Keran Woods

Keran Woods | Manhattan Rescue

You’ve worked as a creative director in major advertising agencies. How has this experience influenced your personal photography and visual art practice?

Advertising celebrates the creative process and the importance of a visual language to capture a mood and feeling. My personal work allows me to explore, go further and to create. I enjoy pushing the boundaries like a release, a sense of freedom.

Your personal projects often carry a surreal or unexpected twist. What draws you to this kind of imagery?

I am drawn to life’s everyday images, what we see and what we imagine and how the our mind see’s the world.

How do you balance commercial work with personal artistic expression?

Commercial and personal have a similar process exploring ideas…one works with a brief, the other working from the heart.

What role does illustration play in your overall creative process?

Illustration is the foundation of my work…drawing with light and shade knowing what to add what to leave out. None of my work is Ai-Generated.

Keran Woods | Williamsberg Runway

You split your time between Melbourne and Manhattan — how do these two cities shape your artistic vision?

Melbourne is my familiar space everyday life on tap and changing my backdrop to Manhattan a city full of surprise and inspiration every second, I love the architecture the cars and the melding pot of people.

In the “Manhattan Rescue” image, the blending of urban environment with surreal elements is striking. Can you tell us the story or concept behind it?

NoHo streetscape collides with the surf capturing the energy of the water as it fills the street… adding a sense of urgency with the running swimmer punctuating the energy of life in Manhattan.

In “Williamsburg Runway,” repetition and identity seem to play a role. Was this a staged concept or spontaneous moment?

Spontaneous moment on the Williamsburg bridge, crossing paths with a blonde beauty on her daily commute transforming the bridge into a runway moment.