“In the nude, space and time completely belong to myself”
What fascinates me about the nude, is that the body can indirectly show emotion. What I feel, what I want to express, my body communicates. As a medium, the body’s language is softer than that of the face. It can spread out, reach more space and trigger pensiveness in people.
The power of the self-portrait
My work consists of self-portraits only. This is the reason why I prefer to work alone. All the equipment I need is my camera, my phone and a good connection between both. In our daily lives, a lot of time is spent to communicate with others. That’s why I feel it is very necessary to set aside some time for your own self. Taking a self-portrait is a way for me to communicate with myself. Some people might think that I’m lonely, but I think that there’s enjoyment to be found in this very loneliness. In the process of taking a self-portrait, my heart eventually calms down and I become more focused.
A release for the brain
When I concentrate on my body, I naturally throw off some restraints. Restraints not only refer to superfluous clothes, but elements of the mind: Symbols of trivial things and disorderly thoughts I have in my life. One could say that through nude photography, space and time completely belong to myself. What I want to narrate finds its purest expression, so it is really a release for the brain.
My work as a motivation for my future self
The story I wish to convey to my audience is that I create small worlds which are calm but not flat. I want to show a woman who is soft and delicate on the outside, but strong on the inside. In fact, the elements I show in my photography are part of what I expect to see in my own self. Sometimes I am very restless, surrounded by my own insecurity – a slave to my emotions. That’s why I wish for some of the feelings and looks I create for my viewers to become part of my future self.
Varying approaches
My creative process is not always the same. Sometimes I create a basic picture in my mind. Then, I like to draw a few simple lines on a blank sheet of paper. When I see those lines, I leave it to my brain to make something of them. Be it a theme that evolves, or the props and gestures through which it will be expressed. Other times, I simply write down what I'm feeling, and I set it up as a topic. Next, I think about how I'm going to express it. And then there’s those times, when everything is very casual and I simply want to use a certain prop.
Reaching for perfection
I am a perfectionist. I am critical of people and of things I care about, but I am even more critical of my work. If a finger is not tilted at the right angle, I have to reshoot until I am fully satisfied. So it doesn’t matter whether it is the idea, shooting or post-processing – I will try a variety of experiments before making the final choice and eventually create a piece.
