Laetitia Heisler examines the mind/body connection
Laetitia is a French-German photographer who explores the connection between feelings, body and matter.
See more work by Laetitia on instagram at @laetitiaheisler
Laetitia's personal website is at: laetitiaheisler.com
A/A: Your work has a very delicate quality. Is that intentional?
LH: first of all i am very surprise that my work can be seen as delicate, because i don't consider myself as a delicate person. it is really not intentional. in fact, there is no intention behind my work unless to express myself. shapes of body and nature always had fascinated me. even as a kid. creating new shapes, showing the shapes i have in my head had become a primary need to me.
A/A: What got you interested in photography?
LH: my husband had analog cameras in the past. i didn't give a lot interest to them, but it inspired me to buy myself an instant camera. for years i just took pictures to have a memories. one day, during the time i saw a psychotherapist, i discovered that we can do multi exposure with my camera so i wanted to shoot myself to explore new possibilities. i remember i just had to express the darkness i had inside, as if it would permit to come out. it was so liberating. photography is a bit like a therapy to me. i've always been a very sensitive and creative person. and even if i can be really eccentric, i like being alone, for hours, in the forest. but i also really like to express myself, to show people what i have in my mind. thanks to self portrait-photography, i can fulfill these two needs ! i used to be on stage in the past, i loved it but it was really stressful. with photography i can take my time and never get annoyed by anybody... even with one model.
A/A: How do you find inspiration?
LH: my inspiration comes from the nature, body shapes, gender question, feminism, the continuous flow of thoughts i have in my mind, the idea of something bigger than ourselves, from artists i admire, the relation of human being with their environment, menstruation, and from spirituality. sometimes i cannot go asleep because of too much creative ideas. i don't need to "find" inspiration, it comes from itself when i let me the time to be alone enough. i don't force myself to take pictures, it can happen that i don't produce anything for a week or so. that usually means i am tired of being around people. so i go in the forest to refresh my mind, and then ideas come all by themselves.