Meet GFF Talent Maria Joao Campos Monteiro, a graduate of Fashion Branding and Communication at Arts University Bournemouth, whose final collection is an exploration of Black stereotypes, culture and history. Her use of bold colours and exaggerated characters began life as paintings which were then translated into an editorial shoot. Hear more about Maria’s final project below!
Maria Joao Campos Monteiro
“‘Bum Chin Hen and her Friends’ is a project I’ve created which is about the reclamation and celebration of black stereotypes. The focus of this project is on the black female form; looking at the nose, lips and bum. My first instinct was how could I amplify these features in the most extreme way. It started from painting characters which had big facial features; they were generated from listening to black inspirational artists such as Grace Jones and Diana Ross. As I want to become a stylist my next step was how I could reflect my paintings into a stylistic editorial shoot to create contemporary imagery. I created my own props for the shoot using fabric, stuffing and embellishments.
The idea was to create characters which could be interpreted by the audience on their personality and their persona and lifestyle. I chose to document my feelings and interpretation of each character into a zine where I wrote down sentences about the character which I had interpreted myself based on how they looked and the colours in the paintings; how they made me feel when I was painting them and what they stand for. The description in the zines reflects the posing of each character and how they are displayed in the final photographic imagery.
1. What was the starting point of inspiration for your final project?
The starting point of inspiration for my project came from four things that inspire me which are primary colours, primary shapes, black culture and black history. These are all personal inspirations and interests which I’ve managed to collate together to bring into my project. The use of different mediums was also a starting point for my project. I’ve always liked experimentation with mediums such as illustration, painting, tactile collaging and always wanted to bring it into my projects somehow. I always knew I wanted my project to be intense, vibrant, impactful and borderline controversial.
2. What form will it take?
I’ve created a series of characters through painting and have bought them to real life in a stylised editorial shoot. I crafted my own props and experimented with styling to reflect their personalities through the images. Alongside my shoot, I’ve constructed an illustrated zine on each character elaborating more on the individual and giving them a back story in the form of creative writing. A coffee table book has also been created to bring together all of the mediums that I enjoy creating which are photography, illustrations, painting and collaging.
3. How has it evolved from your initial ideas and what have you learnt along the way?
My initial idea was still based on black culture and history but didn’t allow my tactile creativity to appear or develop. My initial final form was to create a visual publication with lots of stylised imagery which doesn’t reflect my full potential as a creative. I learnt how to experiment with different mediums and let them be formulated naturally and in my own style to keeps fluidity throughout my work. But most importantly I learned how to be myself as a creative and go with my own instincts and intuition because that’s how I create my best work; work that makes me happy first and if people enjoy my creations that’s a bonus.
4. What is the message behind your project that you want people to take away?
The main message behind my work is for black women and girls to love themselves and their features. Embrace what/who you are. But a message behind my work that I would like the wider audience/creatives to take is to believe in your craft and your intuition as a creative no matter how weird or abnormal your idea may be. A lot of people still don’t understand the reasoning behind some of the ideas I have proposed for this project and some things I don’t understand either but that’s the process; through trial and error and experimentation which I have carried throughout my whole project.
5. What’s an aspect of the fashion industry that you’re passionate about fixing or having a positive impact on?
Ethnic discrimination is an aspect I would like to fix in the fashion industry. It’s something that I’ve always been passionate about and was the main reason to why I did my project on the reclamation and celebration of black female stereotypes. I feel like there’s still a problem of ethnic discrimination on catwalks, fashion magazines or just job opportunities in the industry. There’s also still no significant representation of ethnic minorities in its true forms in the fashion industry.
5. What is your plan once you finish your BA?
My plan after I finish my degree is to do a few placements and internships. If I’m lucky enough to get a full-time job in my sector which is fashion styling that would be ideal. As well as that, I still want to carry on my projects on the side and submit to competitions and exhibitions to have my work shown to different audiences and not just fashion as I have other skills other than just styling. I want to still create my own stylised shoots where I can direct and have complete creative freedom to build on my portfolio.