Not since Samuel Bradley have I been this excited about beautifully offbeat photography. Robert Moses Joyce is the person behind these dream-like photos. Let him be your guide as he takes you into some magical and mystical places. How wonderfully refreshing.
Update: After we put together this post, we got in touch with Joyce to ask him a few questions. Read that interview below.
There’s definitely a surreal feeling to your work. Are you purposely striving to create dream-like photography?
Well, the images draw a long path. I think deeper than what you and everyone else sees in the photos lies my actual being. I live through these photos in reality. The people in them, for the most part, are my truest, closest friends and this is literally how we live.
I think I open myself up to the surreality of everything and that’s why it comes out.
I think if you hated water and sat at the edge of the ocean, it’d be a terrifying experience, but say if you also had a love for the stars alongside that, you may see them in her glimmer. That’s beauty, real beauty! People truly have the ability choose the way they see their world, and I’m blessed to have such beautiful souls to surround myself in, viewing and interpreting the world for themselves.
The vibrations of nature and people peak in my conscious, and when the two come together, especially when they’re lovers or deep soul family brothers and sisters, the visions are created, naturally- and the chemistry of it is in fact very mystical.
Who are some other artists or photographers that influence you?
My cousin, Michael David Ericsson Jr., bless his soul!, is incredible. His illustrations are literally of another planet, and move me like a mountain. Alongside, my wonderfully beautiful and talented girlfriend (who appears in my photos like a specter from a fairytale) is without a doubt my muse. She pulls it out of me like no other and can birth oceans with her spirit.
I’d have to also say my friends who inspire me daily simply with their presence. I dream of riding motorcycles through the desert with my best friends. I think that’s sexy, and inspiring.
And Music! Music plays a part larger than the horizon. Some of my favorites makers of sonic blissful escape: James Blackshaw, for the complete transport; twinsistermoon, for deeeeep evergreen dreams;
Cameron Stallones aka Sun Araw, for his ability to completely rid my landscape and draw me a new one- and also hone in on my desert sun obsidian wonder; Spacemen 3 has always been a staple; Burzum for the gaunt of haunt and blackness of day dreams under the soil; Efrim Menuck’s love children (A Silver Mt. Zion, Godspeed You! Black Emperor); Balam Acab; anything that Dr. Anton Alfred Newcombe Fjordson touches is pure gold, and Brightblack Morning Light.
Choirs are inspiring. Being in a room full of singing human beings is a completely unique experience. I’m drawn to the physicality of the sounds, you can feel the vibrations!
How would you describe your style?
Haha!, I always get hung up on this question. I guess it’s a mix between ancient depictions, old stories and fables, and the thoroughly modern. I’m really attracted to that. I hope that translates. They’re really just my dreams. Whatever is going on around me, or the feelings I’ve been having upon waking, directly influence the images.
What is it about photography that you love?
Photography is such a great way to share your perspective. I wish that everyone could see what I see, even just a glimpse! I’m interested in making films for the same reason. I like how tangible it is. The light hitting the film through a chunk of glass, and in turn actually holding a print is a magical process, and the feeling is unbeatable! It’s also a way to be making something while doing anything or being anywhere. I feel like it motivates me to travel, and meet new people and get to know their surroundings better. I want to meet all of you beautiful people! That’s my goal really, is just to be a seeker, and to open myself to the connectivity of everything… by the time I’m done, I hope to have a big patchwork of universal vibrations flowing freely. To share love, and to live there.
Thanks for the interview, Robert! Love your magical photography…