Help Bring the Next Work Into Being
An invitation to support the first piece in a new psychological self-portrait series.
-About the project-
Photography as psychological exploration
At the end of September, I will embark on an adventure to bring to life a new vision - a new body of photographic work unlike anything I have made before.
Much of my photographic practice has involved looking outward - into nature, other people, and the strange moments in which the world seems to reveal something beyond its ordinary appearance.
This project turns the camera inward.
It begins with a single image that has been slowly forming in my mind: my own figure positioned openly in a forest reaching upward from darkness towards the light, and in the light, two feminine figures beckoning me forwards. A representation of the challenging season of sacrificing, persevering, overcoming, building and the inner tenderful vulnerability that extended period of hardening does to us. The women represent the Eros, the lover, the mother, the feminine principle of grace, beauty, receptivity, sensuality, pleasure, and even life itself.
As I stand at this threshold of my own journey, I carry the weight of years of sacrifice and building, with a deep yearning for a softness from life. I long for grace, renewal, prosperity and sensation. A period of reception, receiving and confirmation that none of it has been in vain.
The image I see not only speaks to my own self-becoming journey, but a story I believe many of us feel in this day and age. The challenges of the world weigh heavy on the sensitive souls, and the heart aches for gracious times.
Still the image and it’s meanings are coming to light, for art tends to have a spirit of its own, Much the meaning is discovered in the moment and the moments after. And it’s worth saying, sometimes whatever the image and feeling I have at this stage, magically becomes something even more poignant.
I increasingly understand my photographs as artefacts of consciousness - I call them “portals” or “glimmers” because they offer physical traces of something experienced externally and internally that can otherwise be difficult to communicate.
This new series collection takes that idea somewhere much more personal. An expression of the psychological material I am experiencing: tensions, desires, fears, archetypes, memories and parts of myself that I may not yet completely understand.
This photograph is the beginning of us meeting them. For now, I call it Self-Study 001.
I will create the image, document its production and reflect upon what it reveals once it exists. What emerges from that process will begin informing the collection ahead.
Over time, I hope these individual studies will grow into a larger psychological self-portrait collection and be made manifest into a physical body of work that can be exhibited and experienced beyond the screen (this part excites me those most!)
And so, I brought you here to..
Become part of its beginning
Independent photographic work requires more than an idea. For almost a decade I have been self-funding projects and building my Legacy Gallery - Locations, equipment, lighting, production, travel, materials, printing, framing and exhibition all carry real costs.
I am opening this project to people who believe in what I am trying to build and would like to directly contribute to its creation.
Every contribution goes towards producing this body of work.
Whether you give £5, £10, £20, £40 or substantially more, you are helping transform something that currently exists only within my imagination into a physical photographic artefact.
What you offer me here is patronage.
And for donations of £15 or more, I will send you a personal special gift.
The gift
With your generous donation, I will send you an exclusive postcard featuring the photo that you helped bring to life! A token of appreciation from my heart to yours.
Please make sure you fill out the address section when you donate so I can send this to you.
What happens next
The creation of Self-Study 001 will be documented. And not just by me, but by the beloved creatives joining me.
September 26th we will drive to our location to begin shooting on the 27th. I will be recording the development of the idea, preparations, the shoot, behind-the-scenes process and my reflections after seeing the finished photograph.
Those who support the project won't simply be contributing to a finished image. You will be helping support the beginning of an artistic investigation whose final destination I deliberately don't yet know.
Although I have a vision in my mind to bring to life, these creative encounters tend to come with their own mystery. I think that uncertainty matters, because I don't want to manufacture an answer and then photograph it.
I want to use photography to discover one.
Support Self-Study 001
If this idea resonates with you, you can contribute whatever feels appropriate in the form to the right!
Your support gives me more freedom to make the work with the ambition, care and production value I believe it deserves.
And regardless of the amount, thank you for believing that strange, vulnerable and difficult-to-explain ideas are worth bringing into the world.
With love,
Callum xx
Donation Letter
A note about contributions
Contributions are voluntary and are made in support of CallumVision's independent artistic practice and the development of this project. They are not investments, loans or charitable donations, and no financial return or ownership interest is offered in exchange. As a thank-you, supporters contributing £15 or more are eligible to receive an exclusive postcard featuring the finished photograph, provided a valid postal address is supplied.
Funds will be used toward costs associated with the creation and development of the work, including travel, accommodation, food, costumes, equipment, collaborators, documentation and other related artistic expenses. Any funds remaining will be directed back into the next project.
As this is an exploratory artistic project, the final work, production process, timeline and direction may evolve as the project develops. Contributions are therefore not conditional upon a particular creative outcome.
Postcards will be produced and mailed once the photograph has been completed, edited and is ready for its official reveal. Delivery times may vary depending on location.
Unless otherwise required by law, contributions are non-refundable once receiv
Bring an independent vision to life
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01
Bring the Vision Into Reality
Help transform a vision into a finished physical photographic artefact. -
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Support Independent Art
Your contribution gives me greater freedom to create work led by artistic exploration rather than commercial demands -
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Make Study 001 Possible
Your support contributes directly towards the people, places, costumes, equipment and production required to create this first psychological self-portrait. -
04
Become Part of the Beginning
This is the first experiment in a new body of work. Supporting it means being there at the very beginning of a larger collection -
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Receive a Piece of the Work
Contribute £15 or more and, as a thank-you, I’ll send you an exclusive postcard featuring the finished Self-Study 001 photograph just before the work is revealed. -
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Help the Work Continue
Anything raised beyond the costs of this study will be carried forward into the next project, helping one artwork create the conditions for another.
Questions? Here are some answers
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Your contribution directly supports the creation of Self-Study 001 (Still to be named) - the first work in this new psychological self-portrait series. Funds will go towards travel, equipment, collaborators, travel, production, documentation, other costs involved in bringing the work to life.
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Not at all, any little bit helps. You can give whatever feels right to you! Even a simple share I am grateful for. Collectively, the support gives me greater freedom to create the work with the ambition and care I believe it deserves.
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Not quite. Your contribution is first and foremost about supporting the creation of independent art rather than purchasing a product. However, as a thank-you, I am offering a couple of exclusive benefits to those who support the project.
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If you contribute £15 or more, I'll personally send you an exclusive postcard featuring the finished photograph from Self-Study 001, provided you've supplied a postal address.
If you contribute £40 or more, you'll also receive a 10% discount code with the postcard to use towards CallumVision’s store. That includes framed pieces, prints, the magazine or a soon to photography book.
These are my way of giving something back to the people who helped make the work possible.
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I want the first time you see the postcard to coincide with the work being truly ready.
Postcards will be mailed once the photograph has been fully edited, the project is complete and the finished framed piece is ready to be revealed. You'll be one of the first to receive a small physical artefact from the work you helped bring into existence!
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Absolutely, I'd love to hear from you. If you're interested in becoming a larger patron, a collector, providing a location or production resource, collaborating, exhibiting the eventual collection or supporting its development in another way, please get in touch!
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Only if you'd like to receive the postcard. Supporters contributing £15 or more have the option to provide a valid postal address which is so I know where to send it. Your address will only be used as necessary to fulfil your postcard unless you've separately agreed to something else.
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Contributions of £40 or more receive a 10% discount code in the mail with the postcard that can be used towards eligible CallumVision framed pieces, prints, magazines or photograph book when that is released.
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Absolutely. I'm documenting the development of Self-Study 001 from the initial concept through production, the shoot and the eventual reveal. This isn't simply about funding a photograph - I want you to be able to follow the journey of something moving from an internal idea into a physical artwork. My newsletter will also provide updates.
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That's part of the experiment. Art often times has a spirit of its own. This is a genuine psychological and artistic investigation, so I don't want to decide all of its conclusions before making the work. I have a vision that I intend to execute with Self-Study 001 but sometimes the outcome surprises us all. The wider series may naturally evolve as I learn from each photograph.
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Any support beyond the immediate production costs of Self-Study 001 will help develop the wider body of work and my independent artistic practice. Additional funds will be directed into the next project, the documentation, printing and ultimately bringing these photographs into physical spaces.
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Of course! Sharing the project with someone who may connect with it, following its development, engaging with the finished work or simply talking about it all helps enormously. Financial patronage is only one way of supporting independent art.