Emerging Talent: Taylor Horne
“I think my biggest fear as an artist (and when I walk home alone at night) is that people might try to put me in a box.”
Name: Taylor Horne
How would you define your photography style?
A mixture of punk rock grit with a traditional refinery.
How did you start shooting?
I started taking photographs when I was 12 years old. My mother had this camera in the closet and I got her to put some film in it for me. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania so really it all began with landscapes. I tried painting and drawing but I just couldn’t recreate what I saw. When I was 14 I took a class at school where I learned traditional 35mm black and white film photography and darkroom techniques. I really fell in love with the chemistry of photography and the permanence of the medium. I was an angst-filled teen that had trouble really expressing how I was feeling; I turned to art as a way to do so. I loved being able to make people feel something from looking at my work. When I grew up I moved to different cities and eventually ended up in New York City. My parents are Christians and I grew up with that religion being so important in my family. I never believed in any of it. I always had a love for the macabre and esoteric. After I had been living on my own for a while, I was able to feel comfortable accepting that side of myself and was no longer afraid to explore and express it. Since that self discovery I started creating work that people really started to notice and I met other people with the same interests. Now I feel like I am creating what I was originally always afraid to.
Who has inspired your style?
My work is mostly inspired by old occult photographs and paintings. I love Edward Gorey’s illustrations or Tim Burtons drawings. I try to have a literary component to my work and I frequently read and reference the works of Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. I also have an extensive obsession with 80’s cult horror movies.
You can see more of Taylor’s work visit his site and give him a follow on Instagram.