5MINS with Alice Marcelino
Meet Alice Marcelino, a recent photography graduate living and working in London.
Originally born in Angola, Alice moved to Portugal at a young age, and spent her childhood exploring various expressive art forms, from dance to theatre, and later developing a curiosity for photography. Alice assisted an English photographer in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, and eventually moved to London to study photography at degree level. We caught up with the lady behind the lens for a chat about ‘Kindumba’, a powerful personal project created during her time at The University of East London, which explores concepts of black identity through a series of striking portraits.
Hi Alice, can you tell us a little bit about how you got into photography?
I’ve always been connected to some sort of creative area; I did theatre and dance at college, and by accident (and perhaps luck) after borrowing a friends camera to take photos on a beach in Portugal, I took up photography. I felt very comfortable with the medium from the start, and adopted it as my main form of expression. I like the idea of capturing a period in an image; it can say so much about the way we live, think and relate with the world around us.
Your powerful project ‘Kindumba’ was created as your final major project at university. Can you tell us how the concept came about, and the message you wanted to convey through your images?
I live in Brixton, a very diverse place, and home to a large Caribbean community. I was impressed with the different range of African related hairstyles and especially by the maintenance of the Afro natural look. I felt at home, but at the same time I knew I had so much to learn. Until very recently the only way to deem my ‘wild’ hair was through chemical process. To discover that an alternative existed was like achieving a sense of freedom; to be entirely me with no masks. During my research I discovered many other people struggling with the same issue. Kindumba talks about African identity and the pride of that heritage.
How do you feel ‘Kindumba’ explores beauty standards and ideals?
Kindumba is about the relationship between Africans and people of African descent, and their hair. It is meant to celebrate the diversity of its various textures at the same time that addresses ongoing questions of aesthetic canons, identity politics and visual representations in the media.
It is also connected to my own experience, and part of the journey I made during the project was to understand the reasons behind the collective anxiety about black features. Unfortunately, even today, we black people fight for recognition of our own culture, and black hair is an essential part of that culture that has been continuously devalued. The legacy of western beauty standards tells us that black hair is messy, unprofessional, and not beautiful. Changing these natural features is far way more then beauty trivialities. It means assimilation, marginalization, a sense of inferiority of the one that doesn’t tick the box of white supremacy demands that says ‘be like me, make me comfortable.’
Were you inspired by any other photographers during your research for ‘Kindumba’?
The main visual influence for my project was with no doubt J. D. 'Okhai Ojeikere. His ‘Hairstyles’ project conveys the diversity of Nigerian culture through hair designs that symbolised key life events, unique to certain geographic areas of Nigeria. I wanted my project to have a contemporary approach, whilst at the same time including elements of African culture. Works from a younger generation like Nakeya Brown and Lakin Ogunbanwo influenced me to play with colour. Eilleen Perrier’s project Afro hair and Beauty was also an influence for Kindumba, as her work was based in the Peckam area, which has a very similar vibe to Brixton. I later met Eilleen Perrier, and she gave me invaluable feedback.
You first exhibited Kindumba at the Free Range graduate shows last year. How did you find this as a platform for getting your work seen and how was the project received? Have you exhibited it elsewhere?
Free range is a wonderful opportunity to showcase work, especially if one is taking the first steps in the industry, because there is so many people attending the show. My project was very well received. I had very good feedback and people were interested to know more about it. I exhibited the same project at my university (UEL) and this year it was presented at the Dalston Open Source festival.
Have you been working on any other photography projects since graduating and can you tell us a bit about these, or any that are in the pipeline.
I travelled to Calais several times to work as volunteer in the refugee camps. Whilst I was there I photographed the work carried out by volunteers and refugees in an attempt to minimise the harsh conditions existing in the field. This research lead me to a collaboration with my university, as an intern researcher for an academic paper about the migrant crisis, and the consequences of photo sharing on social media. I’m also continuing to develop new work for my ‘Kindumba project’ and have started a new body of work.
Have you got any advice for students just beginning their photo course, or for recent graduates?
Work with other artists. It’s a great way to network, to improve skills and to make friends for life. I also advise doing some work experience before finishing your degree, so that by the time you graduate, you have a strong portfolio to show around.
Also; be persistent. Self motivation is the key!
If you’d like to see more of Alice’s work you can head over to her website at www.alicemarcelino.com
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