Making the Demon

Before the shoot, I transform the model into a new creature. I cover the body with paint and clay, attach horns, spikes and nails, wrap it in bandages. This takes up to seven hours and continues until the model becomes a demon.

During the shoot there are only two of us, the model and me. I work without a crew or assistants: I do everything myself, with my own hands, and I want the photographs to be the work of the model and me alone. It is easier to find common ground with one person. The shoot is a dialogue between me and the model, and when there are many people around, that atmosphere disappears.

I don’t plan the frames in advance. I ask the model to improvise, and from the first frames I try to understand the demon we have created together: how it moves, how it holds itself, what it hides. We shoot a series, look at it together, and gradually I begin to see which gestures belong to this character and which do not. Then I start shaping them: drop this, repeat that, push further here. This continues until I see what I was looking for.