NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THEY'VE
BEEN DOING SOME AMAZING WORK
INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER
MICHAEL BRADLEY WE HAVE HIM
JOINING US RIGHT NOW ALL THE
WAY FROM NEW ZEALAND. WELCOME
TO THE SHOW MICHAEL. THANK YOU
FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT
WITH US. THANK YOU VERY MUCH
MICHAEL AGAIN THANK YOU SO
MUCH THANK YOU ESPECIALLY FOR
COORDINATING THE TIME CHANGE
AND EVERYTHING WITH US, WE'RE
VERY EXCITED TO TALK TO YOU
TODAY ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE GOING
TO BE PRESENTING TO THE
SOCIETY THIS EVENING. CAN YOU
TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT
THAT? YEAH, SURE. SO, I WAS
LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET CONTACTED
ABOUT DOING A PRESENTATION
WHICH I'M REALLY EXCITED
ABOUT. SO, I'LL BE TALKING
ABOUT A PROJECT THAT I'VE BEEN
WORKING ON FOR QUITE SOME TIME
CALLED PUAKI. WHICH BASICALLY
A PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION
WHICH I'VE BEEN WORKING ON
ABOUT THE T
TRADITIONAL TATTOOS HERE IN
NEW ZEALAND WHICH THE MAORI
WEAR. AND THIS PARTICULAR
PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE WEARING
OF THE T
HOW DID YOU GET CONNECTED WITH
THE SOCIETY HERE IN NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS. I GOT AN EMAIL FROM
CHUCK FROM OUT OF THE BLUE -
WHICH WAS - HE MUST HAVE SEEN
- HE'S INVOLVED WITH THE
SOCIETY SO HE MUST HAVE SEEN
THE WORK ONLINE. IT HAD BEEN
FEATURED IN A NUMBER OF
DIFFERENT ONLINE, SORT OF,
ARTICLES AND THINGS WHEN THE
WORK WAS FIRST SHOWN A COUPLE
OF YEARS AGO. MICHAEL YOU SAID
YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS
PROJECT FOR A LONG TIME. HOW
FAR BACK DOES IT GO? HOW LONG
HAS THIS PROJECT BEEN IN THE
IT PROBABLY ABOUT FIVE YEARS
AGO NOW. THE IDEA FIRST CAME
TO ME, YOU KNOW, I'D BEEN
WORKING ON WET-PLATE
PHOTOGRAPHY WHICH IS A VERY
OLD STYLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY WHICH
IS KIND OF MAKING YOUR OWN
FILM - AND I WON'T GO INTO ALL
OF THE DETAILS OF IT - BUT,
IT'S QUITE A LONG PROCESS.
BUT, I'M A FULL-TIME MYSELF
AND I WAS USING THE WET PLATE
PHOTOGRAPHY AS A SIDELINE AND
AS A PERSONAL PROJECT I
AFTER I'D SEEN SOME
PHOTOGRAPHS ACTUALLY OVER IN
THE STATES BY WET PLATE
PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO HAD TAKEN
PHOTOS OF PEOPLE WITH TATTOOS
AND SOME OF THE TATTOOS HAD
SORT OF FADED AWAY OR
DISAPPEARED. AND THE IDEA CAME
TO ME ABOUT, WELL COULD I
ACTUALLY SHOW THAT DOING A
PROJECT ON THE T
FACIAL TATTOOS DISAPPEAR. AND
THE IDEA STARTED FORM THERE.
THOUGHT THE PROJECT WOULD TAKE
ME SIX MONTHS TO FULFILL OR
FOR ME TO COMPLETE AND IT
ENDED UP BEING ABOUT THREE AND
A HALF YEARS. WHAT'S SOMETHING
THAT SURPRISED YOU MAYBE AS
YOU WERE WORKING ON THIS
PROJECT. I MEAN, THE THING
THAT I PROBABLY FOCUSED ON THE
MOST AROUND IT WAS SORT OF
GAINING THE TRUST AND THINGS
AND JUST THE - WITH THE T
MOKO IT'S VERY, VERY PERSONAL
AND TALKING TO THE PEOPLE THAT
WEAR THE T
PERSONAL AND HOW IMPORTANT IT
IS TO THEM IN THEIR DAILY
LIFE. AND JUST THE GENERAL
REACTIONS THAT PEOPLE GIVE
THEM WHEN THEY ARE OUT AND
ABOUT. AND IT WAS JUST
FASCINATING TO BE ABLE TO
DELVE INTO THAT OR INTO THEIR
STORIES. IS THERE A STORY THAT
STICK OUT AS YOU WERE
PHOTOGRAPHING? YEAH, THERE
CERTAINLY WAS ONE THAT WAS
POWERFUL THAT'S PART OF THE
SERIES. SO, THERE ARE TWO
PHOTOGRAPHS. THERE'S THE WET
PLATE PHOTOGRAPH AND A COLORED
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH - WHICH ARE
AND AS PART OF THAT THERE'S A
VIDEO COMPONENT AS WELL. SO, I
WAS VERY KEEN FOR THEM TO BE
WORDS, SORT OF, WHAT THEIR
JOURNEY WAS. THERE WAS
CERTAINLY ONE LADY THAT'S ON
MY WEBSITE AND YOU CAN VIEW
THE VIDEO. BUT, HER FATHER WAS
CHINESE, HER MOTHER WAS MAORI
AND SO HE HAD A VERY, VERY
INTERESTING REACTION. BUT
YEAH, THAT WAS A FASCINATING
JOURNEY AND VERY EMOTIONAL AND
I SORT OF SAT DOWN AFTER
BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE
GO TO WHEN I HAD THE
CONVERSATION. SO, I SAT DOWN
AFTERWARDS AND I SAID LOOK IF
YOU GO AWAY AFTER TONIGHT AND
YOU'RE NOT COMFORTABLE SHARING
THIS WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC,
GET BACK TO ME. BUT, SHE WAS
MORE THAN HAPPY. AND IT'S A
REALLY EMOTIONAL STORY ABOUT
HER FATHER'S REACTION TO HER
RECEIVING THE MAKO KOI, WHICH
IS THE FACIAL TATTOO ON THE
CHIN THAT THE FEMALES WEAR. SO
YEAH THAT WAS A REALLY
INTERESTING AND PERSONAL AND
EMOTIONAL STORY THAT SHE WAS -
THAT I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO
RECEIVE THAT TONGA - WHICH IS
THE MAORI WORD FOR TREASURE -
SO, I SORT OF TOOK THAT UPON
ME THAT THEY WERE GIVING ME A
GIFT OR GIVING ME A TREASURE
TREASURE FOR, IN THIS CASE,
THREE AND A HALF YEARS UNTIL
THE WORK WAS READY TO BE SHOWN
AS A LARGE PHOTOGRAPHIC
EXHIBITION. WOW. THAT SOUNDS
FASCINATING. HOW CAN PEOPLE
YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO FOLLOW
YOUR WORK? YEAH, SO PUAKI.COM
IS THE WEBSITE OR MBPHOTONZ IS
MY HASHTAG OR YOU KNOW ON
INSTAGRAM AND THINGS LIKE THAT
AND I SHOULD BE DOING MORE ON
INSTAGRAM AND THINGS LIKE THAT
BEING A PHOTOGRAPHER, BUT IF
YOU SEARCH PROBABLY MBPHOTONZ
ON INSTAGRAM YOU'LL BE ABLE TO
FIND ME THERE.
(*SUE*)) IT WAS GREAT
TALKING TO MICHAEL WE REALLY
APPRECIATE HIM TAKING THE TIME
TO WAKE UP EARLY AND SPEAK
WITH US (*JACLY*)) AND
THANK YOU TO THE PHOTOGRAPHIC
SOCIETY OF NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
FOR PUTTING THIS EVENT
TOGETHER HEAD OVER TO OUR
WEBSITE RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE