Hollie Fernando is a photographer and director based in London. Known for her rich colour palettes and a dreamlike quality which imbues her work, Hollie creates arresting images which are both delicate and powerful at the same time. Taking inspiration from classical painting, Hollie often revives these conventional allegories and symbolic features, subverting received ideas of how we view an image to create fantastical work centered in her own world. Shooting with both a relaxed and thoughtful approach, Hollie always gets the best out of her subjects and has worked with a range of sitters from actors and musicians to her own siblings.
12
‘12’ is a year-long photographic portrait of my younger brother Max, that documents the last year of his pre-adolescence. While on a trip-of-a-lifetime driving around California, I saw Max in a completely new light. I had the realization that he was in a pivotal moment in his life. So many things he did were so child-like, but with just as many things he did shocking me into realising how grown up he had become. For example, he still (and still does) hold my Dad’s hand when walking down the street, and beg for play-fights every night before bed, but would also get himself up at 5.30am to do a paper round, have aftershave at the top of his Christmas list, and cook himself an impressive looking omelet after school.
I spent the year documenting parts of his life that he considered important at this time which would be more set up (I would try to allocate some time before a certain activity or event to capture him), along with everyday moments that made me pause the situation and run to get my camera.
If you like Hollie’s work, you can see her work here!