A Conversation with M Baker
Sometimes the best photos happen when you forget you’re holding a camera.
M Baker (they/them) is an interdisciplinary disabled artist whose practice is shaped by identity — and by making work in whatever medium their body allows at the time. Their approach is fluid, adaptive, and open-ended, letting form shift alongside capacity.
For Flash. Issue 03 — a Project See & B × Jean Marie Film collaboration giving twenty creatives second-hand film cameras and total freedom — Baker shot on a Fujifilm Clear Shot Super, creating three works: on the way home, backyard, and inside.
Their last experience with film photography was as a kid at Disneyland, when their parents gave them and their siblings disposable cameras. That early memory shaped how they approached this project too — not by overplanning, but by returning to play.
“When I first received my camera, I was overwhelmed with the possibilities… I had elaborate ideas for the project, but felt that utilising it like a child would be the best way to have fun and experiment with a medium I have little experience in.”
The images that landed weren’t the ones that were mapped out. They were the ones that happened mid-life.
“The photos I feel were most successful were the unplanned ‘oh yeah, I have a camera’ type candids.”
And then, naturally, the second layer arrived: presentation. Layout. Structure. The designer brain kicking in.
“Deeper consideration snuck back into my process as I decided on layouts… I found myself drawing on design principles to inform how the work was presented.”
What makes Baker’s work feel sharp is that contrast — intuitive, imperfect frames held inside something intentional. Amateur in the best way. Considered in the way that matters.
“I found the juxtaposition between intuitive… photos and deeply considered presentations interesting.”
More from Baker at @beingbaker
Flash. — Exhibition & Issue 03 Launch
Flash. Issue 03 One-week-only exhibition:
19 — 25 January 2026
10am to 4pm daily
Terrace Greenhouse Gallery
223 South Terrace, South Fremantle, WA
Free entry
Project See & B is dedicated to amplifying under-represented voices in the creative industry. Issue 03 was made possible thanks to the support of The Blackbird Foundation.
