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What is your name?
Ashley Rommelrath
How old are you?
30
Where do you live?
Peckham, South London.
Where are you from?
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
The last creation your eyes landed on?
A couple of projects I’ve checked recently, ‘Ukrzaliznytsia’ by Julie Poly, ’Disko’ by Andrew Miksys and ‘Girls’ by Luo Yang, also the Masahisa Fukase Private Scenes exhibition at Michael Hoppen Gallery which is actually available to view virtually for those Covid cautious…
What were you doing at the start of the last decade, in 2010? How old were you, where were you, how did you feel about your life and future?
19, living in Sheffield and studying film production. Optimistic but in hindsight, naive.
What are your hopes for this new decade?
A rise in DIY grass roots movements. An established new generation of tuned in, switched on inspirational individuals pushing for social change and equality.
I also just rehomed a Pomeranian who’s actually a gemini like myself so looking forward to a decade of pure hell.
What are your fears?
Worldwide authoritarianism, the UK government, the US election, Covid-19, Brexit, police brutality, the widening poverty gap and the rise of the far right. The never ending 2020 crisis.
Could you tell me about Lost Generation?
Yeah sure, Lost Generation is an exhibition and publishing project established by photographer Bethany Kane @beth_kane_ exploring contemporary youth culture and political rebellion in order to give a further understanding of the youth in current society. Beth worked organising group zines, workshops and talks to coincide with the Lost Generation exhibitions held across the UK, and has since gone on to work for Exposure Photo Festival in Canada.
How did you get involved in it?
Initially, Beth actually reached out to me for what I think was the first Lost Generation exhibition held in Birmingham. We kept in contact and I contributed to a couple more exhibitions and a few group zines over the following years.
Did it feel good to showcase outside of London? Yeah but unfortunately I only made it in person to the Lost Generation exhibition which was in Derby.
Were there any differences exhibiting outside of London? I’m playing up to the stereotype (sorry) but northerners are generally more friendly, openly receptive and welcoming.
Why London?
By chance honestly, was offered a pretty shit job for a magazine that was unpaid so I worked retail on the weekends. Nine months of the seven day working week, unable to afford rent but luckily had friends who let me sleep on an airbed in their hallway. It actually took me almost two years of being in London before I found my feet and stabilised myself, probably the weirdest few years of my life.
Your friends, are they also in the industry?
Yeah mostly but I have a few close friends who aren’t, I find the creative industry in London madly overwhelming and overstimulating so it’s important to surround yourself with those slightly detached who can keep you grounded and stop you going off the rails completely.
What creators, also operating in 2020, are you loving right now? Here’s a list of IG profiles you should be following, endless creativity and positivity, love them all @softskinlatex, @alexisjadegross, @by_nwaka, @rawtape, @jane___pain, @dielamb @good__things
Who is on your Instagram feed? Just opened my feed to a video of Natalie Cassidy on @loveofhuns, so let's just leave it at that.
Who is soundtracking your 2020? Shygirl, God Colony, Prince, A. G. Cook, Kilo Kish, Arca and Motorhead.
Nardwuar-style, I’ve scrolled through your Instagram and selected some photos. Would be silly to not talk a little bit about visuals since that’s your trade! Could you give us a story about each of these Instagram posts?
a. Ha, it's the cover of ‘Warning: Her Majesty’s Government Can Seriously Damage Your Health’ by Discharge, probably the best punk band out of the UK and more influentially to me, they're out of my hometown. Fuck Thatcher always and forever.
b. This was taken in 2015 at the anti-austerity protests in London shortly after David Cameron was re-elected (it’s weird to think we had no idea of the impending shit show of Brexit at this point). Someone had lit a fire in Parliament Square that was getting out of control and the police were holding ranks against the protesters, Charlotte Church was actually standing to my left when I took this photo.
c. I actually took this photo outside of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Unfortunately I can’t remember his name but he hassled me to take his photograph then went on to tell me that he was ‘the pimp of the Strip’, later that night I saw him working in a bar in Planet Hollywood so take from that what you will.
d. A photograph of Bambi in one of the backrooms at Le Boutique Bazaar held at the strip club For Your Eyes Only in East London. Le Boutique Bazaar is a fetish fashion event held quarterly and I’d highly recommend anyone attending.
a. “Stoke on Trent’s finest #Discharge” (387 weeks ago)
b. 👮🏼 Up close and personal with Constable Evans 👮🏼 #35mm (238 weeks ago)
c. Fat Tuesday, Las Vegas2015 #35mm (177 weeks ago)
d. 💞💞 PRETTY BOY 💞💞 during @leboutiquebazaar from the weekend at @fyeo_ldn MORE SOON 📸! (27 weeks ago)
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