Valley of the Sun: The Mystical, Magical Self-Portraits of Clare Marie Bailey
“Valley of the Sun” by Clare Marie Bailey
Clare Marie Bailey’s self-portraits are immediately recognizable - not only because she is in them, but also through her signature bold colors, intense natural light, and the surreal landscape of Island of Anglesey, Wales, where she is based. I remember first seeing one of her Polaroid works and wondering where in this vast wide world did she shoot these images. Does she own a time machine? She is a master at evoking a strong sense of narrative, time and place, believing that “all art is a form of magic and using memory, emotion and imagination to manipulate materials and create imagery is a form of alchemy.”
Clare began shooting analog photography when she was in high school, mainly documenting the “abundance of characters” in her Welsh hometown. In addition to these portraits her work became more experimental, and she wanted to branch out to work with other people, too. But she discovered quickly that “other people can let you down and you are always the most reliable person…I began to use myself as subject and I found that I enjoyed the whole process. I like to create alternative worlds and realities for myself to coexist in, alongside the ‘real’ world.” Inspired by 1960s B-movies and counterculture, mysticism, and magic iconography, Clare’s self-portraits blur the lines between fantasy and reality.
“The Deep” by Clare Marie Bailey
“Morning Slumber” by Clare Marie Bailey
Viewing her Polaroid images feels much like reading a novel: each frame is a chapter and as a collection, a mystery unfolds. The photos may be “of” Clare, but they are not necessarily about her, or documenting her daily life. Rather, she views self-portraiture as a “representation of [her] psyche,” where real life and the imaginary intertwine. When an idea strikes her, she writes it down and builds around it by sourcing location and costumes since creating fictional imagery requires planning. She refers to herself as embodying specific characters, and she-as-subject, is connected to the characters through “psychic content related to my life…[and] a lot of wish fulfillment and fantasy. I’m not a realist photographer. I feel the images and exist in them more and I’m sometimes more in my pictures and imagination than my real surroundings! They don’t necessarily depict my life as it’s physically lived out, but they do reflect my psychic life…I’m a dreamer and a romantic.”
As much as Clare is a subject in her work, location and place often drives the narrative, too, and becomes a character working in tandem with the artist. The desert of southern Spain features strongly, as in her image, “Valley of the Sun,” from her 24-Hour Psychic Desert Hotline series, and she has something of a self-described hotel fetish. But it is the otherworldly double-exposure “The Telepath” that she holds close: “I was really surprised at how people responded so positively to it. It was the first image I ever made for the 12:12 Project working to another’s brief after being invited to joint the [photo collective] by Penny Felts, who sadly has since died. It’s always an image I associate with her and remember how she really encouraged and believed in me.” Swirling in a universe of astronomical colors, “The Telepath” pulls viewers out of intimate rooms and vast desert spaces and launches them into another dimension, where characters “go on their solo journey and out down the rabbit hole. Much like we do in life.”
GALLERY
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Clare Marie Bailey is a UK-based photographer and filmmaker who was born and grew up on the Island of Anglesey in Wales. Spending hours with her grandmother who was Italian, Clare became interested in world cinema that would later become an enduring influence on her photographic work.
Her passion for Polaroid and instant film photography began when she became mesmerized and fell deeply in love with its dynamic and at times mercurial and almost random character - its ability to give an almost perfect imperfection.
Clare’s work, centered on self-portraits, is heavily influenced by cinema, magical iconography, dreams, the counterculture of the 1960s and B-movies. Clare uses film to work towards creating an alternative and parallel world where she can co-exist with the ‘real’ world and is fascinated with the idea of ‘doubles’ and ‘doppelgangers’ and the concept of reinvention.
Her work has been featured in several publications internationally including the book, Polaroid Now: The History and Future of Polaroid Photography. She has been exhibited nationally and internationally in both group and solo shows including Paris Photo Off, Voies Off Festival Arles, Saatchi Gallery LA and her work is in a permanent collection in the Polaroid Museum at Bombay Beach, California.
Currently working on a new body of work, Clare has also been creating film shorts to accompany her still work. Clare is a group member of the 12:12 project that brings together international Polaroid artists who shoot a different theme for each month throughout the year.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lisa Toboz is a self-taught, Pittsburgh-based artist with a background in writing and literature. Her work explores self-portraiture and creativity as a form of healing using various Polaroid cameras and film. She is inspired by vernacular photography, Victorian spirit photography, and ‘70s supernatural cinematography, as well as reading fiction. Her recent photo books include Dwell (Polyseme, 2020) and The Long Way Home (Static Age UK, 2018). Her Polaroid photography can be found in various publications including Shots Magazine, as a featured artist in She Shoots Film: Self Portraits, and Polaroid Now (Chronicle Books, 2021). A copy editor by trade, she has exhibited internationally and is represented by photographer Stefanie Schneider’s Instantdreams Gallery (Palm Springs, CA).
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