Every month Brave Island runs a Young Creative of the Month fund, where we spotlight a local young creative with an interview on our blog, and support them with funding of £100. For September, it’s Photographer Jasmine Metta Truman. This fund launches at the beginning of every month, you can apply to be Young Creative of the Month for October here.
Please can you tell us about your creative practice?
Growing up on the Isle of Wight I have always been creative, both my parents have creative backgrounds and the beauty of the landscape has always inspired me. I studied Art and Photography at Medina College and The Island Sixth Form, which supported me in learning about my personal practice and refining my techniques. Currently I am in my final year of Photography BA at University, and my work has become much more meaningful in its process and outcome. I have recently been creating imagery surrounding the importance of re-igniting our ancient bond with the natural world; dismantling the metaphysical wall between humans and the earth we live on. Photography wise, I shoot on both film and digital and use many different postproduction and printing techniques to create variety throughout my work, I am always learning, so having the availability to experiment with many different things is integral to my creative practice. Aside from this I also do a lot of (currently unpublished) work with collage and drawing, I don’t take it too seriously, but I think it is important to keep expanding practice where you can, as you never know what could come of it. My practice is ever-changing as I learn and grow, and I make sure to keep my mind open to what might come next, as creativity cannot be confined.
Your photography involves a lot of work around the natural world, where did this inspiration come from?
Growing up on the Isle of Wight in a small shack that Dad built for our family, I was deeply immersed into the natural world from birth, having to step outside even to go to the toilet. I don’t think that I ever really felt separate from Mother Earth, my privilege has allowed me to always feel a strong connection with the land I walk on, knowing that we are symbiotic, we look after each other. The reason my work is so focused on the natural world right now is because I believe it’s truly important that we start to change our language and attitude towards our planet, and all living beings. There is not a future for us without the planet, I wish for my work to help people to understand this. To inspire people to do what they can to spend time in the natural world, whether that is a four-hour hike or sitting barefoot in a local park for 20 minutes, it all makes a difference. I believe that if the collective conscience can start to see the earth as a part of us instead of a resource, we would treat the land, and the animals, that we co-exist with much more respect. My photography is an act of radical creativity that I hope can open people’s minds and lead us towards a much more balanced and compassionate future.
You’re currently producing your own magazine; can you tell us a bit about this and how it came about?
I recently created a project called “The Trees Talk to All of Us” in which I explored communication with trees, through grounding, their root system, their effect on the human spirit and their physical and mental healing qualities. After completing this project, I knew it wasn’t quite finished and I kept working on it in my personal time, during this time I also was starting to think about where I wanted to take my creative practice once I am outside the education system. One thing which I really wanted to be a part of was a community led artistic publication surrounding these ideas, of re-igniting ancient connections with our land and the natural world. As this wasn’t readily available to me, I decided to produce my own
magazine, I started by putting out feelers online and in person and had a very positive response, so I created Earth Spirit. Earth Spirit is a magazine produced completely by myself, it’s highlighting the importance of re-balancing human relationships with the land and the natural world. With a passion for community-based art, I wanted to involve many people in the project, so I set a brief for around 15 artists, who had applied to be a part of the magazine. They were to explore their relationship with the earth around them and create some form of creative work in response to that. Each artist has created a series of work with a focus on process and connecting with nature, and as such each of them feel they have improved their understanding of existence as part of the natural world. Every artist that created work for Earth Spirit will be featured in the first release, late September 2023. If you want to find out more follow @earthspirit.mag on Instagram.
Where can people find your work if they’d like to support you?
Instagram: @jasminemettatruman
Earth Spirit Instagram: @earthspirit.mag
Website: www.jasminemettatruman.myportfolio.com
