Interview with Zoe Kimpton for 2021 ILFORD CCP Salon

Photography by Zoe Kimpton

Zoe Kimpton is a Melbourne based creative. Inspired by vintage clothing and objects, Zoe's practice includes photography, styling and graphic design.

What's your name and background?

Zoe Kimpton: Zoe Kimpton, I am a Melbourne based creative currently working as a Graphic Designer. I lived in England as a child and have been in Australia for the past nineteen years.

Is this the first time you have participated in Salon, and what is the story behind your submitted works?

ZK: I have participated in Salon several times and look forward to attending the exhibition each year. My photograph titled, Reservations, depicts the subject’s private moment in what is staged to look like a dimly lit room or hotel corridor. I leave the viewer to interpret her wistful glance in the mirror and the ambiguity as to whom or what situation awaits.

What inspires you to take photos?

ZK: I am inspired by imagined scenes and it is my passion for styling that draws me to photography. Most of my images give a nod to the past and I love to collect vintage clothes/objects to use as props in my work.

How do you prefer to shoot and using what genre of instrument?

ZK: I typically use flash and have a Canon digital camera with a prime lens. I like to work in a calm and controlled environment in which I plan the details of the shoot beforehand. Most of the time, I construct the image with a vivid picture in my mind of what the final photograph will look like.

Has your use of social media changed or influenced the way that you create, share and view your work?

ZK: I think social media is a wonderful means of sharing and celebrating visual content. However, I feel that platforms such as Instagram are too saturated by trends and advertising. I gain more meaning and pleasure from the process of printing and framing my work - only then does it truly come to life in my eyes.