A foggy January in Vancouver

Shawna Tan

What pieces or projects have you been working on lately?
For the past four years, I’ve been part of UBC Photographic Society, the photography society at my university in Vancouver, Canada. Under the society is Rawfiles Magazine, the photography magazine created by our club. I started as an inexperienced designer when I was 19, then became Creative Director at 20, and now, at 22, I’ve stepped back a little to become President of the club. I still get to design a couple of spreads here and there, and I’ll be a minor designer for our upcoming sixth issue. It will be my last time working on Rawfiles as I’m about to graduate, so I’m trying to savour the process.

What did you learn (or unlearn) while working on it?
Photography will always be my first love. I always wanted to be an artist as a child, but I couldn’t draw to save my life. Photography was a medium that felt so natural to me and brought me immense joy, so when I first started working on Rawfiles, I was frustrated because graphic design didn’t feel as intuitive as photography. I had to learn how to use Adobe Suite (and am still learning…), but the process taught me that struggling and learning can be so exciting. I still have so much to learn about graphic design, but getting to bring photography into my design work has made the process incredibly rewarding.

What words, ideas or emotions were running through your head?
This project has been a rollercoaster of emotions. I wrote about it in my piece this year, titled I’ve Started to Bike Again. In it, I write about how scared I am of change, as most soon-to-be grads are. It sometimes feels like choosing to go into a creative career in this economy is the equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot, but I’m deciding not to care! There is so much more I want to create, learn and put out into the world.

Were there any conversations, movies, music, or books that made their way into that work?
My favorite conversations are the ones that happen in my wonderful house with my wonderful roommates. It’s such a comfort to go through all this change with people who are going through the exact same thing. Many of us are waiting on grad offers, job offers and new apartments. The future is uncertain, and I find that my art often reflects the state I’m in.

Vancouver had a very foggy January, and I shot my friend Julia amongst the disappearing landscape. I know that when I look back at these photos, I’ll remember how unsure I felt during this time of my life. I also recently reread one of my favorite books, The Idiot by Elif Batuman, and it really made me remember the immense change and self-discovery I went through when I first moved to Vancouver. It reminded me that I’ve weathered change before.

What’s been the most difficult thing you’ve faced recently in your creative process?
Finding time to do everything. I always find that the second semester flies by so quickly, but I want to hold on to everything for as long as I can. Trying to juggle my duties in my club, my part-time job as a graphic designer, friends, and obviously school has made it difficult to fully immerse myself in my photography and personal design work. I find that when I spend too much time away from my camera, I start to feel really disconnected from my work, so I’ve been trying to make more of an effort to shoot with friends.

What is your favorite coffee shop and why do you like going there?
My favorite coffee shop is 49th Parallel in Kitsilano, which is basic, I know. I love their donuts so much. Their PB&J donut on a sunny day will cure anything.

If your life were a movie this month, what would it be called and who would write the soundtrack?
Not to copy my Rawfiles article, but I’ve Started to Bike Again feels like a good title for this time in my life. In my article, I talk about how I’ve just started biking around my neighborhood, and I love it, but I’m about to move out and it’s making me sad. It’s a very sad and deep and thought-provoking article… you should go read it on rawfiles.ca. I’ve been listening to a lot of Dove Ellis lately, so maybe he’d be down to do a soundtrack for me. If he likes bikes and all that.

Which studios, laboratories, or workshops have you collaborated with recently or would you like to collaborate with in the future?
London Drugs has collaborated with us many times to print Rawfiles, and I am always eternally grateful for their support of our little magazine and club (thank you, Sam!). We recently collaborated with CiTR 101.9, our campus radio station, to throw an awesome darkroom-themed party, which was the best time. In the future, I would love to work with Loki Creative. They’re a design studio based in Vancouver that has done work for Gastown and Slo Coffee, and it would be a dream to work with them!

Recommend one or more artists you follow who inspire you, and tell us what you like most about their work or their way of working.
My dear friends Lucy and Julia are two of my longtime collaborators. Lucy is the best designer, and we have worked on Rawfiles together for the past three years. Her eye for color, font, and design blows me away every single time she makes a spread, and I’m very lucky to be a witness to her work.

Julia has a way with a film camera that I can’t even understand. We recently did a studio shoot in Gastown, and she would pull Lucy and me to shoot in the most unconventional places. She shot in ways I would never even have thought to, and it’s why I value her so much as an artist. It’s so special to work with artists who understand your vision, support you, and push you when you need it. Lucy and Julia have been that for me.