Mathushaa Sagthidas: Just go for it
Published 18th March
INTRODUCTION
Mathushaa Sagthidas is a London-based freelance photographer, stylist, set designer and art director, with an interest in fine art and contemporary fashion. Mathushaa’s work often examines her identity - Tamil Eelam ethnicity and British nationality, which is reflected through traditions, history and fashion photography.
Her photography work spans a range of brands including Amazon, Deezer and Bloomsbury; publications such as gal-dem, Campaign Live, The British Library and Graduate Fashion Week and exhibitions such as Tate Britain, PhotoFusion, BBH London, Lake Gallery, Camberwell Space Gallery including billboards across the UK.
Hey Mathushaa! Having lived in London your whole life, where’s your favourite spot in the city to hang out?
I would have to say around where I live, which is a suburb so it's quite peaceful and it can be a nice break from the busyness of London. Probably Old Street/ Shoreditch as well, for cute bars and a lot of creative events.
© Mathushaa Sagthidas
What series of events led you to study photography at UAL?
A fair few events and opportunities - to be honest I didn't even have an interest in photography until around five years ago, but it was after I completed a photography workshop during my A-Levels for work experience, an interest sparked. This single experience slightly diverted my path and instead of studying sculpture or painting at university, I decided to do a foundation course where I studied fashion promotion - this was definitely where I discovered my passion for fashion photography but it was during my degree where I feel like I finally had the freedom to explore my personal creative experiences/ identity.
© Mathushaa Sagthidas
When we spoke, you shared candidly with us your bumpy ride throughout creative education, particularly during your foundation year. How did you try to overcome these challenges?
During my foundation, I realised that no matter how hard I worked and how much time, effort and creativity I put into my work, I was never going to succeed in that particular environment. If I'm being honest, I reached a point where I was creating work solely to build up my portfolio (this was the start of my photography career and I realised I didn't have enough work to get into any degree course). At the same time, I felt like I was creating work for someone else and I learnt from that experience that when you're in this type of mindset, the lack of passion you have for the concept will show through in the work - your creativity should be for you. I learnt more about who I am as an artist when I started to explore the topics I truly cared about and cared less about what others thought.
“Your creativity should be for you. I learnt more about who I am as an artist when I started to explore the topics I truly cared about and cared less about what others thought.”
Despite landing a comfy full-time role pretty much straight after uni, why did you decide to move on from this company after 6 months and make the move to freelance?
It was a good experience - I worked for a company that has an incredible initiative and team and I always thought (before graduating) that a 9-5 job would fulfil all my creative dreams, but it didn't for so many reasons. I grew a lot as a creative during my degree but that experience also taught me that it was never going to work around the fact that I wanted to do photography too. I realised when you take that jump and put all your time and work into your one passion - it'll pay off.
© Mathushaa Sagthidas
How does your culture and heritage inspire your creative practice?
In so many different ways and it depends on the project - some really explore my family history and tell a story whereas some also highlight and explore the talents of various South Asian creatives (especially women). My culture and heritage play such a big part of my work and who I am, it can be hard to describe - it's ingrained in my work.
Congrats on your recent feature at Tate Britain! Did seeing your work on the Tate walls feel like a pivotal moment in your career and has it led to more exciting opportunities or collaborations?
Surreal! Never did I think that I would be able to say "yeah my work has been in Tate Britain" and it wasn't until after I was like ‘oh s*** my work was actually in a really established UK museum’ - a piece that has a strong reflection of my culture and family. I do have some really cool projects coming out soon - 3 very different projects which I'm very excited about so do keep an eye out.
© Mathushaa Sagthidas
We love your attitude towards seizing opportunities - whether they be exhibitions, applying for grants or starting new collaborations. Have you always taken the ‘just go for it’ approach?
Honestly no, I was that person who thought "no, there's no point, I doubt I'll get that opportunity" - this was the mindset I had at the very start but the more I thought about it, the more I regretted not applying and at least trying. So instead of wasting my time doubting or questioning myself, if I can do it, I might as well try!
If you could give one piece of advice to your 16-year-old self - what would it be?
GCSEs stress is not worth it, work hard yes, but don't waste time stressing. But from a creative perspective, I would say don't lose that drive. The drive, passion and determination is what's going to help you reach your creative goals, even if you don't know where it’s directed.
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