NIKKI PARLANE
CRINGE
The distance between mother and child as the latter grows up. The child is not facing his mother. She’s almost nervously approaching him, beaten by doubt. His ambivalence is captured in the slump of his shoulders, her hope in the way the wind lifts her hair and the light artefacts frame her ascent. I wanted the image to still be wrapped in beauty, because hope is what sustains us.
Ironically, I felt immediately seen by this year’s theme: In(visible). The pain of parenthood has driven almost everything I’ve made outside of client work this year. You’re not wanted anymore, but you’re crucially needed. Ultimately, you suck. And you’re wrong, too. Like all the time.
GONE
How I feel all the time as a parent. Behind, reaching, afraid and yet somehow restrained. Disconnected. So desperate to know what to do. Barely seen in the image, soft and messy.
It was therapeutic to explore how motherhood can throw everything off balance. It was validating to capture a mother’s despair and pair it with a daughter’s fury. We both hide from each other in our own ways, but in the clash of us is also the connection. These images are my commitment to not losing sight of this.
I HATE U
It was extremely cathartic to do some inner child work with an actual child. As much as I feel pain as a mother, I remember what it was like being the child. Hiding under water and screaming our curses and obscenities at our parents who couldn’t hear and didn’t care. This image encompasses all the passion and rage I felt as a child, reminding me there are parallel stories here and in one of them, I’m 100% the villain.
ARTIST FOLIO AND BIO
ABOUT NIKKI
Nikki Parlane aka Blimey Charlie!
Serial frolicker, committed to being curious, a lover, a mother and a friend. I’m a fan of road trips and deep chats and my nutty kids. And lollies.
I love using emotion & movement in a way that leads people into wonder. Primarily a natural light photographer with a style-based approach. Shooting for brands and businesses, magazines and creatives, musos and surfers, jam makers and jewellery designers, fashion labels and Jo next door – who want artistic and emotive imagery to help communicate a brand story, a vibe or a cause.