Interview with Guste Sakalauskaite for CCP x Hahnemühle Summer Salon 2023

Photography by Guste Sakalauskaite

To celebrate the CCP x Hahnemühle Summer Salon 2023, Melbourne-based creative and photographer Guste Sakalauskaite sits down to talk to Melbourne Milieu.

Guste recounts how a missed opportunity at art school led to the serendipitous discovery of a passion for photography, the story behind her submitted works for Salon and an artistic desire to be more experimental.

Hey Guste tell us about yourself, your background and how you ended up in photography?

I have been into the arts since I was little but discovered my passion for photography by chance.
I was trying to get into an art school but didn't get in just because I was missing a few points. However, I found out that they were doing photography classes and I have been a photographer ever since.

After school, I went to Middlesex Univerisity in London and after graduating with my Bachelor of Arts in Photography I have continued to explore the world through photography.

What is the story behind your submitted works?

My fashion editorial Floating Through styled by Nick Hendry was taken on my trip to Japan in June last year. I found Soryoo a local designer and a model and did the shoot in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Mai Deguchi who was the model for the shoot was half Cuban and half Japanese which I found quite interesting as this is not the norm for models in Japan, so I really enjoyed exploring this. I found the designer's clothes quite unique and loved that they were all handmade, that's why I really wanted to work with him.

I think the particular shot of the model upside down is also a reflection of me travelling through Japan and how I felt visiting as a foreigner.

What ideas or themes do you want to explore next?

I want to experiment more, maybe try printing my work on materials, finding different ways to showcase as well as collaborate with other artists. I find collaborating a fun process and a good way of letting go of the pressure that can come from always working by yourself.

Which is stronger to you, the influence of people, or the influence of place?

I think both of those things influence each other as I believe it's the people who make the place what it is.

When you’re not working, what do you enjoy doing?

I love exploring or wandering around whether it is going to art galleries and music gigs in the city or going for little adventures by the coast. I find myself feeling calm and relaxed by the ocean, and that's when I get to a state where I can brainstorm most of my ideas.

What are you working on next and where should people follow you to see more of your work?

I just finished exhibiting at the end-of-the-year show at Sol Gallery on Brunswick St and at Workshop Bar in the city.

I’m planning on getting away to the beach one of the weekends to shoot a close friend for a personal project.

This year, I'd love to do an artist residency in one of the places I've visited in Japan and go to Taiwan to shoot more.

The best way to see my work and what I'm up to is to follow me on Instagram.