Daniel + Interview with swedish photographer duo, Dustypink.
Where are you from?
Sweden.
When and why have you moved to Shanghai and how is life there for a gay artist?
I have lived in Shanghai almost three years now. My husband got a job here so we took the opportunity to live abroad and it was a great opportunity for me to do art and freelance graphic design full time. I don’t see myself as a “gay artist”, I’m an artist, individual, half Swedish/Half Danish, animal lover and gay amongst many other things.
Being gay in Shanghai… is not as one might think. Shanghai is constantly evolving, that’s why I love this city and why it’s so exciting to live here as a gay man. But for being one the world’s largest city it has surprisingly few gay venues. Shanghai for me is quite multicultural, gay men from all corners of the world, each bringing their own unique touch to the gay culture. A culture that is constantly evolving, both backwards and forward.
Could you tell a few words about your background and what made you interested to made photography?
Right now it is photography combined with painting. I love when you see the presence of human hand. I grew up in an creative family (my mother was a florist and grandfather was a potter), so thinking in images and using my hands to express myself have always been natural for me. I believe that as you go along with your life you get different influences and inspiration, so for me it is impossible to only do one type of media. If I do graphic design, photo, illustration or whatever depend on the social context I am part of.
You are doing different artworks like graphic designs, short films, and different type of photographs like social/documentary, flower, erotic. What is your favourite self-expression mood?
It varies. When we do DustyPink we normally have a lot of different ideas we want to try – but it all comes down to what the men feel comfortable with.
When I do my other projects I like to listen to a couple of songs on repeat. Loop them all day, all week. That sets me in a state of vacuum, I enter an creative bubble. I guess that’s my happy place.
How DustyPink project came alive, what is the goal for the project?
The project started when me and my partner wanted to do a visual project together. We both like photography and we have a completely different point of view on visual expression. So when we do DustyPink it is always very interesting afterwards to see what the other person saw. Our different point of view makes it easier to be able to tell a story with the images. The goal with DustyPink is for us to explore photography and experiment with different media. We just recently started to work with pottery, we’ll see how that turns out.
What is your creative process like? How do you figure out what to do next?
Usually I don’t think about it. I constantly do a lot of different things, every idea have to be tested. Some ideas have to rest a while before they are ready so my pile of notebooks are massive. Often one new idea or project comes naturally, like an extension from the previous one, or just the opposite… I constantly consume images so I assume that when my subconscious have made some sort of pattern out of it it needs to come out.
How do you choose your models?
In DustyPink we want our models to have something unique.
It is easy to look good and to be a classic good looking person, but how interesting is that, really? And it is interesting to have a session with a person that looks astonishing on photos, but average in real life. You never know before you start. Our models usually comes from hearsay by previous models or they find us online.
What’s been the highlight of your career so far?
I always get bored of everything I’ve done so I have to say ”nothing”. But my latest project was a flower lexicon and exhibition connected to that. It was exhibited in Beijing, China and in Gothenburg, Sweden – that was successful. Now I recently started to work with a company that do different kind of stationaries. I have a lot of creative freedom, so I think it will be both challenging and fun. The products will be out later 2017.
Do you have any promises for 2017? Do you have any big upcoming project?
I try to do whatever I want all the time, so no need for promises. Upcoming projects… right now I am excited about the pottery project we just started. And we also started to work with some famous Swedish artist that contributed with music to our DustyPink films, that is really fun. And later this year my Floriography project will be on display here in Shanghai, China.
What is your motto to live by?
Do whatever makes you happy. No one is gonna thank you for not doing what you want.
Find out more: @dp.dustypink / www.dustypink.co / @nicklas.h