The surreal and apocalyptic atmosphere of a neglected backyard was the inspiration for “Don’t Care”, a series by the German photographer duo Aglaja Brix & Florian Maas. For the photo shot, model and singer Anna-Maria Nemetz slipped into the role of untamed vagabond, emphasized by stylist Fabiana Vardaro’s rebel look.
S Magazine: You‘ve known each other since your time at university and have been working together for a couple of years. How does such a collaboration work? Do you inspire each other? Do you have different opinions at times? Does one of you have the ideas, or rather one who realizes the ideas?
Aglaja Brix & Florian Maas: Our two-year collaboration has been quite natural and without restraints; there’s no real diversion of roles. We began as a working team of photographers; and, right from the start, we complimented each other in so far that Florian brought his technical expertise intothe equation, and Aglaja the more creative part. That was how it started, and since then we have continued to influence each other while melding into a team, where both come up with ideas, are producers and technicians. Admittedly, there is a tendency for Adlaja to be more involved with styling, hair and make-up, while Florian scouts the locations and oversees the equipment. According to the project, we each might slip into a specific role, but it’s an automatic process, without thinking too much about it.
We inspire each other, during the actual photo shoot as well as during the preparations, in everyday life when the ideas are born. It sounds so obvious, but we both agree that it is a gift to have found someone with whom to form a well-functioning team.
If such a thing as a ‘typical’ project exists, how long would a brainstorming session last, and how long does it take to complete a project?
That differs. We often get our inspiration from an interesting location that we’ve stumbled across by chance, or from aesthetic themes or even politics that we find compelling; but it could also be a club or music. The brainstorming then takes place, and it can even happen spontaneously at a location. In the case of jobs with specific guidelines, we immediately start to brainstorm and create a concept.
There are projects that we’ve been thinking about for a long time, and that we can carry out as soon as the right opportunity comes along. Thanks to our database of atmospheric settings and locations, we can work very efficiently. The ‘typical´project does not exist. Typical for our style might be the lighting, the perspectives, the poses and our preference for cool and diverse locations and settings. We strive for diversity.
What is the idea behind Don’t Care? What’s it all about?
Our new series is the perfect example of being inspired by the location where the photo shoot took place: the very first time we drove by the courtyard in question, we could see that it looked just like a film set. It turned out to be a living space occupied by people and their pets – neighbours to some of Florian’s relatives. The quasi apocalyptic scenery mixed with a sleepy, rural charm fascinated us immediately, so that we knew we wanted to use it as a location.
We wanted our choice of model and her style to complete the story: the attributes of the location gave rise to ieda of this somewhat wild girl, who gives the impression of self-control, in this neglected, yet surreal and romantic, setting – accompanied by animals. Influenced by a combination of punk and vagabond attitudes, Don’t Care captures the feel of the location and the attitude of the characters.
Our muse, Anna-Maria, couldn’t have been more perfect. She has a long career in modelling, is a singer for a band called B.O.X.E.R., and conveys a self-conscious yet lascivious charm, which she impersonated on the set. Regarding the music for the fashion film, we knew well in advance what kind of sound we wanted and by whom: the Stoner soundtrack was done by our friend Noschka, a professional guitarist.
Your pictures are one-of-a-kind as far as styling and staging are concerned: they are defined by a consistent style. How would you describe your artistic signature?
Because we set high artistic standards, we are all the more pleased by the compliment :). We can’t really describe our style, apart from saying that it’s cinematic, high-end, strong and cool at the same time. Our freelance work does have certain mystical and secretive undertones. We like to play with the surreal.
WE COME IN PEACE, LA MAISON ABSTRAIT, BLACK POOL, LETHAL GAS, DIAMOND DISTRICT are the typical, rather poetic and iconic titles of your photo series. Do the titles follow a certain policy? When do you chose them, before or after the production?
They usually come to mind at the time of selecting the pictures, but also at times during the shooting. The names should fit, sound good and be beautiful, and at times have a double meaning. The titles tell a story and can help guide the viewer in a certain direction.
We try to find a compromise between meaning, aesthetics and room for interpretation. Diamond District was shot in the mirrored high rises of the diamond district of Tel Aviv. Sometimes the name just seems to appear by itself. ;)
Apart from your team work, you pursue solo careers. Does that allow you to express your individuality? How do your individual processes diverge from when you are working as a team?
Florian does architectural photography, graphic, unpopulated urban scenes, automatically searching for new venues that we can also use for our team work. Bauhaus is a great influence, too. Aglaja tends to be inspired by interesting characters (musicians, animals, certain personalities), places or political themes. Those then flow into ideas for fashion stories.
The Night after Night and A Dream within a Dream productions show a certain undercurrent of eroticism and theatricality. How do you get this effect, or is it a subconscious by-product?
The poses, characters’ expressions, camera angles, captions and lighting give us this interplay of eroticism and seediness. Telling a story automatically brings theatricality to it.
Are there interdependencies between your commercial, photo series and artistic approaches?
Commercial work comes with conditions that we have to comply to, such as the location. Naturally, we can adapt to that, but we always try to add something artistic to the pictures; but in line with the client’s intention, of course.
How important is Berlin as a source of inspiration?
We can say that we are in love with Berlin - beyond the prominent places, there are all kinds of locations that are less known and have not been used in an artistic context. With all its nooks and crannies, it’s a city than can inspire. Berlin has different faces: it’s a place of history, in flux, with many “in” scenes, active in both art and fashion – though it has not yet developed high-end fashion. We see the changes, and trust that Berlin will leave the, at times, trashy styles behind to become a fashion metropolis in its own right. The potential there!
For the S Magazine you used the Leica S (007) for the first time. How did it influence your work?
The camera is perfect on location - even the edges of the pictures are totally sharp. Colours are splendid, contrasts concise thanks to the middle-format-sensor - yet the camera is light and easy to handle. Simply great!
As individuals or as a team, do you have certain photographic role models?
We both have idols in common: Tim Walker and Txema Yeste, in particular, inspire us and we admire them. They always tell a story – even in a single shot; their imagery is driven by the surreal. So beautiful!
