Marlowe Campbell

As soon as Marlowe finished their degree in animation, they realised they never wanted to animate a single thing ever again. How did they find direction? They followed anything and everything that interested them, leading to their choice medium: photography. And along a road of navigating grief and mental health struggles, it was Marlowe’s practice that gave them an outlet and a sense of purpose.

What I do

My creative practice
I currently work as a part-time gallery assistant and I sometimes take up freelance photography and graphic design work. My creative practice involves manipulating and abstracting photography.

Influences and inspiration
Painters and photographers really inspire me, my favourites being Sally Mann, Francis Bacon, Cato Ink, Szilvester Mako and Harry Sung. I’m heavily inspired by Mako’s surrealist landscapes – he has an incredible sense of storytelling. I find that paintings lend themselves to surrealism more easily. Within this, I appreciate the use of the uncanny and how mundane objects are distorted. 

Also, the people I've loved. I tend to pursue what I miss most about them. For example, my dad. I want to learn as many instruments as I can get my hands on, and dress like him too.

My training
I studied animation at university, where I furthered my knowledge of Photoshop and learned how to use After Effects. I am otherwise completely self-taught: I began using Adobe during Sixth Form and strengthened my knowledge of it when I moved into graphic design post-uni.

I did a six-week course at Photofusion, during which I learned how to develop and hand-print film photography in a darkroom. My knowledge in photo editing is completely self-taught. I also have a qualification in framemaking.

Favourite recent project
A project I’m still really proud of is called ‘On Becoming an Island’. It sets out to portray the difference in violence between female spaces and male ones – how violence differs based on who the culprit and victims are.

Also, working with Somali funk band Dur Dur Band was amazing. It felt like the culmination of everything I had set out to do with my initial graphic design work.

A day in the life
At work it really ranges. I go from packing and shipping orders to framing consultations, product photography and editing, and website design. I’ve reduced my freelance schedule since starting this job.

Outside of work, I try to relax as much as I can. I do a lot of puzzles, play video games, piano and drums, watch too much YouTube, and hang out with my friends and cat. I usually take up whatever free course is available to me at that time too.

A starter pack for my job:

How I got here

Starting my creative journey
I have always been creative. I come from an incredibly musical family, but I strayed from that by painting as a child and teenager. I wanted to paint landscapes but struggled to explore the surrealist ones I was so drawn to due to my reliance on realism to create an image. I eventually studied hand-painted animation at university, finished my degree, and realised I never wanted to animate a single thing in my life ever again. I had no clue what direction I wanted to go in, but I decided I would just follow anything creative and interesting to me.

I eventually landed a role designing bespoke musical instrument cases out of wood. I shortly left that role due to paternal bereavement. I stayed inside my mind for an entire year after my dad's death. I decided that, in spite of these circumstances, I would try to enjoy my life. This led me to pursue what I felt was most accessible – designing graphics for musicians from home. It focused my mind, gave me purpose and kept me stable.

I reached out to as many musicians as possible, offering my services while designing graphics as a hobby. Time spent designing allowed me to imagine the surrealist landscapes I couldn’t capture earlier, unlocking a whole new door of excitement, possibilities and imagination. I eventually picked up photography to create my own source imagery for these scenes. I now almost solely work with photography – it’s my absolute favourite medium.

Landing my first few jobs, clients and/or commissions
I cold emailed every single interesting musician or artist, offering design services, up to 5 times a day, sometimes every day. I did this for around a year. A lot of people never responded. Surprisingly, the ones who did were those I never imagined would.

I would say having set rates, timelines, and a contract and invoice template ready to go led to more success getting freelance work. I spent my free time practicing Photoshop and Illustrator, which strengthened my skills and kept me interested in my work.

Biggest challenges along the way
Not losing steam and proving to my clients (and myself) that I had the confidence to do what I had contracted myself to do.

My social media and self-promotion vibe is…
I don't like to self-promote. I find having an online identity difficult to maintain. I’d rather just post when I feel like it and keep myself separate from the internet. I think it’s very, very easy to relate your worth to your online persona, so I’d rather limit my exposure to that.

Three things I've found useful in my career:

Courses, programmes, initiatives, access schemes or job boards I've found helpful

My greatest learnings when it comes to making money and supporting myself as a creative:
Always ask for money. If the project you’re working on isn’t set to make any money, I think it’s fine to work for free to strengthen your knowledge or help out your circle. But I think everyone should get paid, so ask. Once you stop allowing people to take advantage of your talents for free, you start inviting in clients who have the budget and are willing to pay you (and on time too).

I’ve always worked part-time alongside my creative practice. Living at home in London is a massive privilege I’m aware not everyone has; it has put me in the right place for creative connections. I always make sure my day job is connected to the arts, but doesn’t revolve around my practice. Setting financial expectations for my personal art has drained its potency. 

Advice

My most useful career tips
Sign up for every course; go to things; apply to everything. You never know what you could learn or who you could meet. All of your interests deserve to be explored even if you don’t have a clear plan for where they’ll take you. You could learn that you want to move away from an interest after exploring it, and that’s also useful.

What I'd say to someone looking to get into a similar role
Search for arts communities. I want to give a shout-out to my friends Dio and Jaffar's ‘This is an Art Club’. Joining groups that share art opportunities has been helpful.

Expand your knowledge in the direction of your interests. Create a rate board and stick to it as firmly as possible. Cold email institutions, independent creatives, anyone.