PRESENTING EMMA DILEMMA
WORDS Joshua Brosnahan PHOTOS Emma Cameron
It’s best you don’t try put Emma Cameron in a box. She’s quite capable of putting said boxes on her own head, thank you very much.
This quarantine queen’s impromptu photoshoots recently went global and has sparked an ongoing photo-essay on her life, starting with the lockdown. ‘Emma Dilemma’, the moniker for her solo music work has evolved into a lesson in irreverent self- acceptance and claiming back ownership of one’s image. After Level 4 side-lined any work with professional photographers, Emma took the concept photography into her own hands.
After admitting that her ‘camera had been used as a doorstop, which shows how often I used it’, Emma set out to take a self-portrait every day of lockdown. “I decided I could explore deeper in what I wanted out of my press shots, by experimenting myself.”
Emma admits she dreads press shots. It’d been a few years since she had been in front of the camera, with her band Decades.
“I can be really hard on myself for the way I perceive myself to look. I figured this project would also be a good exercise in getting used to seeing myself in images again and learning to love myself – it has worked.
Now I’m posting photos of myself that I would have never liked or let anyone see previously. I think that has been – and will continue to be – the most valuable outcome of the project for me personally.”
Being in lockdown was made easier thanks to Emma’s love for Ōtautahi.
“It really excites me that we are living in a place that’s assessing our way of life. We’re recreating new, better spaces and experiences for the people who live here now, and in the years and years to come.
I’m proud to work with new start-up businesses and creating my personal art and music from here – this is why I never left Christchurch after the quakes. No regrets!”
Emma’s photography is merely one string in her bow, and she finds it difficult to summarise what she does.
“I used to try and define myself by my dreams or what I wanted to be, but now I realise a large strength of mine is that I can do anything I put my mind to, really. I guess, in that respect, I would summarise what I do as mastering the craft of learning new things. I am an artist. My main mediums are music: guitar, singing, songwriting, graphic design, and photography. I’ve performed in rock bands since I was a teenager.”
On top of all of this, Emma owns The Giveback Agency – a full-service marketing and advertising agency, with a ‘disruptive’ approach to marketing and advertising. The team likes to work with people who ‘aren’t afraid of new and strange ideas; compassionate companies not just out for profit, but for making a difference in people’s lives.’
When asked what we can see in the future from Emma, she laughs.
“I have no idea; I’m literally making it up day-by-day! I will be releasing some music soon. More weird portraits. More giving back to the community. More things that I don’t even know exist yet, but I will definitely be giving them a try once I discover them.”