Problem-solving, long-term projects and a life-changing encounter with Alys Tomlinson
A mix of creative instinct and tenacity has enabled award-winning photographer Alys Tomlinson to create a number of celebrated long-term photography projects and, more recently, to co-direct an award-winning documentary film, Mother Vera.
In this episode, Alys shares why creative problem-solving is at the heart of her work, how it feels to hand a project over to an audience and the extraordinary meeting with a nun from Belarus that reshaped her life and career.
‘There’s definitely a worry when you put work out there. Is it good enough? Are people going to appreciate or understand it? But you have to let go. Not everyone’s going to get it. Let them. You can’t hang on to it forever; it has a life of its own.’– Alys Tomlinson
For Episode 13 of We Need to Make Things I chat with Alys Tomlinson @alystomlinson about creative problem-solving, what it feels like to hand a project over to an audience and the extraordinary meeting with a nun from Belarus that reshaped her life and career.
Alys is a photographic artist based in London. She works mostly in black & white analogue on a large format camera, exploring themes of faith, ritual and identity. Her book Ex-Voto was published by GOST Books in 2019 and Lost Summer was self-published in 2020. Alys recently finished work on a feature-length documentary film Mother Vera co-directed with Cécile Embleton. Her latest project Gli Isolani (The Islanders) was published by GOST Books in 2022. Alys combines commissioned work for editorial, design and advertising clients with personal work, which she publishes and exhibits.
This episode is full of Alys’s words of wisdom including:
👉 How to go the distance with a long-term project
👉 The importance of handing your work over to an audience
👉 Why the slow approach to picture-making is so rewarding
👉 Developing and maintaining a visual language
Enjoy!
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