Thomas Berlin: Paul, I found our previous communications so interesting that I asked you for this interview. I want to start with a view on your sexy fashion portraits and nudes. Can you describe your work in an artist statement?

Paul Artemis: I investigate the sensual sides of a woman. Mystery is a powerful drive in the psychology of attraction and I’m attracted by the mysterious eroticism lying in the shadows of a woman’s charm.

Thomas Berlin: Does that mean you are looking for your ideal of beauty? Or is it more about the joy of life or the sexual undertone in your pictures?

Paul Artemis: Both sexuality and joie de vivre are part of a broader idea of beauty that springs from exaltation of the Dionysian spirit of the human soul. When human beings stop fighting against their irrational side -like sexual turmoil and emotional impulses are- and embrace it instead, they feel harmony between their tragic soul and the universe around, which brings a thorough sense of completion and purpose: this is for me the ultimate sense of what Beauty is.

Thomas Berlin: Paul, can we be more specific because you’re referring to Friedrich Nietsche, aren't you? The irrational human aspects that you mention and that you wish to bei accepted are perhaps different today than with Dionysus, who stands IMHO for the irrational, chaos, wine and theatre. Today it is perhaps also different moral concepts. Do you advocate with your sometimes provocative images to tolerate such moral concepts more than it was in the past?

Paul Artemis: What I mean is that our western society has been built entirely upon Christian moral values, whose main purpose is to negate the body in order to achieve spiritual elevation. Maybe this works still well with some people today -and it certainly worked well in the past, until we realised “God is dead”, like Nietzsche famously notified. In the moment that religion stopped being the backbone of our society, we questioned the existence of god but didn’t really question its values. As a result, western people tend to have a contradictory relationship with their physicality: we are equally attracted and repelled by our sexuality; in freudian terms, our animal, Dionysian psyche (the Es) is attracted by what Nature had given us as a tool, but our rational and moral psyche (the SuperEgo) still judges it by the relics of our Christian roots, which is the point of view of a sinner. Therefore, our own individual identity (the Ego) is torn apart between these two opposite forces and lives its sexuality in a way that the Ancient Greeks had defined as “tragedy”. Men can change their tragic condition through a rational effort of accepting and embracing their animal side as a natural part of their human being. In order to do this, it is necessary to abandon old moral Christian patterns and enable our society to rebuild new unfettered patterns. I probably like to provoke sexual turmoil with my art in order to stir and question these old values that needs to change.

Thomas Berlin: What you're saying almost suggests already the answer to my next question. But I still want to ask: Why do you photograph people and not other subjects to provoke?

Paul Artemis: I like to tell human stories through human beings. However, other subjects such as our environment may also tell a lot about human beings through the traces that we leave behind. I like to explore this as well, on a more personal level. 

Thomas Berlin: What is a good photo in general? Are there some components or criteria?

Paul Artemis: I believe that a photograph able to stir emotions is a good photograph, despite of any other technical, aesthetic or moral paradigms.

Thomas Berlin: What is a good photo in your work? When are you satisfied with your work?

Paul Artemis: I apply the same criteria, but I’m usually more demanding about my own work than I may be with the work of other artists, since I cannot spare myself from the judgement of the results with regard to my intentions.

Thomas Berlin: How do you develop your ideas? Do you work with concepts or do you work spontaneously? Do you create mood boards or specific ideas before the shoots?

Paul Artemis: It depends on the project. Commercial projects require a more structured approach. However, I always leave plenty of room for improvisation. I never like when things are too fixed and rigid: photography, like many other art forms, thrives on the passion of the inspiration.

Thomas Berlin: How do you prepare for a shoot?

Paul Artemis: I prepare and pack everything the night before. In the morning of an important shoot, I like to space out alone before reaching the studio: I may grab a take-away coffee and walk in the park with headphones on. Good music always puts me in the right state of mind.

Thomas Berlin: As you mentioned you want tell human stories through human beings. That leads me to the question, how do you find your models?

Paul Artemis: Mostly, they find me. Instagram has allowed a much quicker and closer connection than it was before.

Thomas Berlin: Sometimes you work with the same model multiple times. How can you build trustworthy and creative partnerships with models? Maybe you can tell what a photographer should do?

Paul Artemis: I have a few models whom I like to work more frequently with. That’s mostly a matter of energy: they bring good energy into my life, and I know the results will be good. There’s no rule to build trust, it goes down to someone’s attitude and character. I’m very picky and professional, but also very down to earth and easy-going: there’s usually a very good mood on my sets. Probably my calm has also grown with the experience and the self-confidence built in the years about my skills. I generally don’t like entitled people who take their role in the business too seriously: we’re privileged to work having fun and being paid for it, we’re not here solving the world’s hunger. There’s a difference between doing your job respectfully well and having such a very high opinion of yourself to demand respect: there are way more serious matters in the world than glamour or fashion photography.

Thomas Berlin: In your pictures you show self-confident female models who look like they're at a party or in some other way in action. Anyway, it looks very much alive. How can I imagine a photo shoot with you?

Paul Artemis: I guess this is something to ask the models. I think it is fun!

Thomas Berlin: How many people are on the set?

Paul Artemis: It depends on the shoot. On a commercial project, we can be also 15 people on set, or more. Other times it’s just me and the model, for example when I need to create the right level of empathy and connection.

Thomas Berlin: Paul, let's talk about how you deal with light …

Paul Artemis: Light is the most important element of a photograph. It’s crucial for a photographer to master and take every type of light, either a studio flash or a candle. It’s an awareness that builds up with time, attention and experience. I’m engaged in paying attention to light on most of my off-time.

Thomas Berlin: What's your favourite lightening setup? How many artificial lights do you use at the same time? Do you prefer flash or LED?

Paul Artemis: I’ve been using everything. My favourite light is the one that allows me to take the photo when I need it. In my first editorial assignment back in 2004, my flash light broke down in the middle of the shoot, with no chance of getting any replacement, as it was already night time: so, I looked around the place, spotted some ambient halogen lamps in the ceiling, placed my subject under those and I finished the job. The client was happy and I got my first shoot published. In one occasion I’ve had to deal with 7 flash lights in the studio to get the result that I wanted. Sometimes a small window is more than enough. Every type of light -flash, led, tungsten/halo, natural, etc- has its own pros and cons, and gives a specific atmosphere to the image, I just use it accordingly.

Thomas Berlin: Paul, you photograph both digitally and analogue, don't you? When do you take digital and when do you take analogue?

Paul Artemis: I do, yes. However I use film for work rarely, I mostly shoot film for my personal pleasure. People who shoot film today are the last romantics, I love it: I love most of the slow habits of the past devoured by the speed of the digital progress. When I have the chance, I like to slow down and set myself free from the paradigms of productivity. And I like the old look of prints, a tangible and physical memory of our existence: the new generations are leaving this behind, though. They rely blindfold on a fragile cloud of bytes to preserve their memories, but I believe that outsourcing the storage of all our memories may result in the annihilation of our existence. Too many people seem to feel lost when their Instagram accounts get deleted or their hard drive fails without a backup.

Thomas Berlin: Is there a special attraction in analog images? What is the reason why you accept all the hassle of working in analogue?

Paul Artemis: I think there’s a lot more charm in imagining the picture and in the process of waiting before being able to see it. The slowness of the process enables a more thoughtful approach on the moment. There’s also a certain sacred ritual of the gesture, like it’s with theatre. It’s probably a pleasure that springs from being out of context with our times.

Thomas Berlin: What's your analog workflow up to the final picture. Do you print?

Paul Artemis: I don’t process films and print anymore, unfortunately, although it was fun. It’s something that I’ve done for 10 years, before the digital routine made it for me impossible to continue. I dismantled my darkroom 10 years ago, but I have fond memories of those long nights in a red light.

Thomas Berlin: Which cameras / formats do you use often? Is there one favorite that you could work with the most?

Paul Artemis: I’ve been using probably most of the available formats. 35mm are the easiest to handle and I favour them over medium or large formats for work, as I like to shoot hand-held. Shooting with the old Rolleiflex, though, puts me in that slow-approach mood towards the subjects, which almost feels sacred. On the other hand, the iPhone is probably the camera that I use the most.

Thomas Berlin: Have you ever shot a series for a magazine with your smartphone? Or could you imaging doing that in the future? Would you accept the different depth of field compared to a medium format camera?

Paul Artemis: I did a couple of times for Løcked, an Italian magazine specialised in smartphone art photography, created by the late Fredi Marcarini, one of Italy’s great portrait masters. But I always take a few pictures on my sets with my phone and sometimes play them through different apps to get something different for social media. The issue with the depth of field was definitely a problem with my previous smartphone, an iPhone 6s Plus: it forced me to frame as if I was shooting at f/32. However with the new iPhone 12 Pro I kind of solved this thanks to the “portrait mode”: it's not as precise as it should be, especially on fine stray hair, but it overall works.

Thomas Berlin: How important is social media to your success and inspiration?

Paul Artemis: I don’t care much about success, and even less about popularity. I’m happy if people like what I do, but I do what I do only because it makes me feel good. Social media are useful to connect with people but I believe that having something beautiful to connect with people for is far more important. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the trend.

Thomas Berlin: How do you sell your artwork? What is the proportion of commissioned work and free artistic work?

Paul Artemis: I mostly work on a commission from editorial, commercial and private clients, but I also syndicate my archive. I’d say, 70/30 is a correct proportion.

Thomas Berlin: Regrading editorials, for which magazines do you work mostly? And is there a magazine you wish to work for (and why)?

Paul Artemis: I’ve been working with a wide array of magazines such as Playboy, Penthouse, Nakid, Maxim, S Magazine, Altar, amongst many others. At some point when the pandemics is over, I would like to work with Treats!, I like their high-fashion aesthetics, it resonates well with my type of photography.

Thomas Berlin: Do you live from photography or do you do something else professionally?

Paul Artemis: I do live from photography.

Thomas Berlin: Nude photography is an essential part of your work. When and how did you start and why?

Paul Artemis: I started from the beginning when this was just a hobby, 23 years ago. I involved an artist friend of mine to model for me and we created some images that encouraged me to continue.

Thomas Berlin: What makes nude photography different to fashion and portrait work? 

Paul Artemis: The lack of advertising purposes. No labels and products to sell means total freedom.

Thomas Berlin: Does the prudery you on social media and in some parts of society concerns you from a business perspective? How accepted is nude art in the UK and do you see a change in the acceptance of nude art after the Brexit?

Paul Artemis: Many artists are having a hard time on social media due to the prude “community standards”, and this is a negative thing, because their voice is being suppressed. My Instagram account has been banned already several times. For me the real problem is not a beautiful nipple, but the tacky, consumeristic vision of life, art and sexuality being enabled by social media: bad taste is way more dangerous than sex for a teenager’s mind. I don’t see a specific problem in the UK about nude art: it is widely accepted in the conventional network of galleries and exhibitions. I believe London is one of the most progressive and open-minded cities on the planet: proof of this is that the vast majority of Londoners actually voted to remain within the EU in the Brexit referendum.

Thomas Berlin: Paul, after the interesting insights into your photography, I would like to know how you got into photography. And what is your education?

Paul Artemis: I got into photography as an accidental hobby by the end of 1997. I educated myself visiting several times a week the local bookshops across many years: flickering for hours through the books of those masters on the shelves of the Photography section trained my eye in composition, light and taste. Art of all kinds, music, cinema and literature have been feeding my creativity.

Thomas Berlin: Can you tell me your best reason to be a photographer in the boudoir and nude genre?

Paul Artemis: It is an incredibly beautiful feeling when a model respects my work to the point of deciding to take all her protective layers off and trusting me as a human being and trusting my sensibility as an artist. It’s a great responsibility and an addictive pleasure.

Thomas Berlin: What are your interests besides photography?

Paul Artemis: I like to study philosophy, especially the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche; I’m passionate about history of the arts, with a strong bias towards the Renaissance and Art Deco, modernism and rationalism; I enjoy listening to 1960s and 1970s music and go to their concerts while these artists are still alive; I love symphonic music, mostly Wagner, Richard Strauss, Grieg and Rachmaninov; I love ballet, but, sadly, I never developed an interest for opera. I love to travel and I have a passion for science and for cooking, which occupy the rest of my free time.

Thomas Berlin: Paul, Thank you for the interview. 

All images in this article: © Paul Artemis
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