HOLLYWOODLAND: THE STORY
In 2001, I ran away from England. My band had just imploded, the Spice Girls were on TV, and I was at a loss.
My solution was to gather up my belongings, leave them on the side of the road somewhere in West 11 and get on a plane to LA.
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And so it was that I arrived, starry-eyed in California, with nothing but my guitarist boyfriend and the few possessions that had escaped the purge.
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When you arrive in LA she welcomes you with open arms, really turns up the volume, and rolls out the red carpet. Perfectly fluffy clouds, a warm breeze rolling off the ocean, top-down down on PCH with my hand hanging out the window. It was all magical.
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LA seduced me, and so I joined the long line of admirers, throwing down with like-minded creatives in a bid to win her approval.
In those early days I could be found wandering the streets with my trusty FM2, a habit so ingrained. so natural I didn't think anything of it.
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I did not perceive of myself as a street photographer, I didn't know that that was a thing. Taking photographs was, and still is, my instinct. It gives me a reason to be someplace.
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I am one of those strange creatures that doesn't drive in LA. A small act of rebellion, an attempt at autonomy, and also a way to claw back time.
When I gave up my car and took to the streets, my perspective to, and my relationship with the city completely changed.
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The world got faster and I was looking for an antidote. A place where I could create with no rules, shoulds, or have-tos. I wanted to produce work that felt honest. Work that wasn't catering to anything or anyone. In short, I wanted to use my own voice.
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My rules for these images were simple:
Shoot only with my phone
Shoot whatever I was moved to shoot
Shoot with no judgment or expectation.
It was a new discipline for me, a way of keeping my eye trained but with total spontaneity and freedom of expression.
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Coming into the nft space I was excited to put a collection together, and I started revisiting my archives.
This work that I had considered only important for me suddenly took on new meaning. A portrait not just of my life, but of this city and its people.
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This Place, where a Porche gets lazy in the sun and a girl does whippets on the bus
This place where the competition is fierce but the pace is kind of slow
This place where the seedy and the strange live right next door to the fancy and fantastic
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Hooray for Hollywood
Home to starlets and chancers
Hustlers and hobos
Wannabes, witches, and me.
This is Hollywoodland.
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@ShearmurB
@LeslieASpurlock
Love, love, love your story telling. I can still hear the tone of you voice seductive and welcoming me to join you. So looking forward to every creation in your heart Bryony. Makes me smile just thinking on it. xx
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@ShearmurB
This was my favourite presentation in New York! Well done. Thanks for taking us on a journey through your work! 💛
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