Image Courtesy of the Artist.
The flash of an analogue camera gives a glimpse of the creatures that inhabit the darkness of Berlin in the new book Corporeal by the photographer Spyros Rennt. Friends, strangers, and lovers alternate in a never-ending dance between red shiny walls, bed sheets, and dirty tales. A story of a queer community liberated by stigma and death sentence disease documented from inside, where the private and public spheres align.
We speak to the photographer about his new book, how Berlin differs from other cities and how the interplay between intimacy and the lens.
S: When I first saw your book my attention went to the surroundings of the bodies, red shiny walls, green classical Greek columns, dirty tales, and decadent bedrooms. Do you think that the surroundings and the ‘Berlin aesthetics’ influence the behavior and the freedom of those who live in it?
Sypros Rennt: Generally, the surroundings in a photo are important to me and it can also present an exciting challenge. Like a red wall looks great with a certain type of hair or a shirt that someone is wearing. Of course, this ‘Berlin aesthetic’ is inspiring in a way and dictates people’s behavior, and with time it does change an individual. It did it to me, it did it to you. I think that it all sort of blends together. The city leaves its mark on us through many different channels.
S: As many have probably told you, your work is reminiscent of Nan Goldin’s The Ballad of Sexual Dependency. A photo diary full of desire and frustration. But your book presents a liberated queer community. Largely freed from a death sentence disease and by a conservative and judging mindset. We still have to fight for many reasons but Berlin is a happy bubble in Europe and worldwide. Is it different to photograph the queer community in other cities than Berlin?
SR: For me, being in Berlin was a catalyst for becoming a photographer. My life would have been very different if I was not here. When I decided to focus on photography (and I didn’t study it), I was very aware of the direction that I wanted to be taking, what I wanted to be. I chose to take a documentary approach because I knew the importance of things that I was experiencing. I was going out a lot. I knew all these people – all these fun, interesting, fascinating people. And I knew that this was what I wanted to document.
Image Courtesy of the Artist.
S: In the introduction of your book, Maya Kenney underlines the presence (and absence) of hands in your photography and how they show the intentions of a body. Is it something you naturally focus on or are there any other elements you usually pay attention to?
SR: Actually no. You know, when you ask someone to write about your work, the perspective and the focus are all theirs. I gave her carte blanche because I just loved her writing and I wanted to work together. In my work, I don’t have a favourite focus. I can be fascinated by different things, it’s all about the symmetry or non-symmetry of a face or a body. I like intense eyebrows or big ears, I find them very interesting. The people in the book are not there through a casting, it was a personal project, mostly documenting my relationships. If I like someone, then I will genuinely strive to make them look good. That’s what a photographer should do.
S: Your work acts as the indiscreet eyes on intimate scenes, sometimes stolen, sometimes posed. Do you think your presence with a camera changes people’s intimate experience?
SR: People that I documented in these intimate moments have a level of trust that has been built, not just between me as a person but also between me as a photographer.
These people are aware of the work I do. They’re okay with it and they’re also interested in having themselves captured. I mean, it’s hard to forget that the camera is there. It’s just not possible.
If you’re hanging out for some time, then you might just forget yourself and act natural. But in general, we are performing a lot, even when alone in our room and still checking our reflection on our phone or in the mirror. Authenticity is something that it’s not in abundance these days. But I think that there’s still some. The intimate photos that I produce, do look real, this is what makes people sit there. I mechanically approach them and ask them for consent. Always ask for consent! Especially in some scenes, like at house parties where couples are together, private moments, Everything.
Image Courtesy of the Artist.
S: For the past few years, they have been calling Athens the new Berlin. Do you agree?
SR: I think the question is what is Berlin anyway? Why do we call Berlin, Berlin? This type of publicity is not so good for Athens and its residencies. It’s becoming quite popular, people arrive there to spend six months or one year or more, but a lot of the time they are digital nomads who are receiving their salaries from other places so they can afford Athens, which is becoming not affordable for the people who live there.
It’s the classic tale of gentrification. And the more vulnerable communities being displaced. I don’t live there and when I go there I stay at my parents’ place and I hang out with my friends and I know that it’s just getting a little bit tougher.The things that made Berlin Berlin, the things that made people look for the new Berlin, were so special, so many factors made the city such a unique place in the 90s and then slowly it just became this hyped place. I don’t see Athens as a New Berlin, but I do find it a fascinating place and I think that the vibe has shifted. I’m not gonna say that it’s all bad. I go there and I might find people that I know from Berlin or other places.
It’s getting an international aura to the city that it didn’t have before, but people should also be conscious of their actions and the repercussions that this might have in local communities.
S: It’s happening now with Berlin too.
SR: Exactly. That’s why you hear about rooms that go up for like 800 euros.I managed to get into photography because I was living here at a time when it was still affordable. I’ve lived here since 2011, but I’m not even gonna talk about my 350 euros rent back then! Back in the day, you could come here and just work a part-time job and do your thing… Make a living, and nowadays it’s not possible. It just makes it a thing for the more privileged.
