Massiah Abraham - Travelling to China, Thailand and Cambodia, photography, spoken word and being free

Hannah: You've got such a nice-sounding name. Where does it come from? Is there a story behind it?

Massiah: Well, I'm from Ethiopia but it's not an Ethiopian name; it's a Hebrew name. It's from the Bible and means "God is my refuge". Lots of people pronounce my name as "Mar-see-ah" but I can never be bothered to correct them (laughs). (Massiah pronounced Mass-ee-ah)

H: Where does most of your style inspiration come from?

Massiah: It's a combination of things. I myself am a melting pot of different things; from the places I've been and visited, the music I've listened to; a lot!

H: What urged you to travel all the way to South East Asia and stay there for months?

Massiah: A few years before I went, I browsed the net a lot and completely fell in love with it. This place is remarkable I thought, there are people living and being in their own way. I've always been fascinated to travel every corner of the world; to eat their food, wear their clothes and just fully embrace it. I went to China, Thailand and Cambodia. I sacrificed buying a MacBook for that trip and don't regret it... I was happy with my ghetto 1997 laptop (laughs).

H: I believe you travelled with another like-minded creative such as yourself. Would you say that played a big part of your travel experience?"

Massiah: Definitely. It's always good to have a like-minded person travel with you. For me, that's someone who'd understand if I wanted to stop in the middle of the jungle and have a shoot for a few minutes. You can't do that with some people as not everyone understands what it's like to have a particular creative drive.

H: Where did your love of photography stem from?

Massiah: To be honest, photography is a new venture for me as prior to that I did a lot of writing (still do) and spoken word. Photography for me is like magic. It's like being frozen in time forever. I use my photos to convey certain messages. Photos say a lot without saying anything at all

H: When did you realise this was your gift?

Massiah: oh my gosh, thank you! I don't see it as one of my strengths but I kind of just went with it. I've received a lot of positive feedback from photographers that have even asked if I have taken any classes or anything, which I haven't! I've been told many times that I'm a natural and have done things that would take other photographers a long time to accomplish. I'm really humbled by that. When I put my energy into something I don't do it half-hearted; I go the full mile. I was even asked if the photos I took were secretly stolen off Google!

H: Where do you hope to take your work next?

Massiah: I've been trying to focus my photography on conceptual types of photography so I can merge my two passions together [poetry+photography]. I hope to get my work published but I am in no rush though, I want to take my time and see what works (and what doesn't). I'm hoping to have some of my work presented in a gallery sometime soon.

H: Do you feel free?

Massiah: Free. No, I don't feel free. That's an excellent question. I don't feel free because I feel that my definition of freedom is more internal than it is outward. So many people you meet on a day-to-day are so outwardly free but internally they may not be free as they may worry about what people think, and their decisions are often shaped by their pasts.

I'm working on it but I don't feel free. I am free in the sense that I can wake up whatever time I want, have cereal for dinner and whatever, but in terms of how I see myself; I am still slightly shaped by my environment, upbringing and surroundings, so in that sense; I'm not free, yet.