Glamhag's Guide to Self Shooting
From self-shooting to creating their first independent feature film Holy Trinity, Glamhag (Molly Hewitt) is an artist embracing the kitsch and the DIY. The Chicago based director, production designer and performance artist delves into the themes of queerness, sex work and BDSM through a colourful and hyperreal lens.
Hewitt is an artist across many different mediums, featuring the fantasy brand Diet-Glam that was featured in Holy Trinity and grew into its own being with pink tees and koozies, an appearance on Netflix original Easy as a ‘friendly Dominatrix named Amelia’, and handmade ceramics of household objects and food.
In this current time, almost every artist will be experiencing more obstacles than usual. It is needed more than ever to hear words of advice from artists that are always adapting and exploring new mediums. Glamhag is an example of such artist, and it’s exciting to think what bold and surreal projects they will be working on in the near future.
For this month’s Polyester guide, we interviewed Glamhag on all things self-shooting to give a comprehensive look at how to make self-portraiture so much more than your simple selfie. As a feature in our January cover story, it is great to reconnect with Glamhag on their artform and take a deeper dive in how they accomplish shooting themselves so successfully.
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1. Create Your Own World
On the subject of their bold and campy DIY style, Glam writes: “I have always been attracted to those aesthetics, I think as with many people it has to do with the things I was surrounded with as a kid and the TV I watched. I grew up watching Little Shop of Horrors, The Simpsons, Nickelodeon (namely the Amanda Show which was LIFE CHANGING). I prefer to create my own worlds rather than reflect what I see right in front of me. And I get a lot of joy when I do see these rebellious moments in the "real" world; weird creative architecture and storefront signs, artist environments that people make in their front yards or on roadsides, giant paper mache sculptures at DIY venues, all those gems.”
2. Just Go For It
Finding your own creative voice and gaining confidence in your craft can seem like a battle at times, especially with a constant stream of social media creatives and working on establishing your own voice. Glam writes: “I think I have always just gone for it and made things that I like the look of. Over time that has developed into a language of my own. It's a constant effort of trying to find the balance between what naturally comes out of me and how I want to control/tweak/finesse things with new skills and practice.”
3. Find Inspiration in the Drive of Other Artists
“I am inspired by all the artists making art because they have to, not for anyone but themselves and their community and the vision they want to see.” Glam continues, “Even though literally everything we consume in the US is made by an artist, it is an extremely undervalued position with often negative connotations. I am inspired by people who don't consider themselves artists but paint something anyway and make a little secret masterpiece that no one sees. I am inspired by all my batshit magical friends in Chicago.”
4. Collaborate with Your Community
On the topic of their first feature film Holy Trinity, a comedy following a dominatrix who can talk with the dead after huffing an aerosol can, Glam talks the importance of collaboration and taking inspiration from your community. “It was my first film, so it was a bumpy journey at times but the prep and shooting was an amazing experience, I was very blessed to work with so many amazing collaborators. The idea evolved over a couple of years and was influenced by my life in Chicago, my spiritual journey, my experiences with BDSM, sex work and my friends. It was really a massive collaboration with everyone involved which is the crazy thing about making a feature film- each person involved changes how the end project will be and it would be a totally different film if different people were involved. It takes on a life of its own and becomes the baby of like 100 people.“
And a note for anyone wanting to delve into creating their first feature film: “I always say just do it! Figure out what is within your capacity resource wise and just go for it, there are one million ways to make a film, and it can live anywhere or be shown anywhere. There are no rules!
Words: Charlotte Amy Landrum | Images: Glamhag
