Photographer Lean Lui discusses her poetic new photo book, which embraces feminine-coded motifs like bows and white socks

December 06, 2023

Hailing from a time and place where kids were relegated to the outdoors during daylight hours, Angela Gabaldon still thrives outdoors and likes to share her perspective.

Gabaldon is The Artful Peddler – popular online for her Urban Jewels collection of images.

Jewels is her latest two-wheeled crush in a lifelong affair with bikes.

The Victoria photographer, yogi and avid cyclist has been a road rider, a racer, a spin instructor, a group rider and a mountain biker.

She’s a lifelong bike commuter who moved to Victoria six years ago.

“People joked I would move to Victoria and get a cruiser with flowers in the basket,” she says with a laugh.

With an uncanny eye for the glimpses of beauty people might skip, for the last three years her cruiser named Jewels and its ever-evolving basket full of flowers have evolved into a colourful photography career.

The first image that really garnered online attention arose from a visit to Moss Rock Park.

She’d bought a funny little orange horn for Jewels and wanted to highlight it. She composed the image to include the horn, bike handles and empty basket against a stunning sunrise.

“I couldn’t believe the amount of people who responded,” Gabaldon said. “I really just started taking advantage of the things around me.”

READ ALSO: ‘Tuck in ponytails’ to avoid dangerous Greater Victoria owl encounters

The last few years she’s marketed photo cards and tote bags online, at markets and several local stores.

This year, she added calendars. Artbox Printing wanted to give the calendar realm a try, so the artist and printer took the leap together.

“I was afraid to print 50 … this is a time-sensitive thing,” Gabaldon said with a laugh.

Now at the prime time for calendar purchases, she’s printed 400 with no expectation of leftovers.

Her card sales support a link to her childhood in New Brunswick as well. Growing up with a single mom and an active lifestyle it’s hard to imagine her youth without sports, often sponsored by the local non-profits. A dollar from each card sold supports the Harbourside Rotary and St. Stephen Rotary near her childhood home.

“It’s small, but it feels good,” she said.

Her home is filled with baskets and flowers, nods to the work she and Jewels do on the daily. The larger impact is sharing the beauty of Victoria – from the Abkazi gardens to the nooks of Cook Street Village and alleyways of downtown.

“I’m so amazed at all the places I can get by bike and it costs nothing,” Gabaldon said. “Definitely Victoria gets a bad rap… there’s a lot to be wary of, but there’s lots of good stuff too.”

Find a list of retailers at theartfulpeddlar.com.

Mattia Ozbot’s image of German decathlete Leo Neugebauer competing at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 has been selected as the World Athletics Photograph of the Year.

The third award announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023, the World Athletics Photograph of the Year shines a spotlight on some of the outstanding images captured by professional photographers.

Photograph of the Year finalist – Leo Neugebauer in the decathlon pole vault in Budapest (© Mattia Ozbot, World Athletics Photography Workshop)

From the 134 images that were submitted, a panel of judges – comprising Valerie Adams, Raquel Cavaco Nunes, Joel Marklund, Pascal Rondeau and Blanka Vlasic – narrowed the entries to 12 shortlisted images and three finalists before deciding on the winner.

Ozbot was surprised with the honour during an assignment to photograph trophies for the World Athletics Awards, which ended up including his own.

“I’m extremely surprised,” said Ozbot. “I knew the photograph was very special. It happened at a unique moment in time, but there were so many other amazing photographs by so many of my great colleagues. I’m very surprised and incredibly happy.”

Ozbot’s photograph captures Neugebauer in free fall after clearing a bar during the decathlon pole vault at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest.

“It was a peculiar moment, because on that day there was also the marathon (taking place) and I decided not to cover the marathon in order to get the chance of an infield bib during the morning session,” explained Ozbot. “It was the second to last day, and it was my chance to have a little more time on the track, and particularly the infield.

“The event was taking place around midday; the sun was high and when I saw the athlete celebrating through my lens, I thought there may be a good photo there. I was also quite lucky because I was there for 15 minutes and it happened right when I was there. So, I’m very happy with the photo and with the award.”

Ozbot is a freelance photographer based in Milan who specialises in sports photography and has a passion for capturing all the emotions that sport can bring. He attended the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 as part of the inaugural World Athletics Photography Workshop.

Other winners already announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 include Laurent Meuwly (Coaching Achievement Award) and Falilatou Tchanile-Salifou (Woman of the Year). Further announcements will be made in the coming days, ahead of the World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars being revealed on Monday 11 December.

World Athletics

Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, better known professionally by their first names only, are responsible for some of the most striking celebrity portraits of their generation, from Lady Gaga to Barack Obama. The pair, who are partners in both work and life, met as students at fashion school in their hometown of Amsterdam and made names for themselves as the go-to photographers for cutting-edge fashion editorials and big-name luxury brands.

As early adopters of digital photography, they became known for their experimental style, sharp images, and fine-art sensibility—all elements that helped produce their distinctive portraits. Inez and Vinoodh have a way of making every subject look and feel confident. Their often-high profile subjects are rendered even more powerful, more glamorous, and more dynamic than they may already feel, making the couple apt documenters to the world of celebrity.

So perhaps it’s only fitting that the duo would take on a subject as culturally dominant as Taylor Swift. During her cover shoot in New York City for TIME’s Person of the Year story, Inez and Vinoodh captured the pop star in her prime, in the midst of her Eras tour. While the pair had photographed her once before, for a 2019 Vogue shoot, they were excited to collaborate with her again, calling her the “ideal subject.”

Ahead of the launch of TIME’s 2023 Person of the Year story, Inez spoke to TIME about their inspiration for the shoot, what’s changed since they last photographed Taylor, and their favorite Swift era.

TIME: How did you prepare for your shoot with Taylor?

Inez van Lamsweerde: First of all, we went to see The Eras Tour movie—it’s just incredible. And then we did a deep dive into all her different personifications and the way she expressed her feelings over the years of her career to form a concept. We were mostly struck by watching her perform her lyrics, the way she relates to you and how that releases an extraordinary sense of empathy in her. The way she talks, the way she looks at life, it’s with this heightened sense of empathy that’s quite extraordinary. Combined with this incredibly glamorous side that’s sort of like old Hollywood and her amazing strength, defiance and power, we tried to express each of them throughout all the different sessions that we did. 

Taylor’s currently in the midst of her Eras Tour. Obviously, she was in a different era the last time you shot her in 2019. How do you think she has changed? How do you perceive her in her current era?

I think it’s mostly growing up. I could see the extreme fulfillment she has from performing. She loves performing. She loves the connection that she has with people. That’s what’s extraordinary about her openness and respectfulness. She’s just a very generous, gentle person; she’ll have an opinion and she’ll express it in the most respectful way and is extremely collaborative. It’s extraordinary how someone of that level of fame can actually stay that connected and in touch with life and our own feelings. She doesn’t seem at all like she’s removed from reality—she’s very much in it.

What do you think makes Taylor an interesting subject to shoot?

Apart from her beauty, obviously, there’s this idea that she’s your best friend. What’s so wonderful about her is she’s open and real and she’ll talk about anything, like she does in her lyrics—she loves connecting. It’s about what she expresses that people can actually relate to, feel comforted by or inspired by, or [be] given strength by and it’s quite extraordinary the way she manages to do that. She basically provided the soundtrack to so many young people’s lives; people have grown up with her.

Read More: Taylor Swift Makes History as Person of the Year. Here’s How

Do you have a favorite era of Taylor’s?

That’s hard for me because I like all of it. I think Reputation is probably my favorite, just for the defiance of it. 

Can we talk about the photo of Taylor with her cat?

Benjamin! [Swift has a ragdoll cat named Benjamin Button.]

How did this photo come about?

There’s a book by photographer Bill Hayward called Cat People from the ‘70s, with journalistic photos of cat lovers and their cats, but it’s all entertainers, writers, journalists—some very famous, some not so famous. And the pictures are brilliant. It shows very well the relationship that people have with their cats. But at the same time, [shows] the way cats are kind of on their own—they’re a special breed of animal. So I got a vintage copy of it for Taylor because I know she’s a major cat lover, and her cats travel with her. And I said, “You know, I’ve always wanted to do a picture like the one that’s on the cover of that book where the cat’s on the shoulder of the girl.” It speaks to a sense of carrying everything on your shoulders but being defiant while doing so. And she agreed and that’s how that picture happened.

Read More: Behind the Scenes of TIME’s 2023 Person of the Year Issue

Why do you think that the photo would embody Taylor in this particular moment?

It really has everything: Her glamor, her power, her sense of empathy of carrying the whole world on her shoulders. Because if you do feel like that—she’s so involved in everything, whether it’s getting young people to vote, etc.—she’s always pushing for things that are outside of the music realm. I felt that there is something there in her body position that’s very powerful and strong. Her expression and the way she looks has this old Hollywood glamor but underneath, there’s so much power in her stance. The way she has Benjamin on her shoulders is kind of like, ‘Yeah, I’m carrying you all.’ 

Growing up, Dagmar Bennett was in perpetual awe of her uncle Keith’s flamboyant and eccentric style. Standing out from the crowd, in the small village in Wales that she and her uncle are from, she says, “the contrast between his style and attitude, and the town have always been refreshing”. Longing to create a body of work that captures this, alongside his experience as a person with a disability, the creative director and filmmaker began working on Village Style – a documentary for BBC Cymru Wales as a part of its New Voices From Wales series. And while Village Style showcases his individual flair, Dagmar wanted us to see that little bit more, in the form of a behind-the-scenes series titled Uncle Keith.

When the idea came to mind, Dagmar first contacted her dear friend and photographer, Stefy Pocket. “I just knew she would understand the subject matter,” Dagmar says. Stefy often documents subcultures and mass events around the world, from ceremonies in Mexico to the dapper and joyful characters of Jamaica’s Spanish Town. She jumped at the chance to zone in on one character. “In a world obsessed with conventional beauty and youth, there’s no better time to share the richness of life that comes with age,” says Stefy. “Uncle Keith is a celebration of uniqueness that challenges stereotypes in not just age but ability.” Dagmar holds a similar belief. While working with her uncle on styling for the project, she often wondered what Keith’s life as a fashion creative would have been without the barriers placed on people with disabilities: “That’s why we started this – to embrace and champion the creativity of differently abled individuals; it’s about shifting the narrative from limitations to possibilities.”

Kenyssa Evans is not a big fan of social media, which might be surprising considering that she is, after all, a photographer in her 20s. Evans’s dedication to staying enigmatic reflects in her life and her artwork. Similar to the paintings made by Jennifer Packer or to the videos created by Sonda Perry, the images Evans produces capture Black people — all while obscuring the identities of those within the images. Why? Because anonymity can be a type of freedom.

Evans says that her creative process is largely intuitive. As for her aesthetic choices: “Most of the time a lot of my images are just me winging it.” Once she completes a photo, she devotes heavy contemplation towards interpreting the work. Evans explains, “I feel like with every project, I have to dive into it, take a break and come back to it.”

Valuing feeling over judgment allows Evans to slow down and create meaningful images — a tactic that is especially important because her work often features people or environments that are near to her heart. Exhibitions in Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago and Washington, D.C. have featured Evan’s artwork.

As part of a partnership with Forman Arts Initiative, the Citizen caught up with Kenyssa Evans. The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

What brought you to Philadelphia?

I’m from the 202, so I’m from Washington, D.C. I went to Duke Ellington School of the Arts. It’s the first performing arts school in D.C. To get in, you’ve got to go through a whole interview process and talk about why you love art. At that time I was not, honestly, really into art. The reason I applied is otherwise I would have had to go to a Catholic school. I didn’t really understand what art was really like. Then, once I got in, the teachers there were just awesome. They introduced me to a whole new world.

Moore College of Art & Design visited my school. I don’t know, I feel like the all-woman college thing kind of lured me in — and also just all the majors that they had there, especially curatorial studies. I came to Philly for school at Moore, and I just decided to stay here. I fell in love with the city.

In your experience, what is the skill leap between an amateur taking photos versus the images a photographer in the professional world makes?

There could be a difference, but I feel like sometimes I don’t see a difference. It’s really a question of, “What is the story you’re telling? What are you’re trying to portray in these images?” A lot of artists now take snapshots on their phones, don’t really edit anything, and they have an intentional reason for doing that. It’s the intention behind it that’s always stuck with me. That’s what I feel like with my personal practice. If I don’t have an intention, then I just have no interest in it.

With me personally, I’ve been straying away from my camera. I’ve been really just using — especially with the current project I’ve been working on — I’ve been using my cellphone and taking these images.

Tell me about your current photography project.

It really started over the summer. I went to go visit my grandma and I was just in her house and she had one of [engraver/painter] Ernest Watson’s paintings. I just love how the bodies are just so distorted and how he captured those scenes [of Black life]. I just like seeing it in Black households. Summertime, being surrounded by all these cookouts and these gatherings, I was observing people and how their bodies are reacting to these environments. That’s how I started getting interested in that sonic architecture and studying different sounds from different places.

In D.C., you have Go-Go music. It originated from jazz, blues and funk. Chuck Brown was the guy that founded it. In Chicago you have house music. I remember going to church as a kid and seeing these spaces, especially for Black and brown people, and how they gather in these spaces and felt like they could be themselves and be free. I’m trying to capture those spaces in my photography, and trying to study the music more.

I’m honestly just going for it. My nights out when doing this is like me being one with everyone in that space. I’m not telling anyone, “I’m here doing my project.” I’m just like, All right, I’m going to have a drink, dance, get in the crowd. If I see something, I take a picture. I don’t even look at it. I wait until the next day. It’s a project that I’m still figuring out.

I really like to talk about space and how it affects people. That’s where my work has been honing in on. Right now I’m really diving into sonic architecture. [Editor’s note: Sonic architecture works to reconstruct architectural spaces in sound, or, vice versa, to create listening experiences as sculpture or architecture.] It all goes back to space and how one’s emotion, body and everything responds to one’s space.

Do you feel pressure to produce work really quickly? I feel like generally you move through a project very slowly..

Yeah, so that’s me all the way. I think that’s why I got off Instagram for a bit because being on Instagram, social media, whatever, and just seeing people post at work and people asking me constantly, “Oh, what are you working on? What are you working on? You haven’t posted anything. Da da da da da.” I just felt, like, this pressure. But I don’t really care what people are thinking, or if I’m being lazy about something. I just feel like I always have to take my time. Again, I’m not a person just to release, release, release. Like, “Here’s an image. You guys like it, share it.”

What does success as an artist look like to you?

Having the freedom where I have full control of my work, what I want to do, how I want to do it, and when I want to do it. I think that comes into my practice, my success as an artist. It’s just about knowing who you are as an individual and making the work for yourself. That gets blurred in the world we live in now: We’re constantly making and trying to keep up our appearance and how many followers we have.

I just want to wake up and feel okay to not work on something and not feel like, Okay, I have to work, I have to go to the studio. I have to go open my laptop and at least work on something or at least apply to exhibitions or something. I’m still trying to figure that out for myself because I do have my moments, honestly, where I’m just like, I’m not doing anything with my practice. I should be applying to this. I should be applying to that. I should be taking these opportunities.

If something’s not really gravitating me towards that opportunity, then I just kind of sit with it and I’m like I don’t feel like it’s probably right for me, or I’m probably not ready for that yet. As an artist, I just want to reach that confidence level of just being like, Okay, something is not right for me and I will be okay with it. It doesn’t feel right. I don’t want to do it. I’m okay with it.

That’s why I enjoy most of my projects a lot, because I’m just on my own time compared to my friends who are constantly working with galleries. They just always seemed drained and are trying to keep up with that. I’m not built for that to just hurry up and produce something for someone to put on their wall. I think maybe it’s just my personality type. I like being in the shadows.

Logan Cryer is a curator based in Philadelphia with a penchant for local art histories. They currently serve as the Co-Curator of Icebox Project Space and they like to rewatch documentaries.

This story is part of a partnership between The Philadelphia Citizen and Forman Arts Initiative to highlight creatives in every neighborhood in Philadelphia. It will run on both The Citizen and FAI’s websites.

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Kenyssa Evans, courtesy of the artist.