Girls is an exploration of women born in the 1980s in which you, as an artist, could reflect yourself. Youth represents a much younger generation, yet there is a strong sense of intimacy in your portraits. How do you connect with your portraits’ subjects, and how can you relate yourself as an artist with this generation?
Empathy plays a huge part in my practice. Apart from the shared emotions and feelings towards other generations, I guess it depends on my tremendous curiosity towards the opposite. Some of my subjects are friends, and some are people who were introduced to me. I think what I do is simply being open and being friendly with the person. They need to feel your honesty. Once you’ve established this connection, they’ll be very comfortable and relaxed in front of your camera. And when you meet on equal ground, they allow you to get into their lives. Apart from their own uniqueness, you’ll find many things in common with other generations, including your own. The thing that touches you is the connection.
I don’t have specific standards for selecting models, so long as they are interesting. I often connect through my work. I sometimes feel like there is a deep connection even with those I meet for the first time before they come and see and like my works.