Isabelle Wenzel is a German photographer, artist and former acrobat. Through the combination of her experiences, Wenzel’s photographs test the body’s limitations to explore an instinctive and intuitive human movement that has become a characteristic of the artist.
In conversation with SLEEK for the launch of SLEEK Editions, Wenzel opens up about everything from her early upbringing, the ritual that led to understanding her body language, the inspiration behind ‘Look at Me,’ and how Nick Cave always gets her in the groove.
Isabelle Wenzel, 'Look at Me,' for SLEEK 71. Available at SLEEK Store.
SLEEK: Before your career as an artist and photographer, you trained professionally as an acrobat. Can you tell us about that? When did you shift to your current practice?
Isabelle Wenzel: I was around five when I started proper training. But before that, I was already fooling around, doing lots of movement work and inventing challenges for myself. My mum has always told me that ever since I was very little, I’ve said that I’ll be an acrobat.
S: Really?
IW: Yeah, other kids would say they’d want to be a zoo keeper but I was sure I wanted to be an acrobat. Then coincidentally, my mother introduced me to her colleague who was an acrobatics teacher. So, I trained to a professional level, then realised at a certain point that I’m not all that fond of the concept of a traditional acrobat. That’s when I turned to fun sports like skateboarding, and then I started doing that professionally.
S: It seems like you were very physically gifted.
IW: Yeah, it’s my ‘gift’ let’s say. Whichever sports I got into, I was very good at it. But, I had a knee accident while skateboarding and because I couldn’t do any sports during this time, I looked for something to do. It was out of this boredom that I thought about formal education.
S: What happened next?
IW: I wasn’t interested in science or being a teacher so, I thought, design. I made a portfolio and applied to an art school but they came back to me and advised me to study photography. I thought, “Why not? If they’re telling me that, that’s probably easier to do, so, whatever!” [laughs].
S: So that was your introduction to photography?
IW: Yeah, then I figured that I really like photography because so much of it is about how we look into the world and how we look at bodies, and of course, bodies are absolutely my background.
I also liked this aspect of mortality. Photography is always a medium that is capturing things from the past for the future or the present and I was very interested in exploring that idea. At first, I started by photographing other people, but then I realised I didn’t enjoy the power of telling someone what to do in front of the camera. It felt a bit ridiculous, a bit strange, like, “Why should I tell someone how to move?”
That’s when I decided I can use my own body as an instrument or a sculpture. It worked out because I’ve always preferred to express my own ideas. My teachers at the time were also encouraging me to use my physical background and I ended up being my own model for ten years or so. I would use the self-release button on a tripod and do this repetitively, running in front of the camera, and then check the image on the screen. It really became a performative act.
Isabelle Wenzel, 'Look at Me,' for SLEEK 71. Available at SLEEK Store.
S: It’s interesting to hear about you being your own subject for ten or more years. I can see how the physical endurance from your background in sports really comes to play. Even the way you describe the repetitive method sounds like rigorous sports training; testing your limits and the constant challenge to improve.
IW: Absolutely. In these years, I started to develop my own body language and through my own ‘training,’ I’ve come to recognise my personal style.
S: I also like how you present movement in contrast to the idea of ‘mortality’ in photography. To me, those are conflicting ideas because movement is to be in constant flow, but photography can be used to hold onto a specific moment.
IW: But, on the other hand, the process of making an image feels like extending time. Capturing something might feel like a short moment, but the awareness of the body, sound, etc, during the process of photography seems to contradict that too.
S: From that explanation, the process sounds a lot like performance art. There seems to be a ritual that takes place from the beginning until the end.
IW: Yeah, I think I’m also at a point where I feel I’m becoming more of a performer [laughs].
S: And does the ritual change based on different projects?
IW: No, it’s really become a practice. We even work with the same playlist. It’s funny because we have the same playlist and as soon as the same songs play, I immediately tap into the same emotions that make me react. It always takes me to the same mindset that allows me to perform.
S: What songs are in the playlist?
IW: There’s a lot of Nick Cave, but also London Grammar.
Isabelle Wenzel, 'Look at Me,' for SLEEK 71. Available at SLEEK Store.
S: And what inspired the editorial ‘Look at Me’ for SLEEK?
IW: It’s a commentary on social media and I was inspired by the contemporary topic that everyone is busy with themselves, and curating their ‘image.’ Actually, not only on social media but also on the streets, in daily life. It was interesting for me to explore it because, in some ways, I think it’s a very old topic. It’s like the Shakespeare saying that life is a stage and the stage is life.
S: The first thing I noticed was that you couldn’t see the subjects’ faces, which seems like an unusual choice when speaking about the ‘self.’ What was the reason for this decision?
IW: For me, I get easily distracted by faces because then I only think about the identity of the particular person. In my work, it’s not about the person of the body but that the body is an example for anybody.
S: When you look at ‘Look at Me,’ what emotion does it evoke in you?
IW: It’s always like a little bit like, I don’t believe that I was experiencing that in that moment. I’m always astonished by it.
S: As an artist, how does that feel to know your works are displayed in the homes of others?
IW: I often get asked this question and I always think that it’s not me in the image, it’s like a character. As a performer, you can’t see your body as private anymore and this connection of the privateness and my work character sometimes merge. My partner sometimes tells me that you’ve turned into your own character – I think that’s funny.
S: Even in playing a role, I think there’s still a part of you and without giving something real as a bit of yourself, the character can’t exist. Same with art, I think you always give a little bit of yourself.
IW: Yeah, absolutely. I always give my real emotions and on one hand, that is a private thing, but as I said, it’s all become a melting pot.
SLEEK EDITIONS assembles artworks of different artists that were published in the past SLEEK issues. We talked to each photographer about their art, which you can purchase and explore online at SLEEK Store.
Discover Isabelle Wenzel’s ‘Look at Me’ photography series at SLEEK Store.