January Feature: Christian Hopkins
- Dec 31, 2014
- 7 min read
For the month of January, we would like to present you with Christian Hopkins, our Featured Artist of the Month.
Christian Hopkins is a 22 year old photographer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From the age of 16, Hopkins has fought against bouts of severe clinical depression. It was during this terrifying time that Hopkins found himself reaching out to, of all things, a camera. Through surreal self-portraiture and photo manipulation, he gives form to the strong emotions with which he has and continues to struggle. A wide variety of his pictures capture perfectly the haunted thoughts and feelings trapped within his mind.
Hopkins remains an inspiration for many young writers and artists out there today who might be going through similar personal experiences. In his words:
"What I want my viewers to see in my photographs is myself, and perhaps themselves as well, and I hope they realize that those two things may not be so different."
He is currently enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania studying biochemistry.
For more of Hopkins' work, visit our Homepage or go to the following links:
See what he had to say below in an interview with our Editor in Chief, Tyler Tsay:
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First off - Captain Truffles?
Ha, it’s actually an old joke from high school. Whenever a friend and I had to fill out any sort of anonymous form or survey, we would always sign it off as “Captain Truffles.” I decided to use it as a fun pseudonym-esque signature when I was creating a Flickr account to host my photographs. Plus it’s easy to remember.
Down to the good stuff. What about photography drew you to it?
Honestly, I was drawn to photography because I’m a terrible painter. What I found in photography was a means of materializing these thoughts in my head that were constantly plaguing me, and with painting being more accessible and also a favorite medium of mine, that would have been my first outlet...if I wasn’t so bad at it. It was on Flickr that I saw other young photographers using self-portraits as means of expression, but no where could I find any portraits that expressed the things I had been feeling. I decided to create those portraits myself.
What was your most memorable shoot? Why?
That would probably go to this image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chopkins011/9725987970/
Mainly because I used a DIY recipe I got off the internet for the smoke and a slight miscalculation in the amount of each ingredient to use almost led to the destruction of my backyard and left me with slightly less of a left foot. If you looked at my internet history just before this photoshoot, you would see a search for "How to make a smoke bomb" followed shortly by "How to treat 2nd degree burns."
Were there times when depression hindered your creative processes?
Of course, but it’s that very same Depression that gave life to my photography in the first place, and without it there would be no creation to hinder. As hard as my Depression has made my life, without it, I can’t say that I would have ever been able to create these photos and communicate what so many others, including myself, are constantly struggling with.
Is there a specific photo that truly encapsulates your personal experiences, in your mind?
For me, this photo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/chopkins011/5769499526/) is the most accurate representation of how I (and I’m sure many of us) have felt.
What are your views on negative social stigma regarding mental health?
While I've never had any personal experiences involving the negative social stigma around mental health (I am very fortunate to be surrounded by genuinely caring and understanding people), mental health is still very much something that people in our society need help understanding. Depression as both a disease and a symptom manifests itself in ways that is coupled to our perception of free-will and personality, and to differentiate between which aspects of our behavior are in our control and which aren't can be exceedingly difficult, even for the affected individual him/herself. I just hope people can truly start to treat the disorder as the disease it is.
Tell us about the process for your photo shoots – idea creation, set up, execution, etc.
A majority of the time I will create an image when I am being vexed by some strong emotion. Taking these emotions and trapping them in a photograph is one of the only ways I’ve been able to fight back. The image is always finished in my head before I even pick up the camera, and the actual photo-taking and editing is just a formality. When the photo needs some sort of prop, I’ll go snooping around online or at local art stores for it, and occasionally I’ll fortuitously come across some other prop that inspires another photograph. I use a remote shutter release and have the camera on a tripod when taking the photograph. It usually takes a couple tries to get the pose and composition right (by a couple, I mean it can take up to 100+ tries. I’m very picky about making sure everything is just right). I’m almost always the subject of my photographs, partially because these photos are about me personally, but it’s mostly because I’m afraid of talking to other people. Also, it’s convenient because I’m always around. I do my editing in Photoshop.
Has there ever been a time during the creation process where a photo has turned out very differently from how you first imagined it to be? Any examples?
Oh absolutely. I try to make every photo I take significantly different in style than the previous one, which often has me exploring territory completely uncharted in my map of capabilities. Tortured metaphors aside, I’ll often find myself absolutely lost when trying to figure out how to bring a certain idea to life, and in an attempt to justify all the time I spent on the shoot, I’ll try to make something out of what I’ve got lying around. Most of the time these images don’t make it out of some forgotten folder hidden deep in my computer, but every so often one will make it out. This photograph (https://www.flickr.com/photos/chopkins011/9933912214/) is actually the remnants of a “failed” shoot in an attempt to create the photograph in the bottom left corner of this image (https://www.flickr.com/photos/chopkins011/10074892755/).
Are there any overarching goals that you have when making your art? Or, to put it another way - what do you want your viewer to see when looking at your work?
To get better. Honestly though, the act of creating a photograph rarely ever helps in the long term for me. There are many, many instances where I just want to put the camera down and never pick it up again. For months at a time I will convince myself that I’m done with this “hobby,” but I keep receiving messages from both close friends and from complete strangers around the world about how my photography has inspired and helped them. They continually help me believe that perhaps there is a reason why I have this disease. What I want my viewers to see in my photographs is myself, and perhaps themselves as well, and I hope they realize that those two things may not be so different.
How has photography evolved for you over the years?
Gradually, my photography has shifted away from “taking pictures” to “making pictures,” with much more emphasis on photomanipulation. I can’t say that it’s a change I am in favor of, and to be honest, while my recent photography may be more visually impressive than my early photography, my favorite photographs tend to be the ones I had taken long ago. To me they seem more innately emotional and they say a lot while using only very little.
Do you ever publish photo series' on a central theme, or do you just publish individual photos? Why or why not?
I usually just publish individual photos, primarily because I put a lot of work into each individual photo and to do that for multiple images is far too tiring. It also has a little to do with my creative process. I’ll take pictures when it seems to be the only way to cope with a certain feeling, which happens very inconsistently. Occasionally there will be a couple of photos that are all variations of one idea, and that usually occurs whenever I’ve taken a whole bunch of shots for a single image and can’t decide which one I like best, so I use more than one.
Any projects in the mix right now? What do you have planned next?
Nothing right now. I never really “plan” my photographs. They just happen every once in a while. Of course I also have to be in a certain type of creative mindset to take advantage of when those moments do happen, and recently I’ve been really busy with commercial work. Taking these artistic photos has been becoming less and less effective as an anodyne for my Depression, and one of the only ways I’ve been able to feel happy is vicariously through others. Showing someone how beautiful they are through a portrait is incredibly rewarding for me, and that’s what I've been trying my best to do with my photography recently.
Who inspires you?
I don’t look at other photographers’ work that much because when I do I start to compare myself to them and convince myself that I’m inadequate or obsolete or something else that’s mean. However, if there is one person in particular who has effected my work it would be the photographer Aaron Nace. He showed me that there are no true rules and the only thing that could possibly limit you is your creativity.
What advice would you have for our predominantly young audience, especially for those who might be going through similar experiences as you did?
I’m going to borrow a word or two from Nike and say just do it. Especially the things you think are impossible. Do those the most. And ask lots of questions. Every good answer has a good question behind it. I’m actually really surprised how often people will tell me that they hate their work, and when I ask them why, then don’t have an answer for me because they never asked that themselves. Ask yourself what makes a certain picture good. Ask yourself what makes a certain picture bad. I’ve learned the most about photography not from the good pictures I’ve taken, but from the thousands and thousands of bad ones.
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Keep tuning in to "the blueg" for exclusive interviews, invigorating blogs posts, and so much more of the like!
-Tyler
PS. Watch out for a special surprise this week!!
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