Artist Spotlight: Ishmael Claxton
Words: Izzy Copestake
Images: Ishmael Claxton
Ishmael Claxton is an award winning Dublin based fine artist and photographer. He’s lived and worked in New York City, Morocco, the Caribbean, Berlin and Paris, picking up styles and inspiration along the way, to create pieces centred around a key concern in his work: connection. Ishmael’s photography uses a pastiche of different artistic styles, such as Italian Futurism, surrealism, and Afro-Futurist imaginaries to make his work an outlet for political expression, often touching on themes of race, gender, and class.
What photo are you most proud of?
“I really like my Black Irish one I did because it deals with identity. The idea of being part of a community, while at the same time maintaining some of your core values from wherever you might have come from, but being in Ireland and being respected and appreciated as an Irish person, while still being a person of colour. I really like my piece I did of Venus, I’ve done a few different shoots but the one that I really liked is the one that’s kind of purple. And that’s a powerful piece. It tells a lot about the person, the journeys they’ve been through. And then another one I did that I really like was the one of Sean Hillen that I did. That’s also won a few awards, and I’m really happy with it.”
How would you describe your style?
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I have a style, I’d say it’s more about connection. Anything I photograph, from a portrait to a painting to a landscape to an animal, there has to be some sort of connection. So to me, the connection is very, very important. Also, I like to play around with different techniques. A big thing I like to do is use old techniques and new techniques. So I like to shoot a lot of film, expired film, a lot of experimental film with low ISOs and play around with the lighting to help create a beautiful harmony. So I’d say it’s a mix between connections between whatever it is I’m photographing and incorporating some sort of technique.”
Does your New York background have an influence on your work today?
“Oh, yeah. I think it’s influenced me. That’s why a lot of my work tends to deal with, the past, and future, but being present. I also started photography in New York as well. I used to go to museums when I was a kid. I’d always go to the Met Museum, and I used to photograph sculptures. There was this famous artist Richard Avedon, and one thing he used to do is that he used to go to the museum, and he’d find a piece and photograph it over and over. That was one thing I did. It really helps me understand lighting with certain things and contrast as well. So I used to do that a lot in that sort of New York thing, couldn’t do it anywhere else.”
You’ve lived and worked all over the world, how has living in Ireland impacted your work?
“When I was in Morocco, one of the things I learned is how to do stuff with nothing. And I realised then coming back home that being privileged and living in Europe, as an American, there’s so much we take for granted. It really made me appreciate the art form more, and got me thinking about different ways of processing the art and working through the art. There’s a lot of things within the Irish culture context that I have fallen quite in love with.”
Is there a stand-out project you’ve worked on in Ireland?
“I’ve been working on this book for a few years. It’s a it’s called Capall Gang and it’s on equestrian subcultures throughout the country. So I’ve been travelling all around the country for the last few years, just documenting different subcultures of horse culture in Ireland; from local inner-city horse kids, to the travelling community, to horse fairs, to the Galway races, to carriage racing, and kind of learning from different subcultures. In general, my work tends deals a lot with, sex, class, culture, race, and I’ve always had an appreciation for horses.”
“My work tends deals a lot with, sex, class, culture, race, and I’ve always had an appreciation for horses.”
Ishmael Claxton
“I just always liked the idea of seeing people from totally different worlds come together and have these conversations, I thought it was an interesting cultural meeting point. Because I’d see , say a traveller trying to sell a horse to a person who might be a bit privileged. And just seeing the way they would communicate, the language they would use, and then make these deals to money exchange. I lived in the liberties during lockdown. I started to get to know a lot of the locals really well. And I would hang out sometimes with young horse lads who live in the neighbourhood. And I started going around the city with them on the horses, because they would take the horses out once a week, just to let the horses have a bit of breathing space. I’m hoping to have the book ready for next year.”
Tell me about the Migration / Integration Series
“I got into some amazing conversations and heard some amazing stories from some of the most beautiful people you could ever meet. People telling their stories about trying to make it. Because a lot of people don’t understand, especially with the whole migration situation at the moment, a lot of migrants, they don’t always want to come, but a lot of times, they don’t have a choice. A lot of people are just trying to support their families, or their lives might be at risk. I think going back to what I was saying originally, when I came back to Ireland, It made me really rethink the way I see things. I realised that it was it was so much more complex than what everyone thinks it is. It’s really changed my thought process.”
Finally, who is your biggest non-photography based artistic influence?
“Biggie Smalls, show love it’s the Brooklyn way, Francis Bacon- Beauty in madness and Maya Angelo Still I Rise – through all hardships these have been my mantras.”
*This interview has been edited for clarity*
