That Photograph’s A Vibe

Editorial and Interview by Briget Heidmous

Aphra Adkins is a still life photographer with a candy colored, nearly punk, eye for marrying patterns and textures to present unconventional views of conventional things. Aesthetics ranging from the absurd to the altogether surreal; she puts an anti-nostalgic spin on the 1950s while capturing the light, color intensity, and compositions of 17th Century Dutch floral paintings.  

Aphra has been a restauranteur, boutique cake creator and creative director of a small fashion line sold in The District, Maryland and Virginia. 

It is Spring 2020: Aphra and Femme Fatale DC are partnering to capture the essence of our newest venture: the Vibes Box by Femme Fatale DC. Prepare for takeoff. Official release May 20, 2020.

BEGIN INTERVIEW

How did you find your way to still life photography?

In what feels like a lifetime ago, I was running a small boutique cake business and I would photograph each cake I made. Eventually photographing the cake was my favorite part (and eating it, let's be honest), and it's evolved from there.

Your still life photographs are reminiscent of 17th Century Dutch still life paintings, specifically those of flowers, created by the likes of Ambrosia Bosschaert the Elder and Jan van Huysum. This influence is especially present in your earlier works - tell us more about this?

I hadn't been exposed to a wide variety of food art when I started and the Dutch Masters felt familiar and safe. Since I don't have any formal art or photography education I've been learning by doing every step of the way. I've always admired those early greats and I thought if I could start there it would be a good foundation for wherever I ended up.

Your current work reimagines your early influences into candy colored hue, multi-textured fields and various forms of orange orbs - clementines and eggs?

You can't break rules until you know they exist! When I started I was focused on trying to capture the way things look, but now I focus more on recreating the emotions they elicit. I mean, doesn't everyone feel a little something when they cut into a fresh stick of butter? The amazing way it's sharp and soft at the same time? So it's one thing to show someone a stick of butter as it exists in the world, and it's another thing to represent the way a stick of butter makes them feel.

I notice that you very often explore the texture and colors of eggs, milk and granular things (ie. sugar, glitter, dirt, salt), that are often crystalline. Tell us more about this?

The dairy theme (eggs, butter, milk) has so many layers. I'm actually allergic to dairy, so in a way I'm playing with the forbidden, and it's always fun to live on the edge a little. Separate from my relationship to it, dairy universally represents nourishment and femininity in an intertwined and inescapable way. By pushing my own boundaries when I create with dairy, I'm also recreating my definition of what it means to be a womxn; a mother, a lover, a partner. If I can intentionally spill milk and say objectively that the resulting mess is beautiful, I can also say to myself that I am beautiful, and that's a powerful thing. It's as much about my inner dialogue leading up to the final image as it is about the end result; a reminder to believe in myself. The shine and sharpness of rhinestones and glitter are in such contrast to the dairy, that they just belong together. I like that they demand that the foods be paid attention to, and not just in a superficial way. It draws you in to the details, the same way a shiny earring or necklace isn't actually about the jewelry, it's the fact that it makes you really take in the features of the person wearing it.

Your educational and practical background is not rooted in the field of art: how did you find yourself doing this work? 

I think in some ways it was almost inevitable. It's one of those things where you don't realize that you're leaning in a certain direction until you have the chance to look back. Our house growing up was full of photographs, rugs, sculptures, ornamental spoons, ceramics. No two forks ever matched, and there was always stuff everywhere. So, in a lot of ways I hold on to the idea of a beautiful mess as home. My godmother, Tamara Laird is the person I'm closest to outside of my nuclear family, and she EXUDES art. Everything she does is art. I've known her since I was born, so I can't pinpoint the moment she became my artistic mentor, but she's been the one who's really encouraged me to pursue whatever inclination of artistic expression I feel inspired by.

What is it about this work that keeps you coming back to your camera?

I like that an emotion can be captured and revisited. Instead of just being a quick glance, you can really have a relationship with something that would otherwise be temporary. Cakes get eaten, clothes get worn and stained, but photography takes a fleeting moment and makes it last forever.

What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs? What have you learned that you would like to share with others? 

What a cliche, but I really mean it: be true to yourself. It's going to be challenging and frustrating, and at the end of the day you have to enjoy your work or it's going to be even harder. I think setting a goal and making sure your decisions all point in that direction can help a lot. If you can ask yourself "why am I doing this?" and have an answer, it eases a lot of anxiety.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I'd like to remind people to not see other womxn as their competition. The more we can lift each other up the better. There is room for all of us if we can be secure enough in ourselves to create the space. Let's encourage each other to demand what we deserve, and celebrate collaboration.

Connect with Aphra on Instagram, @stilllifewithcake or through her website.