This photographer and filmmaker likes her space to be intimate, organised and inspiring…

Words & images by Timothea Moylan

Describe your creative practice...

I’m a photographer and filmmaker. My work generally falls within the world of portraits, aiming to capture an expression of the complex inner world of humans – whether they’re real or fictional. I’m frequently drawn to themes of nostalgia, gender, disconnection, dreams and loneliness.

Describe your work space...

My wall is covered in photographs – memories of different versions of myself and photos of people that inspire me or capture an emotion I’m interested in. There are some big books taking up space – Greek and Roman Mythology, Art Of The Devil, Grimm’s Fairy Tales – and, somehow, four notebooks.

How does the space you work in influence your practice?

I’m surrounded by art that makes me respond to an image or a story, or that reminds me who I am. There are clothes that invite characters to fill them. I’ll sometimes pull a book off the self and randomly find a line in it that becomes the starting point of something. I feel safe here: it’s my place to daydream.

Where do you take your inspiration from?

I think most of my inspiration comes from experiencing life’s many emotions and having some urge to express that – I suppose that’s an attempt to be understood or related to. My circle of creative friends inspire me every day to continue making. So do my mum and my dad. And Nick Cave.

Do you work best in order or chaos?

It probably looks a bit chaotic in here, but it’s organised chaos! I grew up in a really small house and we used every centimetre of space, so if I’m in a big empty room it feels wrong. So, since I was very young, I’ve tended to fill up my walls and surfaces to allow that safety. My space is tidy but very busy.

What are your go-to tunes while you create?

If I’m writing, I listen to a lot of soundtracks and classical music. For my current project, a short film called It’s Hell Up There In Heaven Too, there’s been a lot of Abel Korzeniowski and Craig Armstrong. When sourcing ideas, I dive into old favourites that have always inspired me – Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, Joni Mitchell. They all build these worlds that I find so easy to walk amongst and find my own stories within.

Keep up to date with everything Lucinda Corin is doing here @lucindacorin.

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