Sculpting Marble: Thoughts on Collaboration
In theory, there is something quite magical about editing. It’s akin to sculpting marble, hammering away the debris to find the masterpiece underneath. I had longed for an opportunity to be that person; to help an artist finish their work.
Until I actually had to do it.
The prospect of working alongside a photographer to complete a photo book, in which captions are utilised to create a narrative through photos, was daunting from the outset. What I imagined would be sculpting marble suddenly seemed like reading someone’s diary. It felt like intruding on something personal. I feared I would do too much, or do too little, or not do anything at all. The word ‘imposter’ appeared in my mind a number of times.
How lucky was I, then, to be paired with a bonafide collaborator.
Working with Archer settled my nerves and fears of being the overzealous contributor. His project followed his good friend, Brandon, as he trains to walk the circumference of Australia (!) in the coming years. I was tasked with writing the introduction — made incredibly easy by the interview Archer had already conducted with Brandon — and the acknowledgements. The captions, we would work on together.
Archer’s passion for his project was contagious. It made working together exciting, like we were on an adventure to create something as a team, rather than two separate people contributing to a project.
In the lead up to the collaboration, the project was described as helping the photographer find the narrative. I loved the idea that the narrative already existed, and all we had to do was find it.
There was no limit to the images we had to choose from. This was certainly at times stressful — too many good photos, not enough pages in the book — but also beneficial. The time it took to choose what the final images would be allowed us to explore the story, and the many directions in which we could take it.
Ultimately, the narrative appeared to us as we pored over the photos and read (and reread…and reread) the interview with Brandon. It was a story of an individual — who describes himself as ‘’not exactly the most athletic person’’ — working towards doing something extraordinary. His dedication to walking is indicative of his spirit, and the very human ability to achieve the impossible.
It’s fitting that this story came into my life at a time in which I was feeling unbalanced. In the months before this collaboration, I left my job, confident in my ability to find another one to hold me over until my time in the Professional Writing and Editing program came to an end and I could pursue full-time work. You can imagine how misplaced this confidence was.
In my mind, my inability to find employment directly correlated to my worth. I applied for every job under the sun, those applications blasting off into the void, never to be seen again. It felt like I couldn’t do anything right.
Unemployed, running out of money, with international travel already booked and on the horizon, I was looking forward to throwing myself into a project in which another relied on my contribution. I couldn’t float off into an ether of laziness until the last minute. I made an effort to be present, available, and excited.
Archer made this easy for me. Working on this project was a welcome reprieve from the worries of my personal life, and exploring Brandon’s perseverance felt like a lesson I desperately needed to learn. Archer was an easy collaborator, and allowed me to come forward with my ideas for his book without judgement or dismissal. Finally, I was contributing towards something in a tangible way. In the ocean of money-troubles and feelings of ineptitude, working on this project was my life raft.
So, in a way, editing this project was like sculpting marble; Archer’s photos told a tale and, together, we found it. It was rewarding to have helped in whatever way I could, and gave me insight into what a future in such a career would look like. Archer taught me that working independently isn’t always fun. Working together to achieve a common goal is rewarding, exciting, and makes for a lot of great ideas.
It also helped me clear the debris in my own life. Brandon’s story felt like a kick in the backside, a reminder that I shouldn’t give up, or be weighed down in despondency. This lull will end, my skills will be needed somewhere, and sooner or later I will find it.
I look forward to the time Brandon walks Australia, and will follow along when he does so. More importantly, I will continue to follow the work of my collaborator, Archer, and hope that if ever he needs an editor, he will want to work with me again.
