PORTRAIT
Stefanie Renoma is an unconventional and atypical artist, playing on the male body, having fun modeling it to give it a troubled ambiguity, a double identity, which the staging and ornament reinforce. . The style is affirmed, the opposition between man and woman annihilated, the paradox, exacerbated. His model type : the androgyne, the double, the woman man, the man woman. Because at Renoma, this is all about androgyny reigns, sexuality becomes obscure.But despite apparent nudity, erotic tension, significant desire and propagator, the body is desexed, asexual, the being is naked by evidence and by authenticity, as if returned to the state of nature.
Combining rock rolland disarticulated chic, like her brand, Stefanie plays with clichés. The references to fashion and to his own styling are numerous. The staging is luxurious, opulent, tinged with glamour. Femininity is assumed and claimed, where all masculinity becomes altered or definitively prohibited. And it becomes fascinating, like a third sex, a Renoma sex Stefanie grew up in the artistic aura of her father, Maurice Renoma, famous photographer and stylist, founder of the eponymous brand, whose all the creative geniuses Dali, Andy Warhol, Serge Gainsbourg, Brigitte Bardot, will be faithful even ambassadors. An environment that will gradually develop her critical sense of traditionalism and will naturally guide her towards an offbeat style.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
As you say, there are elements that come back, there is a Renoma style, how was it born?
Its a genetic fingerprint. In the world where I was brought up, the codes were extremely shaken up, there was a rock, cinema-fashion environment, completely different from that of today. This modern merchandising side didn;t exist, there were real characters and a real culture around them. Fashion stemmed from musical movements, with a real correlation, and all of this created characters. Around me were people with whom my father had been able to work, Helmut Newton, Issermann, renowned photographers, Guy Bourdin, David Bailey… It was a very androgynous universe, it was DNA, the tuxedo… Serge Gainsbourg has embodied the Renoma brand for more than 20 years! She was a very feminine character despite everything, precious, maniacal, not at all the character one imagines, he had this double side. It is a world in which I grew up, and an image that I shaped for myself. And Ive always liked a little double personality, a little trouble and I find that in androgyny there is something more. This creates not only physical but also psychological disturbance.
Why develop this androgynous side, in fashion and in photography?
Its all a matter of taste. I like that, its a question of style, I like that the mixed wardrobe can be exchanged between men and women. The tuxedo, one of the key pieces we work on, looks great when its worked well, its an imprint, a DNA. As a photographer, m a little provocative, there are sulphurous scenes in my environment, but always at the limit. The idea is to arouse the interest of the spectator, who according to his analysis, his experience, his desire, will develop several interpretations. It is therefore not a question of imprisoning the spectator in an image but of opening up a perspective. An image is something fixed, either you fit in it or not, you like it or you dont like it. I do not claim to be a photographer, I do not have the skills of someone who has been taking photos for 20 years! I like to tell images, I like to build elements, that;s why there are recurring elements because we forge real links. There is chemistry or not when I meet a person, without it, I dot photograph someone.
What interests me is the before, the during, the after. These are people I see later. Its not just taking pictures thanks goodbye Why do I like to play with doubles;? Girls, boys, girls into boys, all of a sudden Im going to meet people and find that it works together and the thing works or not. we did for Normal didnt know each other the day before and it was a magical moment. It was almost their first photo and the fact that they find themselves naked in front of a team was not easy . They found themselves in a body they did not know (one had lost 50 kilos, the other 30). However, there was a letting go, the two trying to help each other, with a kind of modesty. All of this helped to create this atmosphere. And you can;t achieve this result with two models acting. What I like today is going into stories, emotions. With Raphaël Say, we take a lot of photos, we both isolate ourselves, we both need to be alone because there is something happening. It;s intense and it works, we;re one, we;re going to move the same way, were going to look at each other without speaking, hes going to give me something different and I;m going to apply myself in a different way with some vision. There has to be experience, things are not perfect, each photo has its own story.
- Find the continuation of Stefanie Renoma inNormal Magazine n°7 n°9 -
