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InspirationPhotography

Still life photographs of found objects inspired by different seat upholstery on London buses

Creative inspiration is everywhere and sometimes from the most unlikely places. For Emilia Cocking, it comes from the different seat upholstery found on London buses.

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All images courtesy of the artist. Via Creative Boom submission.

All images courtesy of the artist. Via Creative Boom submission.

Her project On Diversion features still life photographs of objects collected on each journey across the capital that she felt represented the textile patterns specific to that bus service. "I’d then treat each item as a building block, with its own significance and origin, towards a final composition greater than the sum of its parts," Emilia explains. "The result is a manifestation of my bus hopping; visual connections formed in memory which helped paint a living, breathing picture of home."

Based in London, Emilia Cocking works in photography, art direction and design. She attended the Arts University Bournemouth where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Photography in 2014. Since then, her work has focused on built environments and the "coincidences that can occur in everyday situations". More recently she has been developing her practice through still life and found objects.

On Diversion is her way of revealing the cultural fabric of London. But it also came from an eagerness to better navigate and find her way around the capital. "As a way of documenting these trips, I began a weekly routine: choose a bus number, complete the route, photograph the seat upholstery and then retrace that same journey on foot. On the return journey I would collect items that I felt represented the textile patterns specific to that service. I then arranged these objects into a singular sculpture. Beginning with a rough idea, I’d treat each item as a building block, with its own significance and origin, towards a final composition greater than the sum of its parts."

Emilia adds: "In an image culture centred around quantity and speed, I forced myself to slow down the creative process, giving myself time to craft each still life at my own pace. By working in this way, I embraced mistakes and let the composition develop naturally during the shoot. The result is a manifestation of my bus hopping; visual connections formed in memory which helped paint a living, breathing picture of home."

Close-up of grey bus seat upholstery with green and white geometric lines and four pink circular objects arranged on the fabric surface
Pink and green spheres connected by curved metallic wires to a white textured ball, arranged on a dark surface against a purple background
Textured close-up of turquoise bus seat fabric with repeating pattern of yellow and red abstract shapes and dark teal geometric forms
Branch with bright orange berries in a small black vessel balanced on two cork-textured blocks against a teal background
Close-up of red and grey checked bus seat upholstery with curved white stitch detailing distorting the pattern
Red cable coiled around a red cylindrical object against a marble-effect wall, referencing London bus seat upholstery patterns
Close-up of blue woven textile with a geometric checked pattern in varying shades of teal, navy and cream
Concrete block with delicate plant stems and green tendrils arranged with two bright blue rubber rings against a pale blue and teal background
Bright neon lines in pink, orange, lime green and cyan weave across dark blue textured fabric, creating an abstract geometric pattern inspired by London bus seat upholstery
Vibrant still life arrangement of collected objects including pink, red and yellow ribbons, dark leaves and green foliage against a deep blue background
Red bus seat upholstery with pale blue dotted curved lines and geometric patterns forming repeating motifs across the fabric
Red mesh shopping bag with red ribbon bow and collected red fibrous objects arranged on deep red surface against black background
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