Filipina Artist Gianne Encarnacion Captures the Spirit of Lomo'Instant Cameras With This Custom Design

Filipina artist and illustrator Gianne Encarnacion is an emerging talent known for her ornate style, yet influenced by the sensibilities of scientific illustrations. She creates art about her abstract worlds: personal experiences, lore from her favorite books and Miyazaki movies, and conceptual ideas she can only express through her work. The artist’s distinct style makes even more sense when you learn about her background: coming from a family of healthcare workers, she thought she would follow suit. But Gianne also grew up in the dawn of the internet, NYLON Magazine and its cult of fashion and kawaii -obsessed teenage girls, and the boom of Gen Z web designers self-taught with pirated software.

What results is a body of work that thematically feels relatable yet explored through Gianne’s way. She tells us, “Currently I am influenced by the idea of the body as a garden, so I have been interpreting parts of the body, even the tiniest, most particular ones, as beautiful specimens.”

Lomography Philippines celebrated the 10th anniversary of our Lomo’Instant camera line by collaborating with Gianne. We handed her a brand new Lomo’Instant Automat camera for her to customize. Her design, inspired by a line from Paramore’s “Crave”, is as smart as it is emotional. We then hosted a giveaway for the custom camera, awarded to one lucky winner here in the Philippines (hi, Meg!)

We sat down with Gianne Encarnacion to talk origin stories, her favorite things about the Lomo’Instant Automat, and what’s next for the artist. Scroll down for the full Q&A!

Hi Gianne! Welcome to Lomography. Please introduce yourself to the Lomography community!

Hi, I’m Gianne Encarnacion. I’m an artist and illustrator.

What is your origin story as an artist?

I was raised in a family of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers and I thought I was going to be one too. But ever since I was little, I excelled more in the creative field. It was also the early 2000s when the Internet was growing. It was a time marked with HTML & CSS, the early days of Photoshop and huge drawing tablets. I think this exposure to digital art and the World Wide Web allowed me to see a career in art that wasn’t traditional (painting, sculpting, etc). So, I decided to forcefully carve a creative career for myself.

Can you tell us more about your art style and your vision as an artist?

I like to describe my work as an organized chaos. I love intricacy and ornate work, most probably influenced by the decorative nature of Filipino and Chinese work (Chinese porcelain, embroidery on jusi, okir, the decorative flourishes in bahay na bato ). My medical and scientific upbringing also found its way in my work. I really don’t like portraying existing concepts as they are, so I like to reimagine them in a “Gianne” way. I’d say my work is pretty introspective too, and I like to portray the abstract world with the real one, sort of like an “as above, so below” line of thinking. Currently I am influenced by the idea of the body as a garden, so I have been interpreting parts of the body, even the tiniest, most particular ones, as beautiful specimens.

Tell us more about how you designed this artwork for the Lomo'Instant Automat. How did you conceptualize this design and what was the process like?

I was really challenged by the small area I could design on! I wanted to do something with the words “picture perfect” or “snap shot”, or something that had to do with the optics (of course, I had to make this nerdy in some way). I was playing around with the mechanics of a camera, the shutter, etc. But I kept feeling like something was lacking. Eventually I remembered a line from “Crave” from Paramore (“a picture cannot contain the way it feels”), and I think I based the entire direction on that song. Basking in beautiful moments and being so moved by life, missing it before it even ends, wanting to preserve every second of it in a photograph—I think my earlier designs were lacking in that emotional aspect. I made the design circular to “capture” the lens. The back part, I decided to be more playful and turn it as a golden ratio. And I really wanted to have a person taking a photo of the camera owner as well, like a little ‘haha-moment’.

What was your first impression of the Lomo'Instant Automat? What do you like most about the camera?

It’s so interesting because I recently broke my Instax camera and I wanted to get it fixed, and this collab happened! I really like the design of the camera. And I love the variety of lenses it came with, particularly the fisheye lens because I am a fisheye lens girl. Lastly, I really love the reflective button for more convenient self-portraits! It’s such a thoughtful design choice.

Please tell us about the photos you took with the camera. Which photos do you like the most?

Holding the camera reminded me so much of my youth, particularly my high school life. My best friend and I were huge Tumblr artsy kids, so we decided to take photos that we would’ve taken back then. I think my favorites were the American Apparel or New York Fashion Week backstage-esque polaroids the models used to take, or the fish-eye lens photos.

Where else do you want to take the Lomo’Instant Automat camera?

I definitely want (need) to bring it with me to more outdoorsy situations, maybe during a hike, or a trip out of town or out of the country.

Are you working on any exciting new projects that you would like to share with our readers?

I am trying my hardest to complete and prioritize personal projects, so I’m doing that now! I’m also trying to get over current fears I have about art and the process of it: large scale-pieces, a large volume of pieces for a series, and work that will take a while before I see it materialize.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

You can find more of Gianne's works on her website or follow her on Instagram. She also sells prints of her work here.

written by margamagalong on 2024-06-04 #gear #news #people #art #philippines #collaboration #instant #giveaway #artist #lomo #custom #customized #filipino #instantphotography #lomo-instant #apac Share Article