Ayman Kaake is a Melbourne based photographic artist, whose surreal and cinematic scenes draw from his personal histories and act as both a means of emotional reflection for the artist while offering a contemplative scene into which the viewer can lose themselves.
What medium(s) do you work with, and why have you chosen them?
I used to illustrate my thoughts a lot using pencil, drawing things that I would love to execute in the future. My illustration was surrealistic and I found with digital photography I can create the world that I am illustrating through composite and the possibilities were beyond my imagination. In 2015 I bought my first camera and I started with self-portraits as a practice and this is how my love to photography started.
Can you elaborate a little more on your making process—how does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?
My making process with each art work starts with an illustration of the idea, hunting for or making props, to then creating the whole scene from set design, styling the outfit, executing the idea. The final process is the post production and make it ready for printing.
Who or what are the biggest influences in your work?
Movies and music are my all-time biggest influences in my work. During my cinematography study, my teacher introduced me to Andrei tarkovsky’s movies, I remember how his work teleported me into his world and though it’s magic to create connection between our two worlds. Reflecting this surreal and otherworldly expression, I have similarly combined my journey leaving home and family to speak about my feelings through these images.
Do you share your studio with anyone, or do you work alone? Is community an important element in your creative process?
I’m blessed to be an artist in residence at Collingwood yards through the Room to Create program, which offers a big studio space for six artists, all working with a range of art practices. To have this opportunity, working alongside these artists and with this incredible community around me, has inspired me to experiment more with different mediums and has really pushed me outside my comfort zone.
What is your favourite colour? Any reason why?
Teal used to be my favourite colour. It reminded me of my childhood best friend, she used to live in a house with teal colour door, and every time the school bus stopped to pick her up, I would stare at this door waiting for her. Now every time I see this colour, it brings me happiness and I feel secure. But now my favourite colour is Pink because I have been verbally attacked on the street by middle age man while I was wearing pink, and according to him, men shouldn’t be wearing this colour. So now it’s my favourite rebellion colour and I am embracing it.
Ayman’s debut collection of digital photographs are available for purchase in our Stockroom