Bongs Made Out of Gatorade Bottles Can Be Art

Melbourne based publishing house Bloom recently sent 52 of their favourite local and foreign photographers around Australia as part of their latest project Oasis. Being Australian, obviously they came back with shots of bongs made out of Gatorade bottles and footy matches. Although unlike your shitty phone shots of your mate Gaz tackling your other made Jonno at the reserve behind your step-dad’s house, these are actually picture other people want to look at. We spoke to photographer and editor-in-chief at Bloom Lloyd Stubber about backyard travel and taking pictures.

VICE: A lot of photographers took part in this, how do you manage that much talent in one issue?

Lloyd Stubber: In the beginning it wasn't going to be so large, but as I made the list of photographers I know and admire it ended up getting a little out of control. Most of the artists involved I had met, worked with or just approached to be apart of the project. 52 photographers was a handful to organise at times but it's definitely our favourite publication we've put together so far.

Seeing it’s such a celebration of different parts of the country, did it feel a little counterintuitive to shoot in black and white?

Well I've got quite a soft spot for Xerox zines and really wanted to put together something laser printed, yet quite extensive. The decision of Australian-only images came after that, but the idea was to have it filled entirely with true black and white images—which it almost is. I really enjoy Australian images without colour, it leaves it up to the composition to tell the truth.

How do you avoid the surf, sun and sand stereotype?

I wouldn't say they've been avoided, just portrayed in a different way. The artists were selected because I knew their work would feature typically Australian images, but in their own style.

Is there going to be an issue two?

At the moment we're working on our fourth and final title for the year, featuring the very talented Ana Kraš and Marija Strajnic. I’ve admired their work since I started shooting so I'm really glad to finally be able to show my appreciation and put something together of theirs.