FROME-based poet and model Melissa Stanton-Matthews has teamed up with photographer Mark Brookes for her first book of published work.
The book ‘Meet Me Inside’ began life as a series of privately published poems when Melissa moved to Frome three years ago from Ibiza. The personal work deals with the challenges and transformation of her life from difficult days of addiction, loss and divorce to finding happiness in her new life.
Melissa said, “I’d put this body of work together, people resonated with it, but I felt that it needed something more visual and artistic to bring my words to life. As a former model I knew that I might be able to bring the feelings of my poems out with images but was unsure who I might work with as it had to be someone whose work I liked and someone who would understand my background and outlook on life.”
During the difficult days of lockdowns in 2020 Melissa had spotted a photographer on Instagram whose work was potentially right for her and during a break in lockdown in July of that year she tracked photographer Mark Brookes down to a pop-up gallery in the Frome and began a conversation.
Melissa added, “I needed to trust a photographer to work with me and understand me, producing the images from my viewpoint, from past experience that can be tricky with a man behind the camera but looking at Mark’s work I realised that his approach to art was exactly what I wanted.
“I didn’t want pretty, glamorous or extravagant images, my story isn’t about being any of that. I wanted honest, truthful and even gritty images that told a story whilst honouring my poems. Almost from the first conversation it became obvious that Mark was the collaborator I was looking for.”
Work on the images began in the summer of 2020 and despite the challenges of the pandemic and Mark and Melissa pretty much having to form a bubble to keep working, they continued to produce work through until late 2021 when they brought in Frome-based graphic designer Bridie Fry to help them put the project together.
The resulting book is a small but powerful collection of poems and images which will resonate with many men and women who may have found themselves having to make big changes in their lives. From a photographic perspective the book is eye-catching and a little challenging.
The photographs are created mostly in hard hitting monochrome using natural light and with little or no post-production tweaking.
Meet Me Inside is being published in early March with an initial local book launch and readings by Melissa Stanton-Matthews at Hunting Raven Books in Frome at 7pm on Thursday 10th March.
To book your place at the book launch at Hunting Raven contact the shop on 01373 473111 or pop in and reserve your seat with the bookshop team.
Picture: Photographer Mark Brookes with poet and model Melissa Stanton-Matthews.
