Artists make the world go round, and never cease to amaze us with their talent, tenacity, and tendency to know the future trends before we do. Class of The Future is a series of interviews with eight absolutely astronomical talents from Australia, who are the up-and-comers ready to change the game.
Anne-Simone El Sokkary may be the only Melbourne representative from the Class of the Future, but she has enough artistic talent behind her to represent the whole of Victoria anyway, so it’s fine. Armed with a passion for capturing moments that she finds most beautiful, Anne’s skillsets lie in the field of photography, a difficult art that very few can execute well.
Landscapes, architecture, street photography, portraits of people, you name it an Anne-Simone can do it. It all started when she was just a child, playing around with a camera, and from those early budding moments spawned a grown woman who now carries a camera around with them everywhere.
Hell, she even shoots weddings and concerts like a professional, with an eye for angles and lighting that could be expected from an aged veteran of photography.
For the Class of the Future series, Anne wanted to showcase her photography skills with something special from her arsenal of high definition pics. And so, she has submitted to us her photograph of Australian rapper Ziggy Ramo. Ziggy is someone who has been on everyone’s radar since he first started, and uses his voice to challenge issues in our country such as the injustices caused to Aboriginal Australians.
With someone so well-versed in using words to send a message, how do you sum it all up with just a single picture? Well, Anne-Simone shows us just how to do that. A picture paints a thousand words, as they say. Check out her pic below.
It’s the kind of golden-hour photography that you could stare at for hours.
I had a chat with Anne-Simone on her early beginnings as an artist, her inspirations in the world of photography, and her secret love of drumming, as she joins the ranks as one of our members for the Class of the Future.
Interview with Anne-Simone El Sokkary
How did you get started as an artist?
I first started taking photos as a kid on family holidays. I assigned myself the responsibility to document the sites we saw and so I started off shooting mainly landscapes, architecture and awkward family portraits. I then thought “This is kind of fun and I’m not half bad at this,” and so I carried a camera around with me wherever I could.
Is there a specific art form you specialise in?
Photography is the only art form I practice, but the great thing about photography is how broad it is. Most of my photographs have been landscapes, architecture and street photography, however recently I’ve wanted to focus more on people. Portraits are such a great medium for sharing people’s stories, experiences and identities and that’s what I want to focus on.
Who are some artists you draw inspiration from?
The artists that I draw inspiration from constantly change. Right now, two photographers come to mind- John Michael Tubera and Nicole Reed.
John Michael Tubera is a Melbourne based photographer, he shoots stunning portraits on 120 film. He manages to capture the unique personalities and fierceness of each of his subjects.
Nicole Reed is also a Melbourne based photographer, what drew me to her work was her recent exhibition: Scenes From The People’s Paradise – Pyongyang. Her photos show people moving through eerie, almost dystopian spaces in North Korea, looking at the architecture made my skin crawl.
What are some of the biggest challenges of being an artist?
Personally, I find the pressure to constantly be creating challenging. I think most artists are quite hard on themselves, if I’m not working on a project or planning a shoot then I feel like a failure. I remind myself that if I am being lazy then I have a right to be frustrated myself however if I’ve just hit a creative block then I should give myself a break.
What has your experience with Instagram been like as an artist?
I love Instagram! It’s such a good platform to discover new artists, to see what others are creating, and to draw inspiration from them. I love looking at photos and trying to figure out how the photographer shot it, it makes me want to stop scrolling, get up, and take photos of my own.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Yikes, I don’t know where I’m going to be tomorrow. I’d hope that wherever I am, I’m happy and I’m creating.
Favourite non-art hobby?
Right now I’m teaching myself the drums, I don’t think it’s my housemate’s preferred hobby of mine.
The Class of the Future, Sydney’s rising artists you need to keep an eye on.
Top Row left to right: Erin Sutherland, Sara Hirner, Jimmy Nevell, Nancy Li.
Bot Row left to right: Olivia Serrao, Rosemary Vasquez Brown, Connor Xia.
(*missing from group photo: Anne-Simone El Sokkary)
