UMENCO: Can you please tell us about your career journey?
Saskia Wilson: I was lucky enough to start shooting and assisting straight after I finished studying at RMIT in Melbourne. All the while working in hospitality to make sure I had my rent taken care of. When you start your ‘career’ in the days before instagram it took a lot longer to get your name out there, I think I have just tried to be consistent and persistent and that eventually pays off
UMENCO: How have you maintained your motivation and inspiration during this lockdown time?
Saskia Wilson: I genuinely really enjoy taking photos, I think the combination of having more spare time and some north facing windows in my apartment has meant I have felt even more inspired than usual!
UMENCO: Can you tell us about your interest in social justice and environmental awareness how it informs the creative formation of your work?
Saskia Wilson: I grew up in an alternative minded-community with my Father an artist and musician and my Mother a social worker. Social injustices are things I grew up witnessing and environmental awareness is something I had the privilege of understanding; when you grow up so close to nature, the Earth’s processes and changes are things that directly affect the way you live. How the power of the photograph can be utilised in the most ethical way is a question constantly at the forefront of my mind.
All images courtesy of Saskia Wilson.
UMENCO: There has been ongoing issue with the arts industry being overlooked in terms of Government funding and with the recent lockdowns and cancellations of every major arts event this year. We’ve seen a huge disparity in welfare support due to the way in which people in hospitality and the arts are employed. Many are pointing out that we are turning to the arts via film and books, for example, during this time. What do you feel is the artists’ relevance and importance in a time of such great economic and societal upheaval?
Saskia Wilson: This is a great question and something I have been talking and thinking a lot about lately. Writer, novelist and cultural critic Olivia Laing offers this perspective in her book ‘Funny Weather – Art in Emergency’:
“We’re so often told that art can’t really change anything. But I think it can. It shapes our ethical landscapes; it opens us to the interior lives of others. It is a training ground for possibility. It makes plain inequalities, and it offers other ways of living. Don’t you want it, to be impregnated with all that light? And what will happen if you are?”
UMENCO: Australians are known for their spirit and resilience, what kind of effects do you think we’ll see due to the economic and social impact of the lockdowns?
Saskia Wilson: I’m not much of an optimist when it comes to social/political change but ideally this pandemic has served to shine a light on all the failings of capitalism and and will spark some revolutionary overhaul of our current social and political systems. Imagine!
(And I will never take hugging my friends for granted. Ever. Again.)
UMENCO: Where will you be travelling to once we get on a plane again?
Saskia Wilson: I will be content to cross a state border to see my family!
"When you grow up so close to nature, the Earth's processes and changes are things that directly affect the way you live. How the power of the photograph can be utilised in the most ethical way is a question constantly at the forefront of my mind."
Saskia Wilson
"When you grow up so close to nature, the Earth's processes and changes are things that directly affect the way you live. How the power of the photograph can be utilised in the most ethical way is a question constantly at the forefront of my mind."
Saskia Wilson
