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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 SEPTEMBER 2020 4 THIS WEEK PHOTOGRAPHY UK-born, Malta-based photographer Matt Thompson speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about his latest project, focusing on young Maltese women whom he's identified as embracing an unconventional approach towards their self-image Pushing back against narcissistic First off, could you tell us a little bit about your creative trajectory as a photographer? How did you first get started, and what spurred you on to continue in a more sustained manner? I was actually in the music and broad- cast industries for the first half of my adult life. During that time I did my first backpacking and decided to buy an early point and shoot digital camera to chronicle the experience. Friends saw the images of my travels and comment- ed that I seemed to have an eye, but I had no idea what I was doing (just enjoying capturing and composing instinctually) so I decided to go on evening courses to learn about the principles of photogra- phy and printing… just as a hobby at first. In 2008 like many people I was left reeling from the financial crisis and so I decided to go and collect my senses in India. While I was there, I came to the realisation that I wanted to explore photography properly and so upon re- turning to the UK I enrolled at the Lon- don College of Communication (part of the University of the Arts) and studied photography in my mid 30s. At my end of course exhibition at LCC, I got spotted by scouts from Ozwald Boateng – the fashion tailor. When meeting Ozwald I told him that if he was looking for a straight-up fash- ion photographer, I wasn't his man, but if he wanted to tell a story, that was something I could do. He bought into the idea and I ended up shooting the story of the largest ever men's show at London Fashion Week. I shot the mod- els arriving, being made up, suited and booted, rehearsals, the show and then walking out into the streets of London and it was made into a book. That was my big break. From there, I mainly focused on com- mercial work to pay the bills. I did a campaign for e.on, one of the big energy companies in the UK, shot for UNICEF and shot portraits of CEOs in the city. I enjoyed the work, but it wasn't fulfill- ing me so I turned my hand to my first proper photography project which was a collaboration with my former girl- friend who suffered badly with epilep- sy, a photo diary of living with the con- dition shot over one year. It got picked up by the Observer (The Guardian's Sunday paper) and they ran it as a cover story. It's the most rewarding work I've done, as it has affected the lives of the people who've had the condition, and those supporting them. After that success, I knew I wanted to move more towards art and documen- tary photography and have been work- ing away at that while the commercial work has sustained me. I'm starting to see the fruits of that labour as recent- ly I was picked as one of the winners at Open Walls in Arles, a prestigious com- petition run by the British Journal of Photography. The winning image, 'The Field', is from a long term project I am shooting, exploring what it's like to live with Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chron- ic fatigue syndrome otherwise known as M.E or CFS, an illness I was diagnosed with in 2017. How was your connection with Malta first formed, and do you find the island inspiring for your work? I first came to Gozo as a 15-year-old on holiday as my parents bought an apartment there, so I spent my teenage holidays there. It has always felt like a second home, so I continued to come back in my adult life when I wanted to chill out. After 17 years in London and after my diagnosis I was ready for a change, and decided I wanted a change of lifestyle and also to find more space for my cre- ativity. I instinctively thought of Gozo, but knew it would be too quiet for me, so decided to investigate what a life in Malta would be like. I took a trip to Val- letta and instantly began to meet and connect with people and enjoyed the vibe, so I packed my bags and came! My project on M.E is a mixture of portraits and finding meaning in my immediate environment to try to com- municate how I feel. It's been really in- teresting coming here and furthering the project. My nudes project 'Passi- vation' that I was due to exhibit until COVID-19 came along, is also partly a product of moving to Malta. The con- nection I made with the models and their willingness to explore with me and their curiosity to what their body can mean and communicate has elevat- ed the project of nudes. The landscape and the people have had a major impact on my work. The project I guess that has been influenced the most by moving to Malta is my Young Maltese Women project… How did you first hit upon the idea forthe 'Young Maltese Women' project? What spurred you on to pursue it? Upon arriving in Malta I photo- graphed a young woman named Marti- na who I discovered on Instagram. I was impressed by her maturity and what she would later describe as her "comfort in my uncomfortableness." As I dug deep- er into the Instagram web, I was struck by how many of the young women on the island were choosing to present themselves. Unlike many, these young women hadn't fallen into the Instagram trap of over sexualising themselves for "There's real talent on the island but I don't think the infrastructure and the appreciation of the arts is at the level to truly support and nurture it yet" Matt Thompson. Photo by Maria Galea