I am working on a project which connects themes of the romanticism of tourism, working class leisure and raising a child as a single mother – whilst being surrounded by environmental and economical collapse.
I want to use traditional photographic methods to push my image making in a way I have not done before – linking bodies of work and themes from my archive into a series of highly produced, large format, theatrical photographic images.
The visual inspiration has been a specific postcard from 1950s – of the view from the cabin window of an American Airlines plane. Large format, hand painted, highly constructed techniques are used to make these vintage postcards feel so surreal. I was particularly inspired by John Hinde imagery in my last project ‘Walking back to Happiness’ where I used AI to recreate lost childhood memories.
What struck a chord with me is this postcard had similarities to the view we had in our run down seafront flat – a beautiful vision of blue sea and sky, framed by curtains.
The surreal, idealised, romantic nature of the postcard had me feeling pangs of guilt for the lack of generational offerings I have for my daughter. I may not be able to show her the world, but I can share her my imagination and escapism through made up visual worlds.
By constructing a physical collage, in the form of a set, in which the back of my daughters head is in the foreground, looking out, I want to layer the ungovernable nature of AI generated imagery in the scenic backgrounds, with the meticulous analogue traditional techniques such as large format and hand painted imagery.
If I was successful within receiving the bursary – £5000 would go on the physical creation of these sets. This would cover studio costs with lighting and photographic technicians and a set designer to help me fabricate these visual worlds. The remaining £5000 would be on creating the final hand printed images which would be a labour of love and need technical assistance.
My project feels symbiotic to Darlington’s industrial past with locomotive machinery. This feels like an appropriate place to exhibit this new work based on travel and working class leisure, in a country no longer thriving industriously and the brink of economic collapse – with the arts taking a big hit, it’s an undercurrent to the work.
I have a large young audience and predominantly female, which seems to be worldwide – most likely from travelling exhibitions and working commercially alongside publishing books and personal projects. The work would engage a variety of audiences.
Having worked for the past decade in photography with solo shows in London, Mexico city, Stockholm and New York – I have become known for my visceral and sensual imagery that often repels as much as it attracts. I embrace chaos and mess in my images, and more recently have been exploring technology and the psychological with my last travelling show “Walking Back To Happiness” at T J Boulting gallery. My work has been collected by Deutsche Boerse photography foundation who describes it as being ‘filled with colour contrasts, antagonisms and unusual perspectives’. I recently exhibited a large photographic piece in the show “The Shape of Things: Still Life in Britain” at Pallant House gallery, next to Gavin Turk and Peter Blake.
Alongside this I work commercially and have photographed musicians such as Bjork and Anna Calvi, whilst collaborating in special projects with brands such as Hermes and Marc Jacobs. Most recently I have been learning traditional printing methods at Hastings college, and wish to expand in this area.
BA Hons Brighton Fine Art Photography
I run workshops with children exploring macro photography.
In 2014 I was commissioned by Tate Britain to create a visual response to the painting by Sir Nathaniel Bacon -“Cookmaid with still life of vegetables and fruit”. I made several video pieces projected in the main hall.
V&A
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/search/?id_person=AUTH404200&page=1&page_size=15
https://www.timeout.com/london/art/maisie-cousins-walking-back-to-happiness
https://www.timeout.com/london/art/maisie-cousins-dipping-sauce-review
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2017/may/23/maisie-cousins-floral-erotica-photo-london-in-pictures
https://materia.press/glamorous-decay-a-conversation-with-maisie-cousins/
https://darklight-digital.com/thought/maisie-cousins-in-defence-of-ai/
https://www.wallpaper.com/art/photography/maisie-cousins-photographer-profile
https://www.creativereview.co.uk/photography-annual-2022-maisie-cousins/
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/maisie-cousinss-visceral-images-of-desire-and-decay
T J Boulting gallery in London
Galeria Hilario Galguera in Mexico city
Fibra residency in 2018, where myself and 8 other artists traveled to Colombia to observe and participate in the textile-centred practices of the Kogi and Wayuu indigenous communities.
Email: maisiecousins@gmail.com
Address: The Royal, 1 St. Johns Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN37 6HP, GB
Local Authority: Hastings
