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Apr 24

Miki Węcel: “I’m trying to find time to be good at a few different things.”

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Miki Węcel is a photographer and musician whose practice moves fluidly between image and sound. For a long time, both disciplines have been the centre of his attention — less as separate paths than as parallel ways of working toward a single creative focus. His work reflects an ongoing commitment to shaping a life where these two practices are not occasional pursuits, but the core of what he does.

-What experience first made you realise you were an artist?
-I think that came very late; I never considered myself to be an artist until I joined the film industry by chance. Just being surrounded by so many people following their passions, I realised that maybe I too could do that, and I started looking for my thing (it’s always been music, though, really). At some point, I realised that I may have a bit of a knack for photography and decided that I had some catching up to do because I started so late, and I started to explore and learn.

-What does a typical day look like for you — in work and in life?
-I jump between a lot of things. I’m trying to find time to be good at a few different things to bring them together and form a cohesive visual world of sound and vision. I‘m also fighting against losing focus on what I should be doing. I often stay up late into the night and listen to weird electronic music and catch up on things then. Having headphones on and a lightweight beat definitely helps.

 

 

-What do you struggle with the most in your creative work, and how do you confront it?
-So, as I said above, I really struggle with focus and not just getting into a lengthy task, but also staying on it long enough to complete it in one sitting. I’ve been trying more and more to reduce the number of distractions in my life and find ways to squeeze the amount of time I have in a day to give more to learning my craft.

-Which ideas, people, or works have most influenced the way you think?

-More than any other it would be John Frusciante, just in his approach to music making, where everything has an idea, and each idea is explored, and there’s always a vision guiding it all. In terms of photography, though, first and foremost, I love Jack Davison’s work; it’s got a bit of silliness and lightness to it that at the same time can be gritty and raw. And possibly on a different side of the spectrum, I adore the compositions and attention to detail in Sarah Van Rij’s photographs; that’s the kind of precision I aspire to have in my images.

-If you could change one thing about how people experience your work, what would it be?
-That’s an interesting question, and I guess maybe it would be for them to try to see something else within the frame. There’s often a story in my head that explains the composition of the photo, maybe it’s the interaction between two objects or the way something fills the frame that suggests something about how it wants to be looked at.

Where to find Miki: https://www.instagram.com/mikiwecel

Interested in being interviewed for our blog or know someone who would like to be featured? Please reach out to us directly to explore any possibilities:
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Apr 01

Hanna Lautreamont: “What matters is that something remains with the viewer.”

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Hanna Lautreamont: “What matters is that something remains with the viewer.”

Hanna Lautreamont is a London-based artist who also holds a Master’s degree in languages and the history of Western literature. She works with analogue photography, treating each image as a physical object. Her practice bridges photography and printmaking, focusing on process, texture, and presence rather than perfection.

Hi Hanna. Can you tell us what experience first made you realise you were an artist?
I don’t think there was a single moment of realisation. If anything, my first exhibition in Cadaqués, Catalonia, made me more aware of the distance between making works and becoming aware of them. Seeing the work outside of a private context changes it; it becomes something independent, something you are no longer fully in control of. I’m still cautious about defining myself too clearly. It feels more accurate to think of it as an ongoing process rather than a fixed identity.

What does a typical day look like for you — in work and in life?
There isn’t really a fixed routine; my daily schedule depends on the stage of a project. Some days are structured around shooting and working with people, which requires a very outward energy. Others are much more internal and include developing ideas, researching, or building visual references. A significant part of my time is spent printing, either in the darkroom or working on photogravures in the workshop, where the process becomes slower and more tactile.

Alongside my own work, I maintain a freelance practice, so there’s a constant negotiation between personal projects and commissioned work. Outside of that, I try to stay engaged with other forms of art and with people by visiting galleries, reading, or having conversations with friends.

What do you struggle with the most in your creative work, and how do you confront it?
One of the main challenges in my practice is recognising when an image is complete. Because I work with analogue and hand-printing processes, there is always the possibility to continue refining, adjusting, re-printing, and reworking prints. The difficulty lies in understanding when those interventions still contribute to the image, and when they begin to take something away. I try to approach this by allowing distance. My method is stepping away from the work and returning to it with a clearer perspective. It’s less about producing a perfect image and more about preserving the essence of the image at the point when it feels most resolved.

Which ideas, people, or works have most influenced the way you think?
The people around me have a strong influence on how I think and work. I’m surrounded by individuals who are deeply committed to their own practices, and that level of focus sets a certain standard, which pushes me to be more precise and honest in what I do. Literature and poetry are central to my approach. My background in literature influences how I construct images. I’m interested in suggestions rather than direct statements, in atmosphere rather than explanation.

If you could change one thing about how people experience your work, what would it be?
It’s crucial for me that the viewer is given conceptual and physical space to look, to interpret, and to form their own response. I don’t intend my work to communicate fixed meanings. I hope my works may stage a moment of encounter and introspection, instead. What matters is that something remains with the viewer, whether that’s a feeling or a question.

Interested in being interviewed for our blog or know someone who would like to be featured? Please reach out to us directly to explore any possibilities:
[email protected]
To stay informed about the studio’s activities, sign up for our newsletter:
Feb 25

Federico Moro: “I hope that they leave with more love and respect for themselves”

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In this edition of Studio Practices, our new conversations series, we explore the art of presence with Federico Moro, an actor and coach. Drawing from psychophysical actor training and somatic methods, Federico shares insights on cultivating authenticity, the importance of embodiment, and how true presence influences both self-understanding and connection with others.

 

-You trained originally as an actor. At what point did the focus shift from performing to working with presence itself?

-I like that you called it presence. I would have called it authenticity, but they are two sides of the same coin: to be so present and truthful to who you are at any given moment. As a trained actor and writer, I’ve always wanted to be a vehicle for people to feel into new perspectives that might help their personal growth. I realised coaching them into finding this authenticity or presence was a more direct way to help them on their path to self-actualisation.

-You draw on methods like Linklater, Laban, and psychophysical actor training. What do these approaches have in common for you, and where do they fail?

-Every tool, just like work tools, is designed for a specific reason. In these cases, I believe they are all different ways to get you out of your head and into your body — developing your creative instincts and intuition, and to drop more easily into a state of flow. This is the state elite athletes and performers seek, one of total enjoyment, focus, and awareness all at once.

-Many people come to voice work wanting clarity or confidence. In your experience, what usually gets in the way before technique even becomes relevant?

-Limiting beliefs. Thinking that we’re not good at something, or that people aren’t interested in what we have to say. Or, or, or. We all have different ones. Mine was that I didn’t think I had anything worthy or intelligent enough to say. The truth is, we all share this human existence, so there’ll always be someone who recognises and can learn from your particular experience. You have to find your audience and forget about people who don’t resonate with you. It’s not personal; it’s just a matter of compatibility.

-Which ideas, people, or works have most influenced the way you think?

-Oh, so many. In terms of psychophysical acting lineage, I’m most influenced by Konstantin Stanislavski and Mikhail Chekhov. I’m also deepening my study of Jungian psychology, particularly his work on archetypes and the collective unconscious. Italian novelist and philosopher Luigi Pirandello is also up there: much of his work explores the idea of multiple selves emerging in different contexts and relationships — and whether there is such a thing as a self at all.

-What do you hope people leave with after working with you — not in terms of skills gained, but in how they relate to themselves afterwards?

-What a beautiful question. I hope that they leave with more love and respect for themselves and what they bring to the world; that they recognise a little bit more of the immense power they have.

 

Studio Practices is an ongoing series of community events at Pure Light Photography Studio.

In March, Federico will lead a workshop on voice, embodiment, and presence — spaces are limited, join now via Eventbright.

To stay informed about future workshops and gatherings, sign up for our newsletter.

Interested in hosting your own practice, workshop, or creative session in our space? Please reach out to us to explore any possibilities.

Dec 01

Q&A with London based photographer Andy Go

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Hi Andy. What experience first made you realise you were an artist?

I still expect more people to confirm that I am an artist. Having a thought that you may be an artist is a very small first step towards realising. I have sold some dozens of my prints, but so far it doesn’t feel enough, I’m thinking like 1000x of what is now maybe will do?  Being an artist is a social thing and mostly depends on others rather than yourself. Though I take photos and sometimes print them and make photographic zines. Being a photographer doesn’t make you necessarily an artist straight away.

What does a typical day look like for you — in work and in life?

I check my inbox – maybe someone wants to get photographed (usually not). Then I check my other inboxes. Then I get upset and edit the photos that usually are there to be edited. Then I check my inboxes again. In a rare event of request in my inbox, I go and take photos. I love photography so much, I wish I encountered more with it.

Outside of  photography life, on the contrary is rather cloudless, I have a much loved, loving and supportive partner next to me, and I have two kids 17 years apart – both very open to communicate and negotiate on their matters. I have friends, who live very different lives, still staying around and making me feel interesting and needed by society person.

What do you struggle with the most in your creative work, and how do you confront it?

I struggle with the amount of work. The idea of having to sell something comes as utterly sickening. I can’t be creative when I don’t know how to pay the bills. I do not confront it. I am not a warrior. I usually think that people just don’t like enough the things I do. On the other hand, I don’t feel people pleasing can lead somewhere interesting. So here I am.

Which ideas, people, or works have most influenced the way you think?

That idea that if you do something reasonable decently, it will be enough. The idea that work is the most important part of your life hence it should have predominantly internal motivation, like interest and curiosity, rather than external motivation like moneys and wishes of other people. The photographic works of Evgeni Mokhorev influenced me most, among other works are Kin dza dza movie, Monday Begins on Saturday book and books by Vadim Shefner. I love photos by Jo Schwab, T.H. Hauser, Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Alexey Titarenko, Bill Brandt, Gunars Binde, Nobuyoshi Araki, Sebasiao Salgado, Josef Koudelka, Richard Avedon, Boris Smelov, Alexander Lavrentiev, and I maybe forgot some others.

If you could change one thing about how people experience your work, what would it be?

I would appreciate a little more attention. But that’s not only about me, I’d say, I’d rather changed the way people look for what to read, watch, visit, etc. and rather than going for what majority of people read, watch, visit, etc., found something unique and niche for themselves to read, watch, visit, etc. – this will minimise the positive feedback loop existing now. I love negative feedback loops, pretty much everywhere they create less catastrophic landscape.

Where to find Andy: https://www.instagram.com/podvodoy https://www.instagram.com/andygo.photo and in the studio!

Oct 29

Q&A with London based photographer Gleb Tarvid

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Hi Gleb. What experience first made you realise you were an artist?

It took me a few years of shooting to realise that photography was something deeper than just camera settings, composition, or Photoshop sliders. At some point, I felt that what truly mattered was beyond the technical side — and that’s when my search for that deeper meaning began.

What does a typical day look like for you — in work and in life?

I eat, I worry, I poop, and I masturbate, then I have a panic attack and continue to move forward, rinse and repeat.

What do you struggle with the most in your creative work, and how do you confront it?

Burnout. It’s the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me — and it happens often. It’s something I keep fighting against, but honestly, I haven’t found a way to truly overcome it yet.

Which ideas, people, or works have most influenced the way you think?

I’ve always been searching for a point of reference in art — or at least for someone who could explain how it really works. But over the years, I never found my idol. Instead, I’ve learned to listen to the quiet inner voice that keeps leading me somewhere, even if I don’t always know where.

If you could change one thing about how people experience your work, what would it be?

I wish people spent more time with art in galleries and reading books rather than scrolling online. I believe that an artist’s work deserves to be seen and experienced longer than a short Instagram reel allows.

Where to find Gleb: https://www.instagram.com/tarvid.gleb/