On Being
@ The Island
Interview with Willie Franklin & Sam Cashmore

The format and the context of the show point to it being a fundamentally social thing. The works are born out of an environment of conversation and they sit together really comfortably on the wall as a result of that. Can you tell me a little about how the idea for the show came together and how you settled on the title ‘On Being’?

Willie: For me one of the reasons the works fit well together is that they were developed and refined in collaboration across the past 18 months. This group of photographers have seen each project from the beginning and been in dialogue about the photographs for a while. In the early concepts of this show Sam and I wanted to make sure we could highlight not only the individual achievements of each project but also this subtle balance and influence each of them had on one another.

With 10 artists on display, we knew the theme needed to be broad enough to cover the diversity of work, but as you note, we quickly focused on the shared qualities in each project. The title ‘On Being’ came out of the reflections on our collective journey together through the MA Program — these bodies of work came out of the same question, to reflect and document stories we felt needed to be expressed. It’s work that is an articulation of our being, and presence in the world as photographers. We felt the title expressed a sense of vulnerability the audience could expect in experiencing the show.

Sam: To add to Willie’s point, it felt important to give the show a title that encapsulated the works as a whole but also did not make them feel penned in. This title allows the works to retain their own stories.

Do you see this exhibition as more of a developmental process or as an act of resolution? Has any part of the installation been unexpectedly challenging, or generative?

Willie: This show was always meant to be a moment of resolution. As curators we wanted to make sure this felt like completed work – full ideas, ready to be shared. We encouraged each artist to present work so that it might feel formal and established, even if some projects are still ongoing.

Sam: The show itself was certainly intended as an act of resolution, but for many of us, it also provided an opportunity to experiment and test the works within an exhibition environment. We encouraged the artists to ‘resolve’ their work as fully as possible by the set deadlines, but I’m sure many of these pieces will be exhibited again, and I’m equally sure their physical form will evolve.

Regarding the installation, logistically, everything went surprisingly smoothly. Willie and I carried out a great deal of planning and pre-production for the show, including making multiple maquettes and digital mock-ups, which meant we had a clear idea of where everything would go and how the exhibition would look well before we received the keys to the space. Naturally, there were a few minor hiccups, but nothing we couldn’t quickly resolve. This was the first time either of us had put together an exhibition from start to finish, so we certainly learnt a number of valuable lessons that will hopefully help us improve for the future.

I can imagine you have a lot of familiarity with each other’s work by now, but I am interested in how it feels to be seeing all of these projects in exhibition format. Is it the first time you have seen some of this work formally displayed? It is easy for photographic work to exist in a kind of Schrödinger’s box situation: looking at an image on a screen but always imagining its potential outside of that. Now that the work has been resolved physically, has it opened up any new perspectives on each other’s projects? Does it feel any different to be seeing it on the wall?

Willie: That is a great question and I feel touches on one of my biggest reflections on the show, which is that seeing my work in person has opened up a lot of new perspectives on where my own project might expand. Photography is a physical medium – even as we consume most of our visual intake in a digital space. Sam and I are both really interested in the photograph as something that lives in space and seeing them as objects is a way of experiencing work we both are really inspired to explore more. As practitioners in 2025 it's important to think of images living in many different types of spaces from the physical to the digital. Working on this show as a curator and also a presenting artist was I think an important step in being able to engage a bit deeper with the idea of audience. So perhaps it was less of a shift in how we understood the projects, but more of an opportunity to reflect on how other people might see and interpret the work for the first time, in this context.

Sam: Nothing to add 😊

And last but not least, the immediate impression you get as a viewer upon entering is that the exhibition is a slick and beautifully constructed thing. Of course, this has a lot to do with the quality of the work that is on display, but can you give me any insight into your curatorial process? What guided you towards this arrangement as the final product?

Willie: From the beginning we wanted to let each artist bring us their initial curation and edit. Sam and I are both quite familiar with the work, so we came into the process with some ideas and expectations but also wanted to stay open to different and more authentic ways of presenting. Our roles were to help guide the group and the individuals to make sure projects felt cohesive and balanced with each other. Most of this came in recommendations around framing, simple layout adjustments, and printing suggestions.

Sam: I’ve been referring to my role in the show as more ‘producorial’ rather than curatorial since we did not have full control over the works being shown nor their physical forms. This meant that balancing the work within the gallery space became the main intention. This was always going to be a challenge when exhibiting ten artists within such a small space but in the end, it felt rather intuitive. For me, I wanted the space to feel accessible from a navigational point of view and not to create any jarring transitions between works.

Many thanks to Willie and Sam for taking the time to answer my questions.

Full List of Exhibiting Artists:

Alice Poyzer
Billy Osborn
Chloë Tibbatts
Dulcie Wagstaff
Kai Sawicki
Kaite Waite
Sam P. Cashmore
Samuel Green
Sarut Thaworanunta
Willie Franklin

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