Laurence Philomene, a young talented photographer

June 18, 2010 by All Art News
Filed under Art Reviews, Featured

Like most other 16-year-old girls, Laurence Philomene is planning for college (Dawson College in Montreal to study photography). She enjoys long walks,and rollerskating in summer. She’s also a “big fan of reading and writing. Until last year, I used to write in my diary every day, but lately I’m just too tired and lazy for that.” But unlike most girls her age, Laurence Philomene is already a photographer with a global fan base and an acute eye for fashion. She had a Flickr Pro account that blows up every time she posts an image.

“My parents gave me my first camera when I was 5 years old. As a kid, I loved to take photos. It was a natural thing to do for me,” she writes in English, via email. (“Actually, my first language is French. I learned English by myself over the past few years, and I’m definitely not perfect at it!”) “I would look at photo albums for hours and hours – I still do. I got my first digital camera for my 12th birthday, and that’s when I started taking pictures more regularly. In 2006, I discovered Blythe Dolls, quickly became obsessed with them, and made a Flickr account. At first I almost only posted photos of dolls, but after a while I started uploading more personal work as well.”

Although her stylized photography draws inspiration from prominent sources–”I love Annette Messager, Mark Ryden, Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson, Tim Walker, Eleanor Hardwick, Gina Garan, Anna Gaskell, Lina Scheynius, Nicoletta Ceccoli… Actually, I don’t think this list would ever end,” she says–she is equally inspired by the community that continues to encourage her. “I am inspired daily by the people I’ve met on Flickr, they make my life a little bit better every day.” Similarly her ambitions are very grounded. “I would love to be a freelance fashion photographer, and maybe some day have my own little gallery. That would be nice.”