(written by Angelina Rennell)
Maddi started modeling at Beklina at the beginning of summer. I "scouted" her at a local beer garden, and was super happy to find out she's also an artist working in photography and mixed materials. We connected easily via our creative drives.
Morning or night?
I have always been a night owl, but perhaps I am changing. I very much appreciate the early morning hours these days. I used to stay up all night working, there is something liberating about being the only one awake. Staying up all night feels draining to me now.
Dress or pants?
Dress!!!
Your favorite thing to photograph?
I love subjects that haven't been touched or "corrected" or cleaned up, products of erosion, decay, weathering, something rusting, forgotten, overgrown, peeling, falling apart. It's refreshing to find places or things that have been left as they were for sometime. As a photographer, you access a moment of stillness within the ongoing growth or death that has been occurring, and will continue to occur. It is discovery or rediscovery. I feel a sense of voyeurism and excitement in entering a scene "for the first time in a long time" or perhaps ever? Whether you're taking the photograph or looking at one. I don't like to pose people or alter scenes, I truly believe in the perfectness of things just as they are found.
I particularly like to "photograph" without a camera; so there's that. Salt, water, chemicals, colors, grains, play with depth of field, focus, layering, opacity, gravity, alchemy. The lens can make macro or micro subject matter appear unidentifiable, and I love to provide the viewer with ambiguity, it's an opportunity to look and reflect.
Do you have memory from childhood about your dressing style, or a single object you loved to wear?
Haha.. I had a Santa sweater that I wore to preschool some 20 days in a row?! So I am told. My mom says she is proud of herself for letting me always dress myself when I was little, tights, tutus, leotards, and definitely Converse high tops!! My mom says she once found me standing on the bathroom counter, prior to leaving for the Nutcracker ballet, cutting the mesh and netting out from my dress, as I wanted it to be more "fitted & tailored".
(Childhood photo of Maddi with her grandpa.)
When do you feel like the best version of yourself?
I think I feel like the best version of myself when I am on point health-wise. If I am not feeling healthy I tend to feel down on myself and unmotivated. Being in nature really helps. Breaking a sweat, being in direct sunlight, getting the right amount of sleep, maybe jumping in the ocean, natural foods, lots of water, getting my dose of vitamins & minerals. It all helps my mood and well-being.
Something you have yet to figure out?
How to stop leaving the oven on!!!
Something you have figured out?
How to cook the most perfect lasagna from scratch.
What is your favorite high-brow indulgence?
Fine art... or, caviar & rosé on a private plane.
What is your favorite low-brow indulgence?
7-11 snacks, the occasional coke Slurpee really does it for me.
