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By far, the most powerful characteristic of photography for me is its unbreakable bond with reality. "Painting can feign reality without seeing it," explains Roland Barthes, but he also admits; "in photography I can never deny that the thing has been there." I take photographs to make my fantasies come true. A painter can conjure images from his imagination and place them straight upon his canvas, but, in order for a photographer to depict his fantasies, as Barthes points out, he must have them right in front of his lens. I used to draw and paint my imaginings, but found no satisfaction in a process that only seemed to confirm the impossibility of their realization. |
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By far, the most powerful characteristic of photography for me is its unbreakable bond with reality. "Painting can feign reality without seeing it," explains Roland Barthes, but he also admits; "in photography I can never deny that the thing has been there."I take photographs to make my fantasies come true. A painter can conjure images from his imagination and place them straight upon his canvas, but, in order for a photographer to depict his fantasies, as Barthes points out, he must have them right in front of his lens.
I used to draw and paint my imaginings, but found no satisfaction in a process that only seemed to confirm the impossibility of their realization.
Swimming, climbing trees, playing outside, making out, running, being naked, having sex, jumping, being with friends, bonfires, eating yummy food until I’m so full I’m about to explode, getting drunk, getting out of control, acting like an animal, ejaculating, peeing, lacking inhibitions, experiencing no consequences, no rules, being young, being silly, having fun. These are the things I love—the elements of my fantasy world.
When I take pictures, they become my reality, and the photographs important mementos—proof that for a few hours at a time I got together with my friends and made my fantasies come true.
The camera is the catalyst for this merging of fantasy and reality; a reason to do crazy, stupid things.
Suddenly, I am about to jump off a dangerously high cliff into the water below and it becomes unclear to me whether I am photographing this because I am doing it, or doing it so that it can be photographed. This is photography’s magic at its strongest.
I want the viewer to see the fantasy. I want their imaginations to run wild. Sometimes that is just enough, but maybe they will even go out and realize some of their own fantasies. Sometimes the characters in my photos are shown whilst fantasizing. This is to remind the viewer that there are fantasy worlds within fantasy worlds and that the lines between the real and the imagined need not be so sharply drawn.
My subjects are often alone, concentrating; allowing their minds to shape their own universes. They are explorers and, whether they are exploring their own bodies or a magical forest, they allow their curiosity to guide them.
I wonder where my imagination came from. And why it is the way it is. My childhood experiences seem to have been both a product of and an influence upon my fantasy world. What I did, where I was and how I played as a child retains a constant presence in my daydreams. But another source must be credited for the constant nurturing and cultivation of my imagination: Hollywood movies. The strongest impressions were probably left at earlier ages but, even today, movies are one of the principal external activators of my fantasy world. The look and feel of my work borrows, substantially, from film. This, of course, is not a criteria, but it is a definite trend. The only real requirement of such an influence is that it activate the imagination. The look, the colors, the angles, the shooting style all change as often as necessary to keep the fantasy fresh—no one likes imagining the same thing in the exact same way more than once.
It is my firm belief that true happiness lies in the realization that reality and the imagination can coexist in the pursuit of a seamless blend of the two.
