JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you want to be growing up?
CATE VAUGHTON: When I was young, I wanted to be a nurse, but it changed a lot while I was growing up. When I was about 16 I wanted to move to New Zealand and save all the kiwis (The Bird, not the fruit!) when I read that their numbers were declining from loss of habitat.
JC: Who or what is inspiring you at the moment?
CV: Linda McCartney is one of my major inspirations, she is the photographer that made me fall in love with photography and want to pursue it as a career. I am also a little bit in love with Hattie Stewart the work she is creating is brilliant, as well as Maurizio Anzeri, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Frida Kahlo and Diane Meyer.
JC: What are you up to right now?
CV: I have recently moved back home with my Parents, since completing university and I’m trying to get some creative connections within my hometown.
JC: Have you had mentors along the way?
CV: I have defiantly had people who have helped me and supported me throughout my life. My Uncle introduced me to a photographer known as Sorted, I was very lucky to be able to do some work experience with him during my first year of university. It was inspiring getting to see what actually happens during a shoot and see the different stages from casting to going out on location. When back at University it can sometimes be hard while studying, you can get disillusioned and feel like you are miles from what you want.
JC: Where are you based right now and how is it shaping you?
VC: I am currently based in Gloucestershire since finishing university in Plymouth. I had to do the typical post-university get a ‘proper job’ and I worked in a bank for a very short time. Doing a job that was at a desk; sat down for 8 hours a day. It has given me the push and helped me see what I really want, to be happy, to travel, see the world and that I ultimately want be the master of my soul and life.
JC: One piece of advice to photography graduates?
CV: I went to the Paris Photo in 2014, I met a photographer who advised me to read Just Kids by Patti Smith, it’s a brilliant book that changed my life and I was instantly in awe of Patti Smith. I watched an interview with her where she talked about advice she was give by William S. Burroughs, which I try to remember when I think about my work and where I want my career to go:
“Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don’t make compromises, don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful — be concerned with doing good work and make the right choices and protect your work. And if you build a good name, eventually, that name will be its own currency.”
JC: If all else fails - what is your plan B?
CV: I don’t really do plan B’s, I only applied for one university and managed to get in.
Photography is my ultimate goal; I don’t need a plan B.
JC: Is it important to you to be a part of a creative community?
CV: I think it’s important to surround yourself with like-minded people, who are supportive and believe in each other. I love being around other artists and creatives I find that it helps me strive to push myself and my own abilities and creativity.
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