The Archives
It was the 30th anniversary of the movie ‘The Crow’, that lead to a conversation about the movie, that again lead to a link of the scene, in which the protagonist plays a guitar solo on the roof of a building at night, that reminded me of pictures I once took of myself, when I was younger.
All of this, made me look for the images I once took and that I’d like to share with those, who are interested in where my artistic roots are and how the journey began. Though the images only exist in low quality, it was still a fun process, to go through these pictures again.
I hope you enjoy it!
Lou.
I was reminded of the self portraits, I once took on the roof of our house – dreaming myself away from a small town into more exciting places…
..on a roof
with my guitar
short hair
and a leather jacket..
as you can see, music has always been a central element in my pictures..
// the blind series.
[this series is from around 2008]
To this day, I have always admired the style and beauty of the 60ies & 70ies
I M P E R F E C T I O N
I’m still fond of the crumbled sheets and bright light – all these imperfections add to the retro vibe of it.
Women like Jane Birkin or Brigitte Bardot – of course there were many more,
were true icons and a great inspiration for me:
Not only because of their beauty, it was the playful, lighthearted and artistic lifestyle they embodied, that was so appealing to me.
The desire of another place, feeling & life..
as dark as it is, it might still
be one of my favorite series –
it still feels very authentic to me..
As
mentioned before,
I often titled or matched the images to the music I was listening to
&
that resonated very deeply while I was creating them.
This is a lie’ is a reference to The Cure’s song titled ‘This is a lie’.
‘Us or them’ a reference to The Cure’s song titled ‘Us or them’.
‘M’ as well as the line in the lower left corner are both references to
‘The Cure’s’ song ‘M’.
I just loved guitar riff and it’s still one of my favorite The Cure songs – even though it’s hard to decide ;).
Helmut Newton’s work
was a great inspiration for me
as well.
Regarding Style, composition and grace:
It was his
particular choice of models,
the strength in their look, the glamour but also the
drama they embodied
–
The stories his images transported for the viewer were what resonated very deeply with me.
‘Je suis venu te dire que je m’en vais’
// Serge Gainsbourg
Street photography &
street art
However..
I did not only take self portraits and tried to create an atmosphere – admittedly dark from time to time.
Sometimes I took pictures in the streets or in nature – anything that caught my interest.
Sometimes of strangers.
Sometimes..
interesting encounters and stories were the result
And sometimes..
they’re still a good story to tell.
meet Karl
He stood in front of
my favorite record store
(vinyl only)
during this time in Heidelberg
&
I was drawn to the vibe that surrounded him, so I took some pictures while he was unaware and showed him later.
He laughed.. We had a coffee in front of the store as my phone rang: My then ringtone (because as a teen I definitely needed to individualize anything, that belonged to me and carry it like a weapon of choice) was ‚Rock ’n Roll Suicide’ by David Bowie (of course).
‚Time takes a cigarette…’
I loved this song – it’s still one of my favorites, but Karl laughed again, rolled his eyes and said – not all too seriously: ‚Really? Bowie? So cheesy! Let me show you some ‚real‘ music…
He went back inside the store with me, chose a vinyl, placed the headphones on my ears, pressed play and asked me if I liked it.
I don’t know what I was expecting – couldn’t be anything cheesy obviously – so it was me who laughed, when I heard ‚Love is the drug‘ by Roxy Music for the first time.
He asked me if I liked the song. I did.
He then went to the counter, bought the album, gave it to me and said jokingly: ‘Educate yourself and thank you for the pictures.’
What I like about the story most, is that it was again music and art that connected two strangers – even if only for a coffee in the afternoon.
And I’ll always remember, how I got to know Roxy Music and that is a beautiful memory.
Thank you, Karl.
Yes, I did weird things.
How I ended up being ‘the girl on the flyer’ for the promotion of a
electro party series in cologne.
In my defense: I usually do not impersonate somebody else – but that night I was invited to a costume party & I decided to put a little twist on Aladdin Sane ⚡️
because I used to publish my pictures on an online platform, I got to know other photographers, who then asked me for collaborations. One time, I was asked to do a shooting with a male model from cologne. Long story short: it never happened – I didn’t feel comfortable being photographed by someone I didn’t know at all. Even though, we never personally met, the model, Dirk, and I kept in touch. He also worked as a DJ and organized an electronic party series and asked me, if he could use my pictures for the flyers & their promotion.
Though I have always been invited. I never attended any of these parties.
God… growing up in a small town, I was bored and terribly hungry.
I definitely needed some creative outlets to escape that emptiness. Besides taking pictures I sometimes did some street art..
S t r e e t A r t
I mostly created stencils – of icons, of course ; )
*Dylan was me
not the dirty tags
Sometimes they were less permanent – I also placarded some ‘The Cure’ inspired hearts around town.
The picture below was taken in Stuttgart around 2008 or 2009
for this I climbed a lantern in a park
What I liked about that picture was, that you’d get the impression, that the heart was really flying through the night sky.