‘SOME SHOOTS have a strong connection to a particular piece of family history. The postcard I’m holding on the left above is one I found in a drawer when I was visiting my family in California. I recognised it as exactly the same one my great-grandmother held in the picture my dad took of her (on right). In that shot she’s also standing in the garden with a shawl around her shoulders. I knew as soon as I found the postcard that I had to recreate the portrait as Miss Meatface’
Part 2: Meatface’s creative processes – by Kat Toronto
Extracts from the photographer’s descriptions of her working methods in the book
I’ve always made images in sets. I’m not wrapped up in getting one great image — I look at each shoot as producing a body of work, or thoughts. With every roll there’s a narrative I’m trying to convey, and if I get two or three good shots out of it then I’m happy.
When it comes to lighting I just use what I need to get the job done. I’m not a hugely technical photographer, and that’s also what has always appealed to me about Polaroid — this sense that these images are really just amateur family snapshots, little treasures waiting to be discovered.
My go-to is the 600 camera — the square format — but I really love the Spectra. I love that the image is small and the proportions are fixed, so that it forces you to create particular compositions!
I like short, succinct shoots. Usually I’m very focused, I know what I want before I start, how I’m going to set it up, and even if I don’t have a clear plan I’ll force myself to do something. I don’t think I’ve ever gone longer than three weeks between shoots.
Sometimes I have music on in the background while I get ready, often big band swing from the 1940s and ’50s. My grandfather was a trumpeter in the US Navy so that’s the music that I associate most with their house.
I shoot digital first to make sure everything looks okay and then move onto Polaroid. For most of these images I’m setting the timer by myself. Afterwards I put the photos away and avoid looking at them for a day or two.
It’s a way for me to confront how I’m feeling in a safe space, and depending on my mood, the images can feel playful or dark.
In a lot of the images before 2018 there’s a sense of waiting for something; for guests to arrive or for the phone to ring. In a lot of cases it did feel like I was waiting — for my UK visa or to see Garry again.
In the recent work there’s more activity and the locations vary. There’s so much more I want to do with Miss Meatface, I don’t see any end in the foreseeable future.
I like to shoot in domestic interiors
I like to shoot in domestic interiors (see above) because it means I can toy around with old-fashioned ideas about homemaking and etiquette.
People’s homes appear in the background of a lot of early fetish photography that was published in homemade publications from the 1960s and ’70s, like AtomAge.
We have a friend who has an incredible collection of old sample catalogues and order forms and flyers for clubs that no longer exist.
Some of the homemade ’zines even have the original prints pasted into the pages and most were shot in suburban homes by amateur enthusiasts.
They’ll be posing in their gas masks and rubber in front of a mantelpiece full of dried flower arrangements and Staffordshire dog figurines — the tone is very droll.
Those kinds of publications are a continuous source of inspiration for me.
England as a faraway magical place
When I was young, England was this faraway, magical place that I always dreamed of visiting. My parents had spent some time in the UK and would regale me with stories of ancient stone circles, which I found completely enthralling.
And my grandparents loved 1970s British sitcoms, so I grew up watching all the old Croft and Lloyd shows like Are You Being Served? The character of Mrs Slocombe definitely lives on in Miss Meatface!
When I finally did come over to the UK at 34 it more than lived up to my expectations. I still adore that kitsch ’70s aesthetic and am always on the lookout for old bed-and-breakfasts where I can stay and shoot.
The countryside is so beautiful, and it’s amazing how different the light is. The light and the clouds in England are completely different from California and the States. It’s a kind of magical light.
You can understand how stories of fairies and such are so prevalent here because with the amazing light, how can fairies not exist here?
Shoot ideas can come from anywhere
An idea for a shoot can come from anywhere. The setting or the backdrop always has to be perfect, and that can mean waiting around for the ideal conditions.
Often I will find an object in a thrift shop and create an entire narrative around that one item — I’m forever on the hunt for new treasures, like a kid in a candy store.
And some shoots have a strong connection to a particular piece of family history. The postcard I’m holding in the left-hand image at the top of this page is one that I found in a drawer when I was visiting my family in California.
I recognised it as exactly the same one that my great-grandmother held in a picture my dad took of her (top right). In that shot she’s also standing in the garden with a shawl around her shoulders.
I knew as soon as I found the postcard that I had to recreate the portrait as Miss Meatface.
Including Garry: a natural progression
It was a natural progression to include Garry in the images (see above). If I’m shooting alone, Miss Meatface tends to be quite frumpy, but if Garry is there, then a sexier side of her character comes out where fetish is more prominent.
Shooting together allows me to add something more to the story and have fun with the gendered stereotypes of what constitutes the perfect marriage.
I find it ridiculous that in my grandmother’s era there were books on how to be the perfect wife and people would take them seriously! Now instead of being the woman who sits there politely and doesn’t speak unless she’s spoken to, I have Garry sitting there with a gag in his mouth.
The day I became my grandmother
My grandmother passed away in 2018, and we went back out to California for the funeral. On that visit I did a shoot on my own with an old phone (see above) that I found in my dad’s house.
At first I thought it would be a good prop, but I remember sitting there by myself with it held up to my ear, imagining I was talking to her.
We scattered her ashes into the ocean later the same day. Afterwards I drove home, got changed quickly and then Garry and I headed back to the same beach. I’d had the idea for this shoot (see below) in my mind for a long time but hadn’t had the chance to do it before I moved.
I like to think of it as the day I became my grandmother.
LINKS
missmeatface.com
instagram.com/missmeatface
artsy.net/artist/kat-toronto-miss-meatface
circa.press
kickstarter.com/miss-meatface
Miss Meatface book: Kickstarter campaign rewards
Kickstarter campaign for Kat Toronto’s Miss Meatface starts on February 14 2022 for a month. Pledge your support and get a signed copy of the book plus other rewards, detailed below.
£50 – SIGNED BOOK: AUTOGRAPH LEVEL
Receive a copy of the hardcover book, Miss Meatface, signed by Kat Toronto.
£95 – SIGNED BOOK: SILVER LEVEL
Receive a copy of the hardcover book, Miss Meatface, signed by Kat Toronto. Plus an 8 x 10 print of the cover photograph signed by the photographer.
£155 – SIGNED BOOK: GOLD LEVEL
Receive a copy of the hardcover book, Miss Meatface, signed by Kat Toronto. Plus two 8 x 10 prints of photographs from the book, each one signed by the photographer.
(You will be able to choose two photographs from six available options when surveys are sent out at the close of the campaign.)
£395 – BOXED EDITION: COLLECTOR’S LEVEL
Receive the hardcover book, Miss Meatface, signed by Kat Toronto, presented in a deluxe clamshell box. Plus four 8 x 10 prints of photographs from the book, each one signed by the photographer.
(You will be able to choose 4 photographs from 6 available options when surveys are sent out at the close of the campaign.)
£795 – BOXED EDITION: PATRON’S LEVEL
Receive the hardcover book, Miss Meatface, signed by Kat Toronto, in a limited edition of 10, presented in a deluxe clamshell box.
Plus an original Meatface Polaroid photograph, specially selected by Kat for the Kickstarter campaign, and signed and dated by her. A unique opportunity to own an original Meatface Polaroid!
Tags: Book Releases, Fetish Photography, Fundraising, Performance Artists
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