My first major commercial campaign for my retired small business, ‘Meadow Lane’, featuring Zoe Hadjidimitriou, Shariah Cummings and Emerald Brunt. This project meant everything to me. It still does. I poured everything I had into this shoot, literally and figuratively. I spent almost all of the money I had sourcing the collection, buying props and booking out the motel room for five hours. Other than Shariah, who I had worked with briefly before on other creative projects, I had never met the girls. I posted a video online, calling out for anyone living in Sydney who wanted to be featured in a photoshoot, no prior experience needed. We met for the first time in the motel parking lot (in hindsight I am aware that this was not a very good idea, on anyones part… but you have to start somewhere!). I knew I wanted to feature alien-like characters in the project. I’ve always been intrigued by the human possession of an alien nature, perhaps because I’ve always felt that way myself. I was also raised on all things horror, so feel a natural compulsion to infuse a creepy vibe into all of my work. At the time, I was heavily fixated on mermaids and sirens, specifically their darker depictions - alluring, unassuming, deadly half-women with bright, wide eyes and the lethal power to preserve their complete autonomy. This fantastical, fairytale existence always stirred up a desired sense of freedom in me. Therefore, a motel seemed like the only appropriate location for my very own mermaids to exist - an iconically grimy, liminal space occupied by the freedom seekers of the open road. I gave the girls white out eye contact lenses, told them never to smile, in fact to look as moody, miserable and flat out demonic as possible. I called them my ‘Motel Pool Mermaids’. The next five hours were pure magic. I felt like a part of my soul, something I had been waiting for, something I was definitely intimidated by, had come alive and finally been set free. I saw influences of the artists I had long admired being shown in my work as it unfolded and felt like a lifetime of inspiration finally had a soft place to land. By the end of the day it felt like we had all known each other for a very long time. I’ll always be grateful and in awe of what we were able to make that day.