Today we’d like to introduce you to Sabrina Che.
Sabrina, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in Los Angeles, and I am very fortunate to have had a strong creative foundation through my Grandma, who was an art teacher at LACHSA [Los Angeles County High School for the Arts]. During my time with her, I was surrounded by and played with so many different forms of expression—clay, sculpture, photography, painting, drawing, gardening—the list can go on. This environment formed and shaped a deep imagination that I would wander aimlessly in for days, weeks, and months at a time.
I ended up applying to the Art Center College of Design when I was on the precipice of graduating high school, and I attended as a Photography major and received a B.F.A. from that program. I soaked up as much skill as I could from my education there and flourished through meeting many dear mentors and friends, such as the incomparable Nancy Riegelman.
It was through subtle guidance from my dear friends that allowed me to be unafraid to try new ways to try to connect with my own concepts and ideas. I always felt that any kind of creative expression is translation; translation from your inner feelings to a visual language, and a successful translation would be able to be understood by others in the intuitive feeling or mood that is internally processed. I have always been an observer, loving the puzzle of seeing how all things fit into a big picture. These two aspects combined are how my ideas eventually fit together to create a jigsaw of my imagination, opinions, and observations into a concept for a piece.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I firmly believe there is no such thing as a smooth road—maybe I’ve talked myself into that idea because I’ve never met a road like that!
Even when you’re going through good times, when you’re self-employed, you are constantly planning for the next gig and contemplating how to balance working so you can live with room for making. Because of this, I don’t think I will ever master it per say, but I think I have come to the point of satisfaction in the balancing act. I have confidence that if there is upheaval, I can figure it out.
The challenge will always be finding people, places, and spaces that value you as a person and your work equally and that are unafraid to pay due compensation for the unseen skills you bring to the table.
Also, procrastination. That’s a weakness of mine. But every time I’ve procrastinated on making a piece because I felt unsure of it, I never regretted it. I had to live out life a little more in order to find a better way of reinterpreting an idea.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in photography, though I wear many hats! I have explored many different kinds of occupations—editorial fashion styling, book design, art/creative direction, and studio management. I even had a moment where I was doing a lot of art department stuff for films!
I would say with my photography, I am best known for my images of furniture and architecture. I approach them with an abstract eye—and tend to really key in on finding beauty in abstraction. I tend to approach all my subjects, even in portraiture, as a still life. My images tend to have a lot of subtle moods and feeling packed into a neat little visual package. I’m also known for my specific use of color (when I do decide to use it)!
Currently, I have mostly been working in publishing with companies like Hat & Beard Press, which is an amazing indie publisher here in LA. Also, I have recently been working with Boundary Los Angeles in photographing the wonderful collection of furniture that they have in the showroom.
I’m also going to have a solo show at the Great Art Space in Beverly Hills. The opening of my show, ‘Gilded Consciousness’ is on 10.7.2023—more details will be found in the future on my social media!
Overall, I would say the common thread in all of these different hats is my eye for a strong edit and to really think out the composition or situation in a larger frame. I feel confident in exploring different kinds of gigs because I have an innate trust in this eye. It hasn’t led me wrong yet!
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think I’m personally a risk averse person from my own view of myself, but I think a lot of my actions, presentation, and my choices can be seen as ‘risk taking’.
In college, I would fight with my professors about choosing a ‘type’ of photography I had to categorize myself in. I never wanted to do that because I felt like I could shoot anything in my own style. Even now, I tend to just follow my instincts in knowing where to explore next—I don’t question it. I do think my own aversion in categorization can be seen as risky—it makes it harder to market myself. But as of now, I don’t want to be restrained and feel like there are limitations in what is possible to explore.
But then again, I can’t leave the house without checking if I’ve turned off the stove! I really believe that multiple truths can exist in one moment. Risk taking is a spectrum, and if you’re all risk, you could be seen as foolish, but if you’re only living to avoid risk, are you really experiencing the joy in life?
Everything is about balance!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sabrinache.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabrinamche
Image Credits
Lindsey Best [Photo 1-2] www.lindseybest.com Sabrina Che [Photo 3-8] www.sabrinache.com
