What is your background in photography? You have a degree in biology. Did this light the touch paper for your interest in this subject in artistic terms?

Shortly after I started shooting and posting my low resolution images online in 1998, I was contacted by Eric Kroll and offered to do a book with Taschen. I had literally started shooting months before then. The success of it was like nothing I could have imagined. I later worked as a creator for Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity, where I did all the multimedia and projections that I created from animating the stills I had captured of the performers. I then had slight financial flexibility, so I decided to go back to university. I viewed it as the ultimate luxury, to invest in myself. I was seeking new inspiration and quickly became obsessed with the sciences and evolutionary biology in particular. Capturing images of insect genitals (and flowers) by day, and taking photos of erotic scenarios by night is an endless source of creative inspiration.

When did you first stumble upon the concept of “sexual selection”. Explain it in simple terms.

While studying biology I kept coming across the theory, and it’s always when the material got juicy and interesting. To me sexual selection is the sensual, sometimes kinky side of evolution. The theory of sexual selection was first coined by Darwin in 1851. I was immediately attracted to anything in biology that had to do with sexual selection. Although it is not a science text, I do highlight some of my favourite contemporary scientists’ work while freely intertwining this with my own erotic fantasies.

What artists did you grow up following? Are you inspired by bravery in art?

I admit it, when growing up I loved Madonna, the way she constantly reinvented herself and was strong while being sexual. I love the sexual imagery she created to surround her music. But mostly it was her entrepreneurial energy that I loved. She never looked like a pop puppet. Bravery and shocking people go hand in hand. Today, Otto Dix’s work deeply inspires me. He sought out – and found – beauty in the mutilated survivors after the first world war. Ann Rice, writing as Ann Roquelaure really inspired me to create art that is sexually arousing. I read that when I was 13 and had just started exploring my sexuality. I think those books – The Beauty Trilogy – revolutionized my idea of sex, love, pleasure. They changed everything. These books dealt with BDSM, something I knew very little about, but by reading them and being turned on by it I realized there is much more complexity in ways to love each other.

Your pictures depict sexual acts. Did you perform them or are they models?

Both. I love working with self portraiture. Sexual self portraiture is extremely empowering and revealing although technically and logistically it is very challenging. There are many layers of taboo and cliché to surmount before I birth a truly artistic image. I work a lot with models as well, but they are never paid. The sex is always real. In the end the line between self portraiture and shooting another often gets blurred. Of all moments I think that the orgasm or sexual pleasure is the most fleeting, while at the same time one of the most intense of human experiences. Only art can do it justice.

What are you working on next?

I am working on a show to accompany the book release, that will feature larger than life insect genitals juxtaposed with human erotic imagery. It will be an immersive experience. I’m currently looking for venues worldwide.

Words: Jack Mills

The post SEXUAL SELECTION – Natacha Merritt appeared first on Wonderland.

What equipment did you use for Dark City?

My favourite camera currently is a Wista 45N, however it’s a very new addition after trading in my old Sinar Norma, (on which I shot Dark City). I loved the Norma, which was a 5×4 camera as well, and I’d had it for years. By the end, it was so beaten up only I knew how to operate it – taping over holes in the bellows, supergluing lenses back together. It was also a monorail (for studio work) rather than a field camera, so became too heavy to carry around… Such happy memories with it though.

What time do you head out to shoot roughly and what techniques do you employ?

The Dark City project is now completed so I’m not heading out for any more late night adventures. Unfortunately, I drew it to a conclusion over 12 months ago when Fujifilm stopped making 5×4 tungsten balanced film. After three years of shooting though I also needed a reason to knock it on the head and concentrate on producing the book. I used to go out whenever the sun went down (great in the winter, not so good in mid-summer with only 3/4 hours of darkness). Otherwise, very still conditions were an important aspect – even a slight wind would shake the camera and blur the shot over a 15 minute exposure. No additional lighting was used.

What is it about London-by-night that you find so alluring? What sets it apart from other cities, visually?

For me, the lack of other humans gives an urban space a particularly unusual feeling. London has evolved over centuries, primarily to service the needs of its burgeoning population. When you take away the people, you’re looking purely at the form of our built environment without any trace of its function. Stripped down in this way, you start seeing the city for its “beauty or ugliness, genius or folly”. Furthermore, daylight is usually flat and grey; diffused through cloud cover. At night the streets are lit from different angles by shards of light that all have different hues depending on their colour temperature. It felt like the stage was in the spotlight after the actors had left. There are countless things that set London apart from other cities, crucially that it’s on my doorstep! I also like the mix of architecture – the great building booms of the Victorian and post-war eras jostle along with the modern and ancient.

What are you working on next?

I have a couple of pet projects that I’m always adding to, but there’s also something hopefully quite big on the horizon. It starts in February with a month in Burma.

Words: Jack Mills

The post WONDERKIND: William Eckersley’s Dark City appeared first on Wonderland.