In these articles I interview artists about their life and art practice, finding artists you may be unfamiliar with, and hoping to answer the question why does art matter?
Our artist today Maki Levine, currently based in Tokyo, Japan, describes her practice...
"As a Fine Art Portrait Photographer (who is a registered Art Therapist), my style merges the human form with natural landscapes. Thematically, images personify nature within figurative overlapping forms and our shared sensualities and vulnerabilities. Photography, for me is simultaneously an expressive, existential and therapeutic tool. My medium format camera is integral to this process as an extension of my artistic practice. To hold this camera is to move with intention; I focus on the subject as landscape and landscape as subject. This is true meditation. A photo captures and tells a story – often timeless as past, present and future merge."
Maki and I met when completing our Masters of Art Therapy, we collaborated on a exhibition at Sorse Gallery of painting and photography titled Symbiosis in 2024.
When did you first notice yourself being creative?
I’ve been using a camera for as long as I can remember. Creating videos in primary school and high school on 35mm and Super 8. Documenting how I see the world around me when sometimes I felt I did not have the right words to describe it. For me, photography is a means to create a visual study of my life and surroundings.
What materials are you drawn to?
I am exclusively drawn to film, cyanotype printing or anything that captures environments in motion.
What kinds of things/places/people inspire you to make an artwork?
I usually stumble upon places that inspire, such as shadows in a forest that mimic human forms, or an abandoned, decrepit Japanese mansion that is alluring and mystical and a bit creepy.
Are you inspired by the art making process or by using a conceptual framework?
I am equally inspired by both; they literally go hand-in-hand in the art of photographing.
Do you work alone or with others? And how do you find this experience?
As I mostly image the human form, I work with models and ‘subjects’ from all walks of life. Most of my nude images are done with close friends, which is done in a safe, private, creative environment. My other work is with models in the fashion industry, which is a very different pace and environment, often requiring collaboration with a team. I appreciate the contrasting places and environments of both – the public and the private.
Where do you work?
I currently work in Tokyo, Japan (for 18-month months). My home residence is in Melbourne, Australia, where I will be returning in August 2025.
What are you making at the moment?
I am fascinated with the notion of “Natsukashii” (a Japanese concept with no direct English translation—capturing a deep sense of gratitude for the past and offering a beautiful interpretation of nostalgia) and playfulness and am working on a new small series. Living as a resident of Japan has inspired me, and my own nostalgia has emerged as I lived in Miyazaki for two years of primary school. It is the re-stimulation of my senses that weakens my own nostalgia (tastes, the call of ravens, the scent of Japanese incense).
Who are artists you admire?
I first fell in love with the work of Ren Hang, a Chinese photographer that has very raw stripped back feel across his works. He has lived in very censored times in his home country; some of his art was banned and he was arrested as well. And despite the angst he endured, I appreciate his commitment to his art at all costs. He, too, invited his closest friends to be photographed nude. In this regard, I feel an affinity with these intimate nude works, and the courage he mustered in dense times of censorship.
How does your art practice relate to your art therapy practice?
This was a natural evolution for me – from fine art photography to professional training as an art therapist. My affinity for photography began in my adolescence when I would photograph or film the world around me as a way of making sense of change, while capturing the permanence of a moment, too. While I use all media in my art therapy practice (such as paint, clay, paper tearing for collage), I also incorporate still photography in the process of therapy. I have found photography useful for clients who are exploring self, body and social norms. More recently, I incorporate photography in my group seminar workshops: “My body is my home.” Photographs reveal therapeutic themes for group exploration.
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