Interview with Anna Yum

What message(s) do you want to express through your work? For the moment, I do not believe I have made photos that could generate a real deep or important message. It is above all the idea of making beautiful images of the female body in a particular atmosphere, to share a certain vision of things, if you want. Then we may see a message of freedom of the body, the idea to accept oneself and move beyond clichés that want nudity to be hidden. In our education, nudity is something we should keep to ourselves. However, art goes sometimes (often?) through nudity, and if I had a first message to express, it would be this one, that making naked pictures can be a beautiful artistic approach, and not only a simplistic self-centered need to get noticed. Which artists inspire you? Who are your masters? When I started, I was very inspired by the images of the photographer Lithium Picnic, a little less today. In the same “style”, I like Christine Kessler. For one short year, I am following very closely the work of Chase Lisbon and I find it very personal. I like the way he centers, the games of light he allows himself, the mood, the personality of its images. The only criticism I could make is that sometimes the pictures are too retouched. On the other hand, his videos are absolutely perfect, his musical culture makes all the difference. On the models side, I particularly like Apnea, and more recently I discovered Mosh, who I like very much too. In France, I like the work of Alyz, who is both model and photographer. And some self-portraits of Kelly B. Finally, I like the way Kati Rudlova works, her too both photographer and model. And I certainly forgot a lot of them! What have you gained by being on the internet? A wider broadcast. Meetings, shared ideas, the feeling of not being alone on this or that path. A source of motivation, because by sharing and browsing other people’s sites, we give each other the desire to go forward, I think. What projects mean a lot to you at the moment? To finish the project picture that had started well with Andy Metal. To send to a series to be published on Zivity. Making a trip across the Atlantic to work with the incredible people who are there and who I can meet only virtually at the moment. But more modestly, I would just like to make progress photographically. For me, it’s a small victory every time a new series is here. This is a real mental work, I know that it pays each time, but my personality makes that it really is always a struggle (for a good cause!) ^^ Could you tell us a few words about the place you live/work in? My current job is only a potboiler. I would really like to find a way where I could earn a living doing something that looks like me and that I feel like doing. I am from the north-eastern France. Now, I have been installed in the south, in the mediterranean area, for over 5 years. I enjoy it a lot and I do not plan to move at all :P Words gathered in May 2009 © Incubus' Choice