprecedented times of fear, uncertainty and isolation, feeling connected to others in a positive way is vital. Creating mobile art helps me do this. It allows me to share my feelings and to express our oneness. It allows me to express my compassion and say we are in this together and I care. But also importantly it allows me to express my sense of hope and gratitude with an invitation to others to feel a moment of peace, of calm, a different focus.
Do you feel that sharing mobile art/photography at this time is spreading a unity of peace?
Connecting on a creative level is such an honest, deeply personal, vulnerable form of connection and without doubt this promotes caring for the other. When we see others sharing and responding with kindness and love, this undoubtedly promotes unity across the world and brings us closer to peace.
Anything else you would personally like to add…
Mobile art is such a joyful process for me. It feeds my creativity, my spontaneity and my sanity. It is a priority in my day. I love being a part of this wonderful community that is always shaped by generosity of spirit. I feel such gratitude for what I have and am part of. I hope we all find untapped resilience as we endure this crisis. Stay safe and well my friends. A very special thank you to Joanne who is simply awesome!
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Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
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