Last Summer I was interviewed by Fluffer Magazine for a feature and I learned today that it's finally up! Do keep in mind, that the questions were translated from Italian but the interview is in full english on the Fluffer site. Also, as this is a nude and erotic publication, do keep in mind that the images chosen to accompany this feature are NSFW in most instances (unless you know, you happen to work somewhere that isn't terrified of the nude female form).
Rebecca Tillett is the talented mind and eye we hosted in the very first issue of Fluffer Magazine. Her brilliant career started by being selected by Taschen for the first volume in their The New Erotic Photography series. We decided it was time to listen to her very own voice. And her she comes!
Are your women a mirror of your personality or is it melancholia you like to represent in your images? I think it’s probably a bit of both. I tend to feel most creative when I’m feeling melancholy so I typically convey that emotion more so than any other even though it’s sometimes unintentional. When it’s purposeful, it’s because I’ve always more vividly seen the beauty in the darkness than in light. And as I age, I more freely embrace that fact about myself.
Your interior became a charming distinctive feature of your pictures. Models are naked in the kitchen, over the moquette, in the living room and in the bathroom dressed only with flashing accessories and lipstick: an ironical mix between eroticism and simplicity. What is the intention behind this representation of contemporary allure? I love hearing what other beings see in my photographs because often they bring something to my attention that I never before realized. This is one of those instances. With that said, perhaps there isn’t always clear intention there. Or maybe there is but I don’t realize it. I’ll tell you what I know: When I put a model in heels and lipstick I’m both demonstrating an irresistible society-deemed sexiness; undebatable symbols of American feminism that have existed for many years over – red moist plump lips ready to devour you, beautiful heels that elongate the legs (I also utilize a wide-angle lens to further lengthen my model’s legs), sexy undergarments or perhaps none at all, a flash of beautiful breasts and perky nipples as well as demonstrating the strict confines of what we consider beauty to be. And I prefer to keep it simple because as important as the setting is (typically colorful and character-filled with a sharp tinge of vintage-flavoring reiterating the fact that these norms have existed for quite a while – maybe even over-stayed their welcome), its real only function is to complement the model – all attention should be on the woman in the photograph.
Show some support for both the wonderful magazine and me and read the rest of the interview here: Beauty in the age of selfie is almost toxic.