This week, Creator Labs returned with its ninth season, featuring photographers from around the world. An ongoing partnership between Google and SN37, the incubator champions up-and-coming talent and prompts them to create imagery using the Google Pixel phone. With 31 total artists, season nine is Creator Labs’ biggest initiative yet, engaging its roster to explore the theme, “The magic we make.” Below, PAPER asked 10 of the photographers, from Myles Loftin to Mayan Toledano, to reflect further on their work and the different ways they’ve pushed their imagination this year.
Myles Loftin
In what ways have you pushed the boundaries of your imagination this year?
"This year my work has taken me to places I’ve never seen before, and introduced me to people who have inspired me to create in new and different ways. I’ve been really interested in exploring ways to manipulate light and color and movement in my work to tell a story." –Myles Loftin
Andy Jackson
In what ways have you pushed the boundaries of your imagination this year?
"With this year’s season of Creators Lab, I wanted to go all out and continue on my narratives of dreaming and imagination that starts in your home. One of the things I love about technology is that there’s so many ways to use it and use it to your benefit, and with my project I also wanted to utilize that in any way I could. From shooting on the Pixel, to getting the image transferred on a negative to create that film look, it’s everything I could dream and hope for this year. This year it was also important for me to highlight Black femininity and Black trans identity through these images, as Black women and Black trans women have a softness that is often left out in a lot of conversations when it comes to how they’re treated. I wanted to show that beauty through the images this year." –Andy Jackson
Aiden Cullen
In what ways have you pushed the boundaries of your imagination this year?
"I’ve always thought it was so cool how technology can optimize the human experience. For the last five years I was imagining how I could actually make that a reality. After 18 months of work with our team, we launched our app, called NOVA. We’ve connected creatives with over 30m worth of opportunities and we have amazing users in over 400 cities around the world. I always imagined what we were building was gonna be impactful, but it’s crazy seeing it actually happen in real time. Years of imagining and pushing ourselves to build this thing, and it’s finally out in the world and growing and evolving every day." –Aiden Cullen
MaryV
In what ways have you pushed the boundaries of your imagination this year?
"This year, I’ve pushed the boundaries of my imagination through self-portraiture and installation work. During a two-month artist residency at No Vacancy, I created a reimagined bedroom that blended elements of my past and present bedrooms with those of friends, lovers and family. This interactive installation invited viewers to engage with the space in any way they chose. While the installation was active, I took numerous self-portraits and collaborated with photographers and videographers to capture myself within the space at different moments and iterations. In some images, I embodied fantasy versions or personas of myself, playing dress-up and crafting backstories for each character I portrayed. This process mirrors my approach to self-portraiture in my Google Pixel project, where I explore different facets of myself, allowing these personas to emerge and take shape through the imagery." –MaryV
Texas Isaiah
In what ways have you pushed the boundaries of your imagination this year?
"This year, I have found it challenging to push the boundaries of my creative imagination. I haven't felt particularly inspired. Instead, I have focused on the discipline of being present each day. This has included spending time with loved ones, dreaming about new possibilities, reading, taking deep breaths, going on long walks, lying in the grass and taking moments to be still. I realize that pushing the boundaries of imagination doesn’t always happen in the ways one might expect. Nonetheless, I am still striving to appreciate the small joys in life and feel gratitude for them." –Texas Isaiah
Cruz Valdez
In what ways have you pushed the boundaries of your imagination this year?
"Through the commitment to creating a life I want for myself." –Cruz Valdez
Chiara Gabellini
In what ways have you pushed the boundaries of your imagination this year?
"By creating a mythical, cinematic landscape, I worked collaboratively with the subjects of these photographs to conjure up imaginary identities, emblematic of unattainable star-like personas. Together, we created a fabricated gesture, alluding to the almost extinct allure of old Hollywood glamour, transforming each of them into what was once prolific — celluloid gods of the silver screen." –Chiara Gabellini
Mayan Toledano
In what ways have you pushed the boundaries of your imagination this year?
"The best thing for imagination is to arrive in unknown zones and wander. This year I was lucky to see the world through inspiring new eyes, bodies and souls. When I tell someone else’s story I have to push boundaries of collaboration and closeness that are only accessible to me if I'm allowed to fully immerse in their experience and life — creating expanded intimacy. Recently, I went on a trip to Austin, Texas to photograph Faren Aimee, a bodybuilder, triathlete, bikini model and pageant queen. In the time we spent working together I lived in her home, I went to her gym, went on her meal plan and got to meet her essence up close. Through this, I understood that my practice has the responsibility to embody this beautiful closeness that she so bravely and generously allowed. Photography became to me a temporary suspension of the self while dwelling in someone else’s spirit for a while." –Mayan Toledano
Kennedi Carter
In what ways have you pushed the boundaries of your imagination this year?
"I've been focusing on expanding my spiritual and metaphysical boundaries. I'm exploring how folklore can unlock ecstatic lived experiences, serving as a gateway to our past, present and collective futures. Sometimes, simply hearing a story isn't enough; —we must reconnect with the soil where that story was created." –Kennedi Carter
Shikeith
In what ways have you pushed the boundaries of your imagination this year?
"This year, I found myself failing repeatedly at ideas I had meticulously sketched, obsessed over and fine-tuned in my head. It was humbling and frustrating, but ultimately, failure became the only route that allowed me to break free from the restraints I had unknowingly built around my imagination. Each misstep forced me to surrender control, to let go of perfection and the preconceived notions I had of what my work should be. In that surrender, I found a kind of liberation." –Shikeith
Photos courtesy of Creator Labs
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