Not much known about Steoville except that he’s real name Stephen Ocampo Villegas, he’s a self-taught visual artist who’s based in Cali, Colombia. That’s it, that’s all the information we have on him. “Photography for me is a way to stop time. Immortality. Fashion is the way of dressing of the whole society. That said, it is not what defines a particular person, but what defines a whole society. From my point of view “fashion” is something subjective, something that can change over the years or even months. It also depends on a person’s personal tastes. I have not had a career, everything I have done has been empirical, art began as a hobby and ended up being an extension of myself with which I can express myself.” He continues, “My experience in art and photography have been a way of express myself in a way that words are usually difficult for me, it has been my therapy to get out of the daily routine that life can sometimes have.”
Steoville says that nobody inspires him in art, but he does have a favorite artist – it has always been and will be Frida Kahlo. In fashion inspiration itself is linked to the spontaneous stimulus that arises within an artist or creative. Inspiration does not appear by effort or will; therefore, it differs from work or training. Usually Steoville produces self-portraits, he enjoys the experiments but leans towards elegant simplicity. The images on these pages are a departure for the artist; with them he’s taking an undisputed stance against the social media censorship and Instagram in particular. “Your post has been deleted”, is the future of community guidelines. He imagines a world where all we have left are the “deleted” notices that populate museums and censor medieval imagery; it’s sad visual that is sadly becoming more and more common. Currently the artist is hoping to compile a book of self-portraiture but the going has been tough due to a creative block and depression it often causes in the creative community. We’re hoping a break through is imminent.
Story by Laurie Silvey.