Tristan Hollingsworth Interview: Flower Beds

Tristan Hollingsworth Interview

What are you trying to capture in these pictures?

My main goal as an artist is to create something that could potentially reset the mental

framework of the viewer’s connection to a visual object.

Do flowers have emotions?

It has been proven that plants have the ability to communicate, not only with each other, but also the human body and nervous system. This has be seen in the fields of medicine and psychedelics both in modern and ancient societies. As for flowers, aside from the enrichment of aesthetic value, each flower holds the capacity to move. And what they move would depend on the viewer. The experience of someone who just fell in love compared to another in heartbreak would be profoundly different, yet the flower breathed the same language.

Do you have a good story from taking any of these pictures?

All of these pictures have been taken on long walks in a variety of countries and cities. Each holds meaning to me. As far as stories are concerned, nothing all that crazy has ever happened. One that comes to mind is when I ran out of film with about an hour walk ahead of me. I had to observe everything knowing I couldn’t capture a single frame. Suddenly the world leapt to life with beauty. There is another world on the other side of everything we are doing right now.

Are you looking for anything specific when taking photos in general?

I am looking at everything, everywhere, most of the time. Light, geometry and feeling. How it would show up on film. The most significant shift I have made recently is to observe what I feel the moment before I take a picture. If I don’t feel anything I don’t open the shutter.

Where do you find the prettiest flowers?

In Los Angeles, the best areas for flowers are those that value the art of gardening, out of the gentrified neighborhoods and their shiny stores and into those still dripping with soul.

What’s the best memory you have with your camera?

Just being in the moment with it is all I need. If we were to be specific, summers in Greece are still my fondest memories shooting. There is something to be said about olive trees, wine and rocky Mediterranean cliffs over sweet blue sea.