TALKING PICTURES Kourtney Roy

Kourtney Roy is a Canadian-born photographer and filmmaker whose work is underpinned by a dark sense of humour, and draws inspiration from the grotesque nature of seemingly placid settings and tensions simmering just beneath the surface. Working across fine art photography and advertising, her clients include Dior, Louis Vuitton, Pernod Ricard and Volkswagen, as well as Vogue, Numéro, The Sunday Times, GQ, and Esquire. She is the recipient of numerous prizes and grants.

On my first day in New Orleans with my assistant, Patrick, we were driving around looking at charity shops and flea markets for props for a project I was working on. There was this airplane flying overhead writing what seemed like strange, esoteric messages in the sky. I told Patrick to pull over and I quickly grabbed my camera and tripod from the back seat and a random wig from the trunk. I set up the camera as fast as I could on the crowded sidewalk. When I started shooting the letters were already starting to fade into the sky. I imagine I am staring quizzically at the message, trying to decipher its meaning.

I used to have a Swiss boyfriend, and I was invited to his family’s lovely home in a small town there one summer. I would always bring my camera equipment with me when invited to travel as I had no money to travel for my own projects. I would profit from the trips that were sometimes offered and spend the time making pictures. Switzerland is fantastic to photograph, it’s so wholesome and dreamily kitsch with its window-box geraniums and big-tit mountains. That’s me in the baby pool and Baby Lloyd on the left. I think this picture pretty much encapsulates what I think about having children.

I was travelling with my mom, who was ‘assisting’ me while I was working on the series, ‘Northern Noir’, in Canada and we were sharing a hotel room somewhere in Northern Ontario. It was a hellish trip because I learned very quickly that it’s pretty painful to do self-portraits in sub-zero temperatures.  I saw this daddy long-legs perched here in the bathroom while I was taking a pee and contemplating another freezing day in the north. It’s like a tiny king surveying his pastel kingdom, with a toilet plunger for his throne.

Summer in Venice at a friend’s place. On this morning, I was particularly hungover. I managed to convince my friend to come with me to the nearby Zattere dock. I had brought a jar of red sparkles with me. It was a nightmare trying to get my hands evenly covered with them. Boats were passing by, staring, and my big head kept on getting in the frame.  I remember thinking to myself, “What am I doing here completely hungover messing around with kids crafts on the Zattere at 9am?”

During the summer of 2018 I was working on my project, 'The Other End of the Rainbow' and I was hanging around Crystal’s place, a cosy mobile home in Fraser Lake, BC. Her kids had a few friends over, they were just hanging out on the deck, coolly bored. There were forest fires every where, giving the atmosphere an unearthly haze. I was parked in her driveway, where I was sleeping at night and I remember I was too afraid to go for a pee at night because there were bear sightings in the neighbourhood. People think I’m tough but I’m not. I am a big baby when it comes to nature, I am terrified I am going to run into some angry wild animal.

Follow Kourtney @kourtneyroy