We were lucky to catch up with SkyQuajus Turner recently and have shared our conversation below.

SkyQuajus , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I would say one of my most meaningful projects I’ve done so far is “LIBERATION” which was my first solo photo gallery I curated this past summer. A collection of old photos as well as new photos that I put together adding a live visual show that allowed everyone who attended to understand that I’m not just a photographer but I am also a visual artist. During the earlier stages of planning I remember thinking how do I get people to feel the things I feel when taking a photo but also learn about who I am as a person and randomly it clicked that I just needed to set people in an environment that I would put myself in mentally when creating an image but instead display it in a unique way. So in doing so I planned out a few things I decided to display a total of 20-30 images splitting them up into two sets. First set being all of my older photo projects I photographed during 2020-2021 and the second set being all of my newer photo projects I photographed starting from the beginning of January till about the end of June 2022. I got together a total of 24 people, people that either inspired me but that I also trusted to help make this idea come to life. Giving each person a task I gathered dj’s, some of the coolest photographers I know, security, bartenders and then a few my closet friends that I knew would be able to either one take photos down when the time came and or to help keep the energy high through out the night. Placing a BMW e30 in the middle of the gallery where the dj’s would play music out of giving people something to draw attention to. I set up a total of 4 tv’s in each corner that had a live security camera connected to them so that way it allowed people to look at themselves while attending the gallery. While everyone who was apart of the gallery wore red jumpsuits to indicate awareness with the numbers 9:30 painted on the back to let people know that something special was happening at that specific time. The plan was to at 9:30 take each photo off the wall one by one replacing them with all the new photos while the song Liberation by Outkast played in the background creating a new exhibit to give people something other than the same photos to look at through the night. I wanted the gallery to feel chaotic and welcoming, but also give it a very grundy/dark tone. I wanted shadows to reflect off the walls as people walked pass. Ideally I wanted everything to match the aesthetic of the photos so as you looked at them you also felt everything that was going on around you.

I honestly felt like this was the start of something new for me but also feeling like this was a way for me to say I have finally freed myself as an artist to create as well as do whatever I want within my art. A celebration of a new mindset, free from my own thoughts.

SkyQuajus , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Nashville based film photographer. I started photography about 5-6 years ago shooting on 35 mm then slowly transitioning into 120mm film and honestly it’s taken me a lot further than I thought it would. Its crazy because photography was never the goal it started off as just a way for me to escape mentally allowing my self to express emotionally later on turning into a career/passion. I remember my grandfather sitting down with me at the age of 18 telling me that I needed to find some type of hobby that would keep me out of trouble and then telling me how photography helped him in his life. So I figured id try it out for myself not knowing it was going to put me in rooms I never imagined being in. The more I started learning the more I became invested by grabbing books, watching other photographers and grabbing inspiration from other artist allowing me to grow in the art. Eventually I started finding myself leaning more towards portrait photography and documenting things around me rather that was a photograph of a tree or a friend. I feel like as a photographer we are weapons in the industry we are the ones who keep history alive but also tell a visual story. Without that there is no real way to prove what happened in the world besides vocal/written documentation. As I get deeper into this career I start to realize who I am as a photographer as well as person more and more each day. I feel like now I get to express myself through others by taking photos of them to display not only my emotions but their emotions too.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I would say there is a good amount of goals that keep me going within this creative journey. I honestly want to own my own photography studio one day giving others a place to work but also giving myself a place to work as well. I think one of the main goals though is to be able to support myself financially with what I do without having to worry about anything. As well as be able to choose what projects I want to take on and what I don’t want to. That mentality of being absolutely free to create with no limits feels amazing so everything that goes along with that may that be freedom financially or even having a free space to create brings the best out of an artist to make quality art that will last rather than art that will dissolve. Photography is honestly at this point all I really got so that in itself also drives me to keep going and honestly if I can make quality art that will last a life time then what more could I really ask for.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

My happiness…. Literally the only thing I can honestly think of that has been the most rewarding thing so far. I remember a time in my life where I felt empty and like I didn’t have anything until photography became apart of my life. It’s not only my art but its something that’s apart of me internally. Without photography I feel lost but I also will say I feel like its given me a voice and has allowed me be be heard.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fromthemotherlands.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/trusiifuu
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/trusiifuu

Image Credits
personal photo shot by @whokilledkoffi