The Talented Miss Alko

Please introduce yourself, give us a brief bio, tell us where are you come from and how you get started in this field?

My name is Alvelyn, I am in my second year of Fine Art and majoring in Painting at Lasalle College of the Arts.
I grew up skateboarding and always enjoy various photographs in skate mags. When I was about 17, I started documenting skate tricks and stupid random portraits of my friends skating with a compact camera given by my uncle. I guess it all was started from there.

Do you have any formal training in the photography? Did you go to photography school?

I did not, everything was self-taught and self-experimented. I did take photography as my minor when I was in level one. However after the first lesson, I decided to switch to life drawing instead [and it happened again during the second semester when I decided to do ceramics instead].

What is your favorite subject to photograph?

People, landscapes, weather. Well, nature in general and unfortunately the location that I am living in now is not providing and not allowing me to do that. We don’t have four seasons in Singapore.

As a photographer, you have to work with models. What are you looking in a model? What is the x factor for you?

I don’t really see models from their looks. When I’m working, it is as if I have always been photographing my friends or friends of friends. But yes, they all must have certain kind of “form” that appeals me.

Would you mind to give us a brief walk through your work flow (from ideas to the execution)?

Basically, because I am still in school and my major is not photography, I spent a lot of my time on my major and it is only during the holidays then I use my camera. Because of that, I don’t spent a lot of time thinking on my photographs. For now, my ideas are random and very spontaneous. I usually start with a word and mind map from there. I’ll then choose the important keywords and see where it takes me from there.

What do you use to carry out your works?

A lot of imaginations.

Of all your works, which one hit you the most and why?

Actually all of my work hit me. Let me put this way, because of the works that I produce, not only photographs but paintings/sculpture/whatever the medium may be. I’ve realized a whole lot about myself. One of the main issue am trying to figure out is my attraction towards the androgynous.

Is there any point where you will stop taking photos and look for a new medium to communicate your ideas?

You bet. This is the reason why my concentration is not photography only. It is 50-50. I know that photographing will always be a part of me but yet the other part of me want to do something else as well.

What inspires you?

E V E R Y T H I N G. And I really mean EVERYTHING.

Name a photographers, whose work you respect/admires and why?

Ahhh, one too many. I’ll name a few though; Jock Sturges, Bill Henson, Sally Mann…
Easily because, that there is something about those stares of the people that they photographed. Something about the mood and atmosphere in their work, especially Bill Henson, the lightings in his works are so cinematic. So much feel to it, so much mystery. You know that painter Francis Bacon once said that the artist’s job is to deepen the mystery. And the above mentioned names got it all.

What is your next project (exhibition, books or photo shoot)?

I am actually still working on it.

What would you tell other photographer that hope to be as good as you?

[Let put it as thoughts on photography]
1. You need some serious amount of money to start.
2. Read and research on issues that interest you.
3. No one should tell you “how” to photograph.

Our pilot edition is themed black & white. What crosses in your mind when we say black & white and why? And which one reflects your personality the most?

Contrast. The complete extreme end and opposition of the colors. On which color reflects my personality the most? Hmmmm, none.

The Artist Artwork:

[View with PicLens]