Sophie Stubbs’s photography is all about architecture and urban and rural experiences. She is a proud believer in her iPhone as a camera and uses it to take most of her work. She is relatively new to the art scene and has been inspired by the likes of Alex Webb and his wife, Rebecca Norris Webb, and Matt Calderwood. The Bermuda National Gallery’s 2024 Bermuda Biennial is the first time she has publicly exhibited her work.

Q: Is this your first time in the Biennial?

A: This is my first time submitting to the Biennial and I was happily surprised to be accepted. I applied because the guidelines were very open. There was no theme for the submission so I sent in my favourite photos. The application also said, “artists can be at any stage of their career (emerging or established)” and that encouraged me to try to submit something.

Q: Just photography or do you work in other media as well?

A: Photography is my favourite method of artistic expression. I also enjoy drawing. It is a very different skill and I am trying to be disciplined about it. I sketch every day.

Q: What is your BNG submission about?

A: I went to Paris for the first time in 2022. It was a short trip with my mum before my university graduation and I met my cousins (2 and 6 years old) for the first time. I took hundreds of photos that day. My cousin, pictured, speaks French and Russian, and is learning English at school. I speak a little bit of Russian and even less French, so we were muddling through different languages to chat to each other, which we both found very funny. I saw that she was reading the Tintin and Asterix comic books in French. I had read them in English. In the moment that the photo was taken, we were walking through the park and she picked up some feathers and put them on her head. I said that she looked like Asterix, and she laughed. For me this photo is about getting to know my family and the place they live in. Like I have gotten to know Bermuda and my family here, since I moved in 2020.

Q: You moved here during the pandemic! Why?

A: My dad is Bermudian and he moved back home in 2017. I continued my studies in England. In my first year of university I was planning to spend the Easter break of 2020 with my parents in Bermuda. It’s a coincidence that the pandemic happened at the same time.

Q: How has moving to a new space impacted your photography?

A: Bermuda is so bright and vibrant compared to England. In England the colours are more pastel, and milder on the eyes. It’s been fun to take photos of striking shadows, bright buildings and plants that seemed exotic. When I moved to Bermuda in the pandemic it was beautiful and eerie to see the island with so few people. That summer I took photos of empty beaches, ferry stops and streets that would have normally been filled with tourists. I find the quality of light and the vibrant colours amazing. In secondary school I chose to study David Hockney in my art class. His exhibition, 60 Years of Work, at Tate Britain is still the best exhibition I have been to. When I was taking photos in Bermuda, I was thinking about his LA paintings that capture crisp shadows and bright colours.

Q: What type of architecture do you hope to practise/are you practising?

A: I am currently working in residential architecture. I hope to work on social housing in the future. I like the idea of designing something comfortable and uplifting for many people. I am also interested in designing artists’ workspaces, which was the focus of my final design project in university.

Q: As you see it, is there a natural connection between architecture and photography?

A: Yes, I do think there is a natural connection between architecture and photography. Architecture is a multidisciplinary field. We have to take photos at work to understand a project, document its progress and show the finished results. In my job I have to be observant and understanding, and consider spatial relationships.

Q: Have you studied photography or are you self-taught?

A: I would say that I am self-taught. My grandmother gave me a compact camera for Christmas when I was seven. It was one of the first compact cameras to be widely sold to the public. I took hundreds of photos of flowers, scenes of my toys interacting with each other in a game, and illustrations in my story books. The great thing about this camera was that I could see all the photos I took on the screen and my parents did not have to print them out. I used this little camera to make stop-motion animations with my toys. However, in secondary school I did a six-week photography course in Chelmsford with the photographer Aytac Uzmen to learn how to use a DSLR camera. Aytac is now running lots of artist workshops but at the time I was one of her first students. Her workshop made me appreciate photography even more. I mainly use my phone and a point-and-shoot film camera to take photos because I find them more candid. When I take photos of my friends, they act more natural and relaxed in front of my phone and little camera than they do with my DSLR.

Q: How would you describe your style of photography?

A: I would describe my style as matter of fact and candid. I am influenced by documentary photographers and films.

Q: Is the Biennial the first time you have exhibited your work in Bermuda?

A: The Biennial is the first time I have exhibited my work anywhere!

Q: Of the photographers you mentioned in your artist statement, what about their work inspires you?

A: I love Alex Webb’s photos of people. It does not feel like his subjects are posing for him. The compositions are really satisfying. They make me wonder how he managed to take the photos without the subject noticing, which probably means that he was included in the group and the subjects felt comfortable. I also like that the photos don’t feel heavily edited. I grew up looking at photos in National Geographic, and Webb’s work reminds me of that. Matt Calderwood’s photos (Instagram @mattcalderworld) are playful and document haphazardly found objects in the built environment. They make me feel that there are interesting things to see everywhere, if I pay attention.

Q: Next steps for your photography?

A: Keep at it! Getting into the Biennial has been very encouraging. I have been posting more photos on Instagram since then. I am still finding myself though. I am not sure what my photography is about yet or what the running theme through my photos might be. I have a project of creating a photo book to try and figure this out.

• Thirty two works by 25 artists are on display as part of the 2024 Bermuda Biennial at the Bermuda National Gallery until January. For more information, visitbng.bm/exhibition/2024bermudabiennial/