Whimsical Boundaries
Creative Director & Photographer: Jamie Lee
1. What significant life experiences or events have influenced and shaped your artistic vision?
Talia:
The COVID-19 pandemic was a turning point in my artistic journey. As an extrovert, the isolation hit me hard. Being cut off from human connection triggered overwhelming anxiety and sensations of isolation I'd never experienced before. This emotional weight became the foundation for Tabbe Designs. I began creating not just as an outlet, but as a form of connection for anyone who's felt similarly alone. My work evolved into a way of saying what I couldn't always verbalize: that it's okay to not be okay—because that's part of being human. Tabbe Designs is my way of transforming those quiet struggles into something loud, playful, and unapologetically expressive.
Jamie:
My artistic perspective is shaped by the array of personal experiences while traversing continents and immersing in diverse cultures. From the bustling streets of the global South to the geometric precisions of the North, each location layered my visual language with unique textures, contradictions and perspectives. My life has been a journey of rediscovery, reconciliation and rebirth. After years of personal struggle, I found that creativity became the vessel through which I process trauma and transmute it into a source of creative expression. This healing journey was incredibly messy and frustrating, yet nourishing and transformative. The camera became my shield and my lens of curiosity, allowing me to explore the world while simultaneously rebuilding my relationship with it.
2. Collaboration often sparks fresh creativity. Can you share an example of a collaboration that led to an unexpected and exciting artistic outcome?
Talia:
Whimsical Boundaries began with my Bubble Wrap collection—exploring the positive and negative stimuli of an environment and how that impacts an individual’s mental health. Working with Jamie helped broaden what this collection could mean to people. What began as an exploration of anxiety became a universal conversation about emotional boundaries. The exaggerated proportions and unusual textures took on new significance through Jamie's lens. The collection wasn't just worn; it was inhabited and activated by movement, creating a relationship between body and garment that spoke to our emotional navigation.
Jamie:
My photographic and filmic language draws from multifaceted influences, from dreamlike distortions of surrealism to clean minimalism. I'm equally moved by the vibrant saturation of modern pop aesthetics as I am by the stark emotional honesty of black and white photo-documentaries. I wanted to synthesize my influences into something that would honor Talia’s vision while adding new dimensions. I developed experimental techniques of in-motion photography, double-exposures, light refractions of inflated materials, and prismatic effects that mirrored the diversity of emotional entanglement in her designs. I employed unconventional post-production methods that preserved the tactile quality of the garments while heightening their sculptural presence. The resulting images transcended our expectations with a visual narrative that felt both oddly extraterrestrial and intimately human.
3. Walk us through a specific project that challenged your creative boundaries. How did you approach it, and what did you learn from the experience?
Talia:
Creating the Bubble Wrap collection pushed me to translate feelings into tangible forms. Cartoon-like shapes and neon colors derived from brain scans juxtapose the highs and lows of a manic episode. Areas where stressors affect the body are symbolically mapped with Latex. Tight tailoring and bubble shapes coexist in a garment to show anxiety’s smothering nature– its buildup and its release. This collection’s hyperbolic visuals seek to destigmatize mental health through humor and playfulness. This taught me that boundaries aren't limitations but spaces where innovation happens.
Jamie:
Talia's collection presented a fascinating challenge: how to creatively document wearable sculptures that functioned as emotional metaphors. I approached each garment as a topographical expression of internal states: protection, vulnerability and connection – this framework guided our visual approach. Environments and lighting were designed for the interaction between the architecture of garments with the human forms and surrounding space. We guided our models through whimsical narratives and encouraged them to explore emotionally, creating physical tableaux that visualized tensions between isolation and connection. Through the interplay of forms, each composition became a study in emotional physics—gravity, resistance, support, and release made visible.
4. In the ever-evolving art world, what do you believe sets your work apart and makes it unique or groundbreaking?
Talia:
My work stands apart through its commitment to emotional authenticity and unapologetic self-expression. At its core, my goal is to create an inclusive and welcoming environment—one where people feel seen, understood, and free to be themselves. While cognitive abstraction shapes my prints, my voluminous silhouettes and vibrant color palettes channel a sense of childlike playfulness, inviting wearers to reconnect with their emotions in an open, joyful way. Each garment is more than clothing—it’s a tool for self-discovery and emotional release. Through bold design, I aim to give people permission to take up space, feel deeply, and express who they truly are.
Jamie:
My work stands apart through a unique multidisciplinary convergence that shapes my approach to creative direction with analytical rigor and intuitive sensitivity. My design/architectural background taught me to conceptualize how space influences emotion and experience; engineering gave me precision and methodical problem-solving capabilities; while artistic and business pursuits developed my strategic creativity.
I don't simply create beautiful imagery—I excavate core values and translate them into visual metaphors that resonate deeply with audiences. My process involves archaeological layers of research, conceptual development, and technical execution that unearth authentic narratives beneath surface-level aesthetics. This approach creates a distinctly cinematic quality and purpose that transforms commercial projects into emotional experiences. My camera becomes an interpretive lens through which brands can communicate their essence with greater clarity and impact.
5. As you reflect on your journey, are there any specific goals or milestones you've set for your artistic career in the coming years?
Talia:
One of the most exciting milestones on the horizon is the official release of my ready-to-wear line. It’s been a dream to take the emotional depth, bold silhouettes, and playful prints that define my editorial work and translate them into pieces that can live in people’s everyday wardrobes. This collection is about making expressive fashion more accessible—bringing a bit of fantasy, feeling, and freedom into the day-to-day.
Another major step has been my decision to go full-time with Tabbe Designs. It’s been both terrifying and thrilling, but it’s allowed me to fully commit to my vision and pursue opportunities that I once only dreamed of. I’ll be showing again at New York Fashion Week this September, and I’ve also started collaborating with a few high-profile creatives—something that continues to push and expand my artistic boundaries. There’s so much to look forward to, and I feel like I’m just getting started.
Jamie:
I created LENSJA as a multidisciplinary creative agency for innovative storytelling and strategic visual solutions. In the coming years, I aim to integrate more structured frameworks and methodologies for my clients. As technologies evolve, I want to leverage my background to create more immersive brand experiences. This means expanding into film, spatial design, interactive installations, and emerging digital tech that create multisensory brand encounters.
I look forward to growing LENSJA into a recognized brand of storytelling excellence that serves visionary businesses and creatives, helping them articulate their purpose through visual language that creates meaningful connections. It represents my commitment to collaborative creativity, creating opportunities that aggregate diverse talents and deliver genuine value while celebrating the full spectrum of human expression.
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"Whimsical Boundaries" emerges as a radical cartography of human vulnerability—a provocative visual language that deconstructs the invisible infrastructures of human interaction. In collaboration with designer Talia Abbe, we transform psychological landscapes into tangible, breathable membranes—challenging the very notion of personal boundaries.
Our central provocation: What if psychological defenses could be seen, touched, reimagined?
As a creative director, I was keen on translating the abstract topography of human experience into a living, breathing visual language. Each image serves as a blueprint of emotional negotiation, where:
* Boundaries become breathing membranes
* Protection metamorphoses into performance
* Vulnerability emerges as a dynamic, sculptural experience
The inflatable forms become more than objects—they are prosthetic extensions of our most intimate psychological landscapes. Expanding, contracting, reshaping themselves like sentient organisms, they expose the fluid, permeable nature of human identity.
Through vibrant color palettes, dynamic body positioning, and conceptual design, we render invisible structures visible. These living metaphors mirror the constant negotiation between self and world, between vulnerability and protection.
This is psychological architecture—where whimsy meets depth, and visual poetry becomes a method of profound human investigation.
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Videographer/Assistant: Gia Gwin
Creative Director/Lighting Designer/Retoucher/Videographer/Photographer: Jamie Lee
Fashion Designer: TALIA ABBE
Hair Stylist: Rebecca F. Black
Model: Masumi Yamada
Makeup Artist: Oswaldo Fazio
Model: Kira Emani
Makeup Artist: Axel Hurtado