Your name
Michelle Loukidis
Place of birth
Johannesburg, South Africa
Place where you live now
Johannesburg
3 words to describe you
independent, inquisitive, intuitive
Why do you take pictures?
It has become a documentation of myself at a particular moment, the ultimate combination somewhere between play and control. I think of myself as a collector, and want a record of the moments that I found exceptional.
Where do you get your inspiration?
There are so many things, they are at the point of being clichés themselves. Light, something specific in a person that I haven't seen in them before, a toy on the floor, my mother's long hair, music...can be anything.
Who are your influences?
Definitely other photographers/artists, I have a new favorite every couple of minutes.
What determines the subject matter you choose?
It can literally be anything, depends on the light , my mood. I am a very very slow photographer, I can watch something for months before I take out my camera. Almost feels like I need to understand what I am going to photograph.
What impact would you like your art to have?
I don't think of impact, more of an understanding of a universal experience.
What artwork do you never get bored with?
Any works from Nan Goldin, Rafal Milach, Sabelo Mlangeni and Sohrab Hura.
Is there anything you want to add? 

No

My Sons’ Mother
Project statement

From the moment your child is born you are preparing them to leave you, they are never yours to begin with. This work looks at the complexities of the reciprocal relationship that one experiences as a single mother of three boys, and how the work ultimately culminates in a self portrait. This serves as an attempt at retaining the essence of my children, a point from which to work from as they start their own lives and experiences. “Hortus Conclusus”, is a Latin term meaning “enclosed garden” which typically had high walls protecting the inhabitants from public intrusion, creating a protective barrier, bringing nature within its walls. These secret gardens were used as private retreats for contemplation, meditation, communication, nourishment for the soul.
My small family have for years been carefully wrapped in protective cotton wool in our own figurative paradise garden. We have spent most of our time here together, which is abstracted from the noise or disruptions of the world. As the children grow we have come to a moment in our shared histories where we are on the verge of loosening bonds. The strong twine that held us tightly together have become thin tendrils, as they turn from our intimate contained world to their own lives, over the garden walls. They themselves are unsure of this moment, and leave tentatively and return as they need the familiarity of their family. Disappearing and appearing. This is a circle of life that has to continue, but it feels like a precipice moment as I remain in the garden waiting. Things change but remain the same.

@michelleloukidis