"My name is Colette and I’m a London-based portrait and fashion photographer drawn to analogue techniques. I find film to be a magical process, allowing me and everyone involved in my shoots to slow down. My work blends contemporary visuals with a nostalgic colour palette.
This series is inspired by memories of making cyanotypes with my dad and using makeshift drying racks in his boiler cupboard. Cyanotypes mark my introduction to photography and remain a significant part of my creative journey. The pieces feature angelic figures, symbolising my dad's passing to another realm and becoming a spiritual being.
The works were created by coating fabric with light-sensitive chemicals, then layering acetate negatives I made, along with flowers, twigs, and leaves collected from my walks around Shoreditch Church. I exposed the fabric squares to sunlight on my windowsill. After I overlaid the original acetate negatives and flowers on some squares to create a mixed-media collage with depth and texture.
My creative scene is mostly in East London, where I meet with other photographers in buzzy cafés to edit and pitch, like Broadway Market’s La Bouche, making being a freelance photographer a more collaborative and less isolating experience."
- Colette | colette.collective
Subject in photos Alysha | bunnysmeesh