From underwater merbabes to technicolor rock formations, Kate Bellm’s photographs capture the magical world she lives in. Nomadic, wild and romantic, the British-born photographer travels the world with the love of her life, fellow artist Edgar Lopez Arellano, snapping each beautiful moment as it passes. With a background in fashion photography, Kate’s appreciation of the female form remains unchanged. But unlike the contrived poses of fashion models, the girls Kate currently shoots are free-spirited and adventurous, often framed within their natural environments. As her latest exhibition opens at LAMB ARTS we catch up with the artist to talk love, life and adventure.
What do you do and why do you do it?
I’m a photographer currently traveling the world shooting photos of whatever comes my way.
Why photography in particular?
I knew I would be a photographer since I was 13 so it’s just been within me since I was a child.
How would you describe your overall aesthetic?
Color, freedom, nature and nudes.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Skaters, nature and Edgar…
Why is travel such an important theme in your work?
Travel is my life and that’s what I’m documenting, so it goes hand in hand.
A lot of your work concerns women. Where did this interest come from and what kinds of things are you trying to explore through it?
Women are just amazing, beautiful creatures and I love to photograph all the natural beauty of the girls that surround me in my life. My sisters and friends are my main subjects, and the nude images are just a natural part of our daily lives.
How do these women relate to their surroundings?
They relate because they are as free spirited and natural in character as the nature that surrounds them.
How has your background in fashion photography affected your most recent work?
My fashion work influences me with positioning girls and feeling at ease with whichever strangers I might get the chance to shoot along the road.
Your works often captures spontaneous moments. How important is it to have that tension between the instantaneous and your post interventions?
The post interventions are just furthering my enjoyment of creating more with a photograph… whether it be making sketchbooks, sewing onto photos or coloring and working with bleach… it’s just an extension of photography by playing with your hands and creating something new with an image.
For someone who travels so much, where do you call home or is being home a state of mind?
I have had no home for the last four years but it doesn’t matter because I travel with the love of my life Edgar, so my home is where my heart is on the road wherever we are…
Which artists excite you most?
Ozzie Wright, Ed Templeton, Larry Clark and local folk artists from all across the globe working with weaving, natural building, jewelry and ceramics.
How would you describe your relationship with Edgar?
Pure amour! We have a good life creating together and traveling the world. It’s very special and I am so lucky we met in Mexico four years ago and decided to give up our home and belongings and see more of this amazing earth together because it was for sure a once in a lifetime experience.
Tell me a bit about your upcoming exhibition with Edgar and what we can expect to see?
It’s a tribute to the last four years on the road from a collection of large scale photos of nudes, landscapes and skate road trips followed by collaborative pieces from me and Edgar with a shanty shack beach house we built and decorated from scavenged wood and windows and collected treasures from all over the world. We suck up and photograph every bit of inspiration from our travels and you can see in the exhibition the vast amount of countries and places we have drawn inspiration from, whether it be collecting matchboxes from the streets of India for collage or sourcing vintage porn from Japanese flea markets, it’s just an ode to those wild free years on the road and showing people an alternative way of living and building.
What are your plans for the future?
We never know for sure but Edgar and me will continue to make art together and explore more alternative ways of living around the globe, especially focusing on growing food and permaculture where we plan to live in Tramuntana, Majorca.
