Bubblegum Club

Tag: Mikhailia Petersen

  • Togetherness // a series focusing on the feeling of collectivity

    Togetherness // a series focusing on the feeling of collectivity

    Togetherness. The feeling of being part of a community, feeling as though you are connected to other people. The sharing of closeness with friends and family. This word was the focus and title of the visual project produced by Mikhailia Petersen. Teaming up with photographer Sven Kristian, hair and makeup artist Andrea Kloppers, stylists Naserian Koikai and Sune Smit as well as writer Naserian Koikai, the process of creating this project became an enactment of the idea of togetherness.

    Images of a hand placed delicately on top of another’s hand, models holding each other in intimate embraces. Closed eyes, soft hugs and lying on top of one another. The models display signs of affection towards one another, with the softness of the images imitating the soft gestures between the models.

    Mikhailia often pairs text with images in the projects she conceptualises. When asked about this she replied by saying, “My work has a special meaning to me. I don’t want my work to be perceived as fashion. It’s more than that. It had substance.” The poem that accompanies the images was written by Naserian as a response to being part of the process of creating the series. It takes on the role of providing context for the viewer, and offering a different entry point to engage with the work. This is not meant to be a prescriptive way of asking viewers to read the work, but is presented more as offering a device to tease out the concept portrayed in the work.

    Read the accompanying poem below:

    Fingertips pressed against each other

    We develop a sixth sense that empties itself in between the lines of our fingertips

    I rise from my awakening to float on still waters with effortless grace

    You fall from grace as your depth is consumed emptying itself into the rising tide

    Together we house life in varying foes with the magnetic force of our energy

    I envision soles rooted to the ground seeking nourishment

    You nourish my soul pouring out pieces of yourself to help me grow

    Together we find sustenance in the giving and sharing of ourselves to ourselves

    I am my own rhythm

    You heed to the wavelength of my vibrations

    Together we sound out our own melody

    I seek comfort nestled in the heat of your warmth

    You cradle my comfort wrapped in vulnerability

    Together we clasp on to the change of our seasons

    I inhale the richness of your majesty

    You exhale the gravity that comes with it

    Together we are pillars of strength with poise

    I savour your words

    You manifest my thought

    Together we create possibilities

    Would you be able to recognise yourself with your eyes closed?

    The rhythm of your own heart beat

    The fragility of your steps

    The youthfulness of your being

    The synchronised duality attached to the dependency seen in another human being

    Do your eyes only open at the point of the other?

     

    Credits:

    Models: Casey Redlinghys & Kimberley Davidson

    Hair and makeup: Andrea Kloppers

    Photographer: Sven Kristian

    Photography assistant: Alex Paterimos

    Styled by: Mikhailia Petersen

    Styling assistants: Naserian Koikai & Sune Smit

    Poem by: Naserian Koikai

    Produced by: Mikhailia Petersen

    Garments from: Margot Molyneux, Nicola West and AKJP.

  • HER // a project portraying Coloured women in an honest and vulnerable way

    HER // a project portraying Coloured women in an honest and vulnerable way

    Coloured identity has a complicated national, provincial and personal history (or histories) in South Africa. Mikhailia Petersen and Gemma Shepherd teamed up with Jabu Newman, Jahaan van der Ross, Qiniso van Damme, Roxanne Louw, Lara Simons and Shannon van Wyk to unpack this by focusing specifically on the representation of Coloured women in the project ‘HER’.

    Mikhailia explained that the title choice for the series came instinctively. “We want it be a series that a magnitude of Coloured women can connect to,” she adds.

    The foundation for the project comes from their emphasis on the importance of Coloured women occupying positions where they are able to define and perpetuate their own narratives and tell authentic, honest stories about their lived experiences. “Coloured women need not only the validation of seeing ourselves reflected in the physical form, we also need our lived experience to be acknowledged and reflected in the stories that the Fashion Industry tells. Only then will we truly have a seat at the table.” By including women who are involved in the creative industry, both behind and in front of the camera, this project implicitly invites multiple players to reflect on their message.

    The team hope that the series will encourage further discussions about telling experience-oriented, first person stories, as well as widen an interrogation of the fashion industry and engender a spirit of togetherness.

    ‘Her’ aims to portray Coloured women in an honest and vulnerable way. This is in contrast to the played out, hardened stereotype that is often placed on Coloured women. The stereotype that villainizes our grit and calls it vulgarity, because it makes us easier to discount.

    The above is a quote from the text by Shannon van Wyk that accompanies the series of photographs. This text gives the viewer context, and avoids it being interpreted as a fashion editorial. It communicates the fact that there are many ways in which people understand their Coloured identity, and that the ownership and reflexive unpacking of this identification needs to be in the hands of those who embody it. It also rejects the caricatures and negative associations that Coloured people have been forced to carry, specifically Coloured women.

     

    The images present the duality of strength and vulnerability with the intention of broadening the narratives of Coloured woman.

    “We understand that this is just a beginning and that there are so many more stories and voices that Coloured Women identify with that deserve a platform. Stories that need to be made and heard because they validate Coloured identity and the multitude of trials that Coloured women have had to go through and continue to triumph over.”

    Credits:

    Concept: Mikhailia Petersen and Gemma Shepherd

    Producer & Stylist: Mikhailia Petersen

    Photographer: Gemma Shepherd

    Models: Jabu Newman, Jahaan van der Ross, Qiniso van Damme, Roxanne Louw and Lara Simons

    Copy: Shannon van Wyk