A CONVERSATION WITH CREATIVE YASMINE GANLEY

A CONVERSATION WITH CREATIVE YASMINE GANLEY

Yasmine Ganley’s creative journey is a testament to the power of intuition, heritage, and the beauty of everyday moments. Influenced by the contrasting energies of her parents and the diverse landscapes of her childhood, Yasmine's approach to storytelling and curation is deeply personal and evocative. Her father's romantic storytelling and her mother's forward-thinking nature have shaped her unique approach to storytelling and curation. These dualities, combined with her dance background, inform her work’s rhythm, repetition, and choreography, making her creative process a fluid dance of intuition and memory.

In this conversation, we delve into the nuances of her creative process, the challenges and joys of maintaining authenticity in a digital world, the impact of collaboration, and the practices that help her navigate creative blocks. Through her reflections on her zine 'WAIST' and new ventures like her Substack 'Chime,' Yasmine offers valuable insights for emerging creatives and shares the philosophies that drive her work. Her journey is a vibrant mosaic of personal history, creative intuition, and a relentless pursuit of capturing the magic in the mundane.

Yasmine wears the Evette Shirt Dress.

Yasmine, your work spans various mediums, from photography to writing. How has your background and upbringing influenced your approach to storytelling and curation?

My dad was an avid surfer and skier, so I would do a lot of driving with him as a child, to the coast and the mountains. His love of landscape and nature formed a huge shape in my system. My mum is French, moved to New Zealand in her twenties, and as a child I would frequently visit our family in France. This idea of two homes, two heritages, allowed me to realise the diversity of the world from a young age. My dad also loved taking pictures, I still own his Pentax camera. My favourite thing is to sift through our family’s photo albums and hear his stories about the places he and mum lived in and travelled to. My dad is the romantic, he can remember what he ate, and how it smelled, whereas my mum only thinks about the future.

Perhaps, too, my dance education informs my work, in terms of accessing an innate sense of rhythm, repetition, choreography, the body in space, aspects of performance.

Can you discuss the role of intuition in your creative process and how it guides your decision-making?

My friend told me, the other night at dinner, that my work is always made from the heart. I think she meant that I tend to make work that has a certain kind of energy that is particular to me. I am always chasing energy, maybe a hangover from my years of dance training, but I like creating a world in my work that is sensory, a little unrealised, fleeting, ideas in motion, and that can be a hard thing to articulate. I think this is why I tend to bounce between mediums too.

"Intuition is such a powerful tool when it shows itself, the hard part is not ignoring it. I tend to pick up on a few loose ideas, and weave them together into something that says what I cannot describe, it’s a feeling, or a flash of a map, momentum."

— YASMINE GANLEY

Yasmine wears the Violet Shirt and the Winston Skirt.

You often highlight the beauty in everyday moments. How do you stay attuned to these moments, and how do they inspire your work?

I am an obsessive archivist and get great pleasure in documenting everything. I love lists, and dumb photos. I get pangs of excitement photographing moments that are unrepeatable, it is as though I am trying to collect them. That feeling inspires my work because it feels like the most realist thing to have in common, all those almost invisible, intangible moments that are charged with something special and happen every day. 

In a world where digital presence is crucial, how do you maintain authenticity in your online representations?

I try to use digital platforms in ways that will nourish me. In regards to Instagram, occasionally I will find myself in the mood to share everything and not overthink it, but I tend to keep the most sacred moments to myself and my loved ones.

Yasmine wears the Jimson Dress.

Can you talk about a recent collaboration that has particularly resonated with you?

Last year, together with Kristen Lindesay, Greta van der Star and Sherie Muijs, we created an editorial for Jane Magazine where we mashed recycled paper and packaging with designer fashion pieces. We set aside a day to explore the stash of papers we’d collected and prepare some of the garments. We brushed Sherie’s hair out, so it was big, and wrapped her in corrugated cardboard. The whole thing felt like we got to play outside of the boundaries we are usually resigned to. The fact that we are all so close as friends, too, was special, and I think the images we made are a result of those relationships and the atmosphere. Any magic that is found in imagery we love, is because the team was having a good time.

Yasmine wears the Violet Shirt with the Winston Skirt.

How do you navigate creative blocks or periods of low inspiration, and what practices help you overcome them?

I have moments when I feel uninspired because everything looks the same, and that can put me in a funk of frustration, but after I have had my vent, I’m usually driven to do something about it. I love watching films, almost obsessively, and reading books too. I find these acts of storytelling and subtle costuming, the soundtracks, transport me or bring up some nostalgia that I can draw from. At the moment I am in the mood to bring combinations of ideas together and see what they look like next to one another, this act is sparking inspiration for me right now.

Yasmine wears the Mila Ribbed Crewneck and the Mortimer Mini Skirt.

"I love watching films, almost obsessively, and reading books too. I find these acts of storytelling and subtle costuming, the soundtracks, transport me or bring up some nostalgia that I can draw from."

— YASMINE GANLEY

The themes explored in WAIST often resonate deeply with your audience. Can you share a particularly memorable or impactful story that has stayed with you?

I am always amazed that WAIST was received the way it was, it felt like such a singular idea when we started making it but turns out the more acute you get about something, the wider it resonates. What a gift!

A favourite memory is when I wrote to Su Wu about a dream I had of her walking through long grass holding a large ear to her own, and she fizzed, telling me she had just found an enormous wooden ear at a market in Mexico. She was compelled to take said ear into the mountains and photograph herself in what was essentially my dream for WAIST. Receiving the image absolutely floored me. It was a beautiful image but it was all about the connection and love that was important to me. 

You’ve described your creative process as evolving. What new directions or mediums are you currently exploring, and what excites you most about them?

I have just launched a Substack, called Chime, which was a way to build a new practice into my days. As a writer, I felt weird about falling into the dear diary trap of the platform, so I decided to make a comment on this new digital language we’ve created of sending screenshots to one another via Messenger. I love collecting notes and scrappy images, and I decided to use this platform as a tool for formalising this practice, or act of sharing. They’re sort of strange maps or puzzles, pulling references together, across multiple industries and mediums, to say something else. I love the direct-to-inbox access, it feels so intimate, like I am creating personalised love letters to subscribers.

What advice would you give to emerging creatives who are trying to find their voice and place in the industry?

Don’t edit as you are creating, do that later.
Be kind.
Prioritise what you love, in balance with what pays you. In other words: don’t force your passion project to be commercially successful (from the beginning!).

Finally, how would you describe your personal style?

I own many pairs of jeans, and many men’s shirts, and maybe because of this inclination towards comfort, I tend to gravitate to interesting shoes. If I am dressing up, I like fabrics that are an interesting texture, and will probably go for a layered look. Above all, my second hand and vintage garments are favourite pieces in my wardrobe.  

Yasmine Ganley @anyonegirl
yasmineganley.substack.com
Photography Greta van der Star

A CONVERSATION WITH CREATIVE YASMINE GANLEY

Yasmine Ganley’s creative journey is a testament to the power of intuition, heritage, and the beauty of everyday moments. Influenced by the contrasting energies of her parents and the diverse landscapes of her childhood, Yasmine's approach to storytelling and curation is deeply personal and evocative. Her father's romantic storytelling and her mother's forward-thinking nature have shaped her unique approach to storytelling and curation. These dualities, combined with her dance background, inform her work’s rhythm, repetition, and choreography, making her creative process a fluid dance of intuition and memory.

In this conversation, we delve into the nuances of her creative process, the challenges and joys of maintaining authenticity in a digital world, the impact of collaboration, and the practices that help her navigate creative blocks. Through her reflections on her zine 'WAIST' and new ventures like her Substack 'Chime,' Yasmine offers valuable insights for emerging creatives and shares the philosophies that drive her work. Her journey is a vibrant mosaic of personal history, creative intuition, and a relentless pursuit of capturing the magic in the mundane.

Yasmine wears the Evette Shirt Dress.

Yasmine, your work spans various mediums, from photography to writing. How has your background and upbringing influenced your approach to storytelling and curation?

My dad was an avid surfer and skier, so I would do a lot of driving with him as a child, to the coast and the mountains. His love of landscape and nature formed a huge shape in my system. My mum is French, moved to New Zealand in her twenties, and as a child I would frequently visit our family in France. This idea of two homes, two heritages, allowed me to realise the diversity of the world from a young age. My dad also loved taking pictures, I still own his Pentax camera. My favourite thing is to sift through our family’s photo albums and hear his stories about the places he and mum lived in and travelled to. My dad is the romantic, he can remember what he ate, and how it smelled, whereas my mum only thinks about the future.

Perhaps, too, my dance education informs my work, in terms of accessing an innate sense of rhythm, repetition, choreography, the body in space, aspects of performance.

Can you discuss the role of intuition in your creative process and how it guides your decision-making?

My friend told me, the other night at dinner, that my work is always made from the heart. I think she meant that I tend to make work that has a certain kind of energy that is particular to me. I am always chasing energy, maybe a hangover from my years of dance training, but I like creating a world in my work that is sensory, a little unrealised, fleeting, ideas in motion, and that can be a hard thing to articulate. I think this is why I tend to bounce between mediums too.

"Intuition is such a powerful tool when it shows itself, the hard part is not ignoring it. I tend to pick up on a few loose ideas, and weave them together into something that says what I cannot describe, it’s a feeling, or a flash of a map, momentum."

— YASMINE GANLEY

Yasmine wears the Violet Shirt and the Winston Skirt.

You often highlight the beauty in everyday moments. How do you stay attuned to these moments, and how do they inspire your work?

I am an obsessive archivist and get great pleasure in documenting everything. I love lists, and dumb photos. I get pangs of excitement photographing moments that are unrepeatable, it is as though I am trying to collect them. That feeling inspires my work because it feels like the most realist thing to have in common, all those almost invisible, intangible moments that are charged with something special and happen every day. 

In a world where digital presence is crucial, how do you maintain authenticity in your online representations?

I try to use digital platforms in ways that will nourish me. In regards to Instagram, occasionally I will find myself in the mood to share everything and not overthink it, but I tend to keep the most sacred moments to myself and my loved ones.

Yasmine wears the Jimson Dress.

Can you talk about a recent collaboration that has particularly resonated with you?

Last year, together with Kristen Lindesay, Greta van der Star and Sherie Muijs, we created an editorial for Jane Magazine where we mashed recycled paper and packaging with designer fashion pieces. We set aside a day to explore the stash of papers we’d collected and prepare some of the garments. We brushed Sherie’s hair out, so it was big, and wrapped her in corrugated cardboard. The whole thing felt like we got to play outside of the boundaries we are usually resigned to. The fact that we are all so close as friends, too, was special, and I think the images we made are a result of those relationships and the atmosphere. Any magic that is found in imagery we love, is because the team was having a good time.

Yasmine wears the Violet Shirt with the Winston Skirt.

How do you navigate creative blocks or periods of low inspiration, and what practices help you overcome them?

I have moments when I feel uninspired because everything looks the same, and that can put me in a funk of frustration, but after I have had my vent, I’m usually driven to do something about it. I love watching films, almost obsessively, and reading books too. I find these acts of storytelling and subtle costuming, the soundtracks, transport me or bring up some nostalgia that I can draw from. At the moment I am in the mood to bring combinations of ideas together and see what they look like next to one another, this act is sparking inspiration for me right now.

Yasmine wears the Mila Ribbed Crewneck and the Mortimer Mini Skirt.

"I love watching films, almost obsessively, and reading books too. I find these acts of storytelling and subtle costuming, the soundtracks, transport me or bring up some nostalgia that I can draw from."

— YASMINE GANLEY

The themes explored in WAIST often resonate deeply with your audience. Can you share a particularly memorable or impactful story that has stayed with you?

I am always amazed that WAIST was received the way it was, it felt like such a singular idea when we started making it but turns out the more acute you get about something, the wider it resonates. What a gift!

A favourite memory is when I wrote to Su Wu about a dream I had of her walking through long grass holding a large ear to her own, and she fizzed, telling me she had just found an enormous wooden ear at a market in Mexico. She was compelled to take said ear into the mountains and photograph herself in what was essentially my dream for WAIST. Receiving the image absolutely floored me. It was a beautiful image but it was all about the connection and love that was important to me. 

You’ve described your creative process as evolving. What new directions or mediums are you currently exploring, and what excites you most about them?

I have just launched a Substack, called Chime, which was a way to build a new practice into my days. As a writer, I felt weird about falling into the dear diary trap of the platform, so I decided to make a comment on this new digital language we’ve created of sending screenshots to one another via Messenger. I love collecting notes and scrappy images, and I decided to use this platform as a tool for formalising this practice, or act of sharing. They’re sort of strange maps or puzzles, pulling references together, across multiple industries and mediums, to say something else. I love the direct-to-inbox access, it feels so intimate, like I am creating personalised love letters to subscribers.

What advice would you give to emerging creatives who are trying to find their voice and place in the industry?

Don’t edit as you are creating, do that later.
Be kind.
Prioritise what you love, in balance with what pays you. In other words: don’t force your passion project to be commercially successful (from the beginning!).

Finally, how would you describe your personal style?

I own many pairs of jeans, and many men’s shirts, and maybe because of this inclination towards comfort, I tend to gravitate to interesting shoes. If I am dressing up, I like fabrics that are an interesting texture, and will probably go for a layered look. Above all, my second hand and vintage garments are favourite pieces in my wardrobe.  

Yasmine Ganley @anyonegirl
yasmineganley.substack.com
Photography Greta van der Star