My kids at the lake in chicagoIs it bad that I long for a gin and tonic on a Thursday evening (so middle aged! So middle class! So very English!) and I look forward to it with real pleasure?
Is it bad that I completely revel in using swear words when I drive on the motorway and have to move lanes and no one will let me in?
Is it bad that I like to take a little daily nap (when I can!) and when I do my small dog naps on the pillow above my head, thereby asserting her tiny furry authority over me!
Wait, is it bad that she sleeps on my bed at all?
Is it bad that I adore my kids and they make me laugh and they drive me nuts and I still adore them and see them as my small friends?
Is it bad that when I’m driving and playing loud rock music, I picture myself as a male rock star with Tattoos (not the neck!) who is just too cool?
Is it bad that I always, without fail, think tomorrow is a new day.
Is it bad that my cup is always half full?
Is it bad that I hate keeping a secret? Secrets are so annoying.
Is it bad that I don’t care about matching place mats or dinner ware or underwear or any ware for that matter!
Is it bad that I believe in magic and am an internal optimistic who also wants to shout and tell people to be better and look after our world more?
Is it bad that I am really bossy?
Is it bad that I consider my dog my third child and know what her barks mean?
Probably yes to all but I’m middle aged so I don’t care!!!
I photographed Eli Wilson for my project at his studio in Humbolt Park, Chicago. He is a saxophonist and plays in a funk band as well as hosting his own alternative music night, featuring cabaret and burlesque dancers. The studio was just like an indy music studio should be – a bit messy, old furniture strewn around, a Playboy lying nonchalantly on the floor circa early 90s and a bar filled with bourbon. If you were writing a book and needed a cool, laid back music scene, this would be it. Outside the studio was the purple tour bus – I know, I told you – perfect!
Eli was a thoroughly approachable and lovely person. I am looking forward to dragging my husband to one of his music events – that’s the joy of this project – I am getting to go everywhere and meet everyone and I love it!
“So what brings you joy?” I asked him at the end of the shoot. “Lack of routine and structure. I thrive on putting myself in crazy situations and figuring out how to make it work and have fun with it. That’s probably the biggest joy in my life.”
For more information about Eli’s future performances, please see these websites:
I met fabulous Amee Binder back in the Spring. She is a choreographer, dancer, producer and performer! We took these photos at Uptown Underground, where she also works as Bar Manager. This is a woman of many talents and irrepressible charm! It was an absolute joy to photograph her.
I asked Amee some questions about her life as an artist and her inspiration and here she is in her own words:
I wear a few different hats, I work as a choreographer and dancer with “Kiss Kiss Cabaret”, I also Produce a Public Access TV Show that I perform in – “Late Night Binder”, and I am Bar manager for Uptown Underground, which is the home of “Kiss Kiss Cabaret”.
I have always loved dance, I started very young and then got distracted by other aspects of performance and theatre, as well as other types of athletics like basketball, track and field. But with every musical track that I found inspiring I was always choreographing something in my mind, before I really even knew how or what choreographing was. Once I moved to Chicago in 2004 and started navigating through the performance world and different opportunities a big city has, I always found myself looking for things dance related. So I got myself back in some classes and just kept on with it. The Television show I produce is called Late Night Binder, it’s a Variety show that airs on Chicago’s public access TV station called CAN TV. Its very cheesy and silly, it’s super fun to do and hopefully fun for people to watch as well! We shot the first episode last July, so almost a year ago! We have done 3 episodes and we are currently on pre-production of the the 4th. The shows all have lots of dance, as well as stand up comedy, sketch comedy, singing, magic, faux product placement and clowning.
Performing and creativity is something I will always need in my life, it makes me feel happy. Success and failures are equally rewarding for different reasons and being able to use your imagination is a gift I’m super grateful for.
My performance style is for sure 40’s/ 50’s inspired, but usually with a modern twist. I have found lots of inspiration with the classical movies that had major focus on elaborate dance numbers with amazing showgirl vibes, like Singing In the Rain, Les Girls, Ziegfeld Follies, Easter Parade, and the Shirley Temple movie, all of which are filled with great, over the top ensemble numbers! I also find inspiration from pop culture. I like to keep things new and fresh but still with a bit of old Hollywood glam, stylized movements in the vein of Bob Fosse, or homage to the classy eye high kick of the Rockettes.
I get nervous about answering questions about the future in performing. It’s such a day by day thing. I try to be grateful and present for when things are going well. And I suppose similarly for when they are not going so well, so hopefully I can learn how to do better for the next go around. But I will say I hope the future holds more creativity than I know what to do with, and that people I am surrounded by are loving and kind.
Thanks!
Amee
To see Amee in action, please click on these links! Enjoy!
Here is Ben Mackey, singer and songwriter with the band Faux Co. I photographed him for my Chicago Stories exhibition. He has lived in Chicago for three years and originated from California.
The best part about photographing a singer is when they play for you. Out came his guitar and he sang me a lovely rendition of a Bob Dylan song as I took pictures of him on his porch. I love it when photography allows me to enter someone’s life and become a participant for a few hours and not just a passerby. This project is giving me a snapshot of people’s lives all over the city. As a thoroughly inquisitive person, who loves knowing about my fellow humans, this is both enlightening and very satisfying.
“What gives you joy Ben?” I asked him, “Music,- music and love” he replied.
This portrait project came about from a need to meet people in this new city that we were now calling home. I know, I thought, I can take photos of everyone and that way I’ll meet everyone! Well that initial seed has now grown up into a rather wiser little shoot.
Recently I’ve been wearily watching world politics with a growing sense of dismay and alarm. It seems to be a very divisive moment in history, where bridges are being burnt (metaphorically speaking), walls being built and fear and suspicion are taking hold. I have no answers and am no politician but in response to global news I’ve been inspired to create a project about building bridges through photography. My aim is to create a space where portraits and quotes from people of all colours, economic levels, religions and ethnicities stand side by side, expressing their common humanity in a dignified way. I know – I sound like a hippie!
The show is about joy and the things we love. I want it to be uplifting- like a large group hug! It’s my little contribution to this city that has embraced us and made us feel at home.
Pic: Chicago skyline, as seen from Lincoln Park, Chicago
Today I photographed beautiful Joon at the Millennium Park in downtown Chicago. I met her at Nordstrom the other day, whilst shopping for a big puffy, bear like coat to keep me warm in the Chicago winter. She redirected me wisely to something far more sophisticated and exciting and, as I tried on the coat, I started to talk to her. I found her very charming and friendly and invited her to be part of my project and she said yes! Here she is, looking wonderful and enigmatic on a gorgeous bright day in Chicago. Joon came here from Korea when she was just 11 years old. She loves fashion, is super stylish and has a very endearing personality. She has just got engaged and is very happy!
“So what brings you joy?” “My family, I have been travelling with them the whole time in my life, from Korea to America- my family is everything and now.. my fiancé and his family as well- getting to know them and learning about them brings me joy.”
I met wonderful Tiffany at Lush In Lincoln Park in Chicago. I was out shopping with Skyla in tow and we got chatting about life, Chicago, the environment and dogs. It was a quiet day in the shop! She talked about her love of cycling and one thing lead to another and she accepted my proposal – to be in my exhibition! Here she is in the Conservatory in Lincoln Park. The best part of doing this shoot, apart from having a lovely time with Tiffany, was the fact that the conservatory was warm to the point of being tropical. I felt like we were on holiday!
I asked Tiffany what brought her joy and this was her lovely response, “so, the simple things .. I like being able to ride my bike, I like being outside, being with people that I love and being able to make other people happy”.
I met gorgeous Chrissy through a friend at my children’s school here in Chicago. Over an outdoor brunch, before the winter weather finally took hold, I asked her if she would take part in my big portrait project and she said yes! She is very down to earth and has a lovely girl dog called Frank, who made instant friends with my dog Skyla, which did make our shoot slightly chaotic! We are hoping to do another shoot together in the near future. I am bursting with ideas and Chrissy is very easy to photograph.
I met Gavin the first weekend we arrived in Chicago. He was making drinks for a cool crowd in an even cooler hat shop in Buck Town – a cool and creative part of town (if you are a Londoner, think Ladbroke Grove with a sprinkling of Kensal Rise and a teeny touch of Chiswick). There was a little party going on there during a festival weekend (this city has a lot of street festivals during the summer as it’s all part of the big release after the very big winter) and I got chatting to him as he made the drinks. I asked if i could take his photograph and he obligingly said yes, and five months later we finally did the shoot! His image will be part of my series for the exhibition, Chicago Stories, coming in September 2017.
Love, Light and Laughter by Abigail Zoe Martin 
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