LIAM MACKENZIE BEAUTIFUL, MESSY, WILD, AND DYNAMIC
BEAUTIFUL, MESSY, WILD, AND DYNAMIC
Liam Mackenzie is an electric and passionate portrait photographer based in Edmonton who uses colour, movement, and fashion to explore themes of identity, gender, and sexuality.
“It starts with an intense spark of inspiration,” he says when describing his creative process. He credits the small but energized local LGBTQ+ community as a huge influence for his creativity, describing the scene as “beautiful, messy, wild, and dynamic.”
A graduate of Northern Alberta Institute of Technology’s (NAIT) Photographic Technology Program in 2017, Liam began taking photographs in high school. “Being a child of the Internet,” he says, “I found things that I liked and joined that community. For me, it was queer art, fashion, and photography. I knew I wanted to do something in those realms but didn’t have much experience with creating clothes and sucked at painting and drawing, so photography became my focus by the process of elimination.” Liam’s clients have included the Sports Network, Alberta Treasury Branches, Avenue Magazine Edmonton, and the Edmonton Men’s Health Collective.
Regarding how he connects with his portrait subjects, Liam says, “I try to match their energies and never force them to be something they’re not.” Liam is committed to capturing his subjects as authentically as possible. He says, “There’s a drive, a desire in me to portray my subject to the best of my ability.” Also, Liam is upfront about a disability he has that affects his speech. He says, “I think addressing my disability allows people to relax and see me as a person as well as the photographer.”
When asked about how people react to his photography, Liam says, “They are always surprised when I show my work. I think the people that I show my work to haven’t been exposed to queer narratives or that they just didn’t think I was good at photography but are surprised that I am. Always a fun reaction to observe.”
Liam’s work has also garnered him a number of awards as an emerging artist of note, including the 2019 Edmonton Infocus Photo exhibition, NAIT Award of Photographic Excellence, and the Magenta Flash Forward Award for his series Familiar Faces. This ongoing self-portraiture project tackles themes of
“THERE’S A DRIVE, A DESIRE IN ME TO PORTRAY MY SUBJECT TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY.”
identity, exploring both his sexuality and abilities. He says, “The announcement of the Magenta Flash Forward winners came at a time when I was seriously doubting my work. In such a vulnerable state, it gave me the motivation to keep creating and validated my style and work.”
“Familiar Faces revives and expresses personal qualities I numbed and hid for a significant portion of my life. Growing up as a queer, disabled child, I created a bad habit of repressing myself out of fear. I would keep my disabled jaw silent to avoid people asking me, ‘Why do you talk like that?’ The repression was so strong I didn’t recognize who I was. It has taken years to repair the disconnection. This work allows me to explore and reconcile these qualities with myself, and bring them out of the dark.”
Inspiration for Liam’s work comes from many different places. He says, “Photography is a limitless and fast-paced art form, and I feed off that notion. You could go from photographing a person for a corporate business, to documenting a drag queen. The possibilities are endless and it’s intoxicating. I want to encourage people to explore the idea that photography is limitless and wonderfully chaotic.”
Liam speaks of his inspiration as an “intense spark” and says, “I shoot and edit the images as soon as possible to keep the spark alive. I try to write stuff down for future reference, but it rarely re-sparks the idea with the same intensity.” He goes on to explain a theory he has adopted: “A friend showed me a Tedtalk called “Your Elusive Creative Genius” by Elizabeth Gilbert that explains that sparks of inspiration are from Ancient Greek spirits, and if you don’t create their ideas, they give them to someone else. I like this idea and the shift of accountability from artist to something mystic because it’s exhausting to be constantly thinking of ideas.”
Liam’s aspirations for the future include creating a photobook or exhibition for his self-portrait work, shooting more commissioned editorial and fashion work, and, he adds, “learning some French so I can have an argument in French AND win.”
“THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS AND IT’S INTOXICATING. I WANT TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO EXPLORE THE IDEA THAT PHOTOGRAPHY IS LIMITLESS AND WONDERFULLY CHAOTIC.”