Meet Alex Frayne | Photographic artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Frayne and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, how do you think about risk?
Risk is everything in the Arts. It all begins when you leave school/college and your peers pursue regular pathways with certain outcomes and a sense of security. As an artist you realise early on that life is going to be different for you. And that is not a negatve, it’s the plus side! It means risking everything to pursue that thing inside you that needs to be unleashed : and that thing is creativity, the fiery furnace of art, the engine that powers the whole shebang. Risk though has other forms in the arts. Risk invites, or propositions the artist to strive and compete in a world where second prize is unemployment. Unemployment is hell, so by being productive and prolific and commercial, one keeps the devil from the door and this creates security. But this security is short lived, mostly.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a photographic artist who hails from Adelaide South Australia. And before you ask, no we don’t ‘ride kangaroos down under, nor do we keep pet sharks in our backyards!

I use analogue film formats, (120 film, 35mm film) not digital. Young kids call this ‘authentic’ but I call it ‘aesthetics.’ I love the look of film, it has a depth and tonality that reminds me of the great films that I grew up loving. Lynch, Kubrick and Eastwood are my cinema heritage and they shot everything on film. When you watch Isabella Rosellini in Blue Velvet you’re watching the dreams and nightmares captured on film, not digital.

Excited? Oh yes, very. I’ve embarked on a big new photo essay about the USA. I’ll be making several trips from Australia across to America. I’ve already shot parts of Los Angeles and will cover most States across the Union over 2 years. I’m proud that at this stage of my career I have the artistic and commercial firepower to get my teeth into a project like this. My work is widely held in collection around the world. Portraits and Landscapes are my dual main games. The former is artistically satisfying and the latter more commercial – but still artistic. Being artistic is very challenging but with a bit of courage and tenacity the ups, downs, storms, ebbs and flows keep the artist from staring into the abyss. It’s lonely too…so we artists tend to value friendship and collaboration – two key ingredients in the artist’s recipe for success. Through my work I aim to invite the viewer to laugh, cry, denouce, sigh, reminisce, or frolic in melancholia. In other words, to FEEL SOMETHING.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Coming from a sleepy Australian town I would say Downtown is THE place to start a Los Angeles odyssey. The beautiful vintage buildings, the iconic places we’ve seen in films, the diversity of it all. The B line to Hollywood was my normal mode out of the city to Hollywood in all its kitsch glory. Being a street photographer I’m looking for the ‘truth’ of a place, so I steer clear of tourist hotspots preferring to follow my lens into places like Pico Boulevard, Boyle Heights and South Los Angeles, the churches, social clubs and music venues. I would suggest eating in small family run businesses along the way. Some of the best meals I had were on Pico, Venice and Exhibition. I told a few people to “throw another shrimp on the barbie!” Only folks over 40 knew what I meant by this….

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This shoutout goes to the 20th Century genius jazz fusion guitar hero who lived in Tustin California- Allan Holdsworth RIP.

Website: www.fusionjazzer.com

Instagram: @alex.frayne

Facebook: Alex Frayne

Image Credits
by Alex Frayne