Tomaas is a German-born fashion photographer who spends his days in New York shooting visually striking imagery inspired by great representatives of Surrealism such as Salvador Dali and Giorgio De Chirico. His dramatic portraiture has not only earned him several features in leading fashion magazines but also many exhibitions in addition to interesting collaborations. One of them, with Filipino illustrator and fine artist Januz Miralles, caught our eye with its intricate and emotive nature. In search of answers, we caught up with Tomas for an exclusive interview.
Photography is a very powerful medium. In what ways has your life changed ever since letting it ‘in’?
I believe photography allowed me to express myself in a very unique way that was unknown to me before I started. My style has often been described as edgy, vibrant, and dramatic, yet, at the same time, subtle. I would also elaborate further by saying that my style reflects my adventurous nature to constantly push forward by challenging myself with new ideas and concepts and not being afraid to leave behind ideas from the past, no matter how successful. In a way it has allowed me to constantly reinvent myself. I feel that I have been growing with each project, becoming more mature.
Drama and the surreal are key components to your portraiture. Which one do you consider to be more inspirational when working on new projects?
I am very much drawn to surrealistic ideas and I am a big admirer of the work of famous surrealist painters such as Salvador Dali and Giorgio De Chirico. I believe I look for a similar use of deep, rich and saturated colours in my work. The backgrounds in my work, while familiar, are close ups that do not give too much away about where the photos were taken, and, therefore, the final images are detached from any place or time and retain a timeless otherworldly quality. On the other hand I would not like to miss the drama in my images and I like that contrast. I think that in life in general as well as in photography the journey is filed with contrasts.
Seeing that your work is mostly structured around female characters, should we assume that you find men less able to deliver concepts such as the ones mentioned above?
Definetly not regardless of the fact that most of my photoshoots involve women rather than men. I’m always open to work with both genders.
You recently collaborated with artist Januz Miralles on a series of abstract collages entitled Sins of Jezebel. What was the inspiration behind this project?
I found the work of Januz by accident on Behance and I immediately knew I had to collaborate with him. His work and technique are very unique and I am always keen on adding an edge to my own work. The funny part is that we have never actually met or even spoke together as Januz is based in the Philippines and prefers emails as a means of communication. We were both very inspired by the work of Alejandro Jodorowsky, the filmmaker behind classics such as The Holy Mountain and El Topo. What we tried to do was basically create a fashion meets art story which would have a similar feel to his movies.
Colour seems to play a very important role in your work as there is always a hint present even in works which could be considered black and white. What do you think this choice offers to the end result of your work?
As I tend to shoot very moody visuals the strong saturated colours allow me to make the image snap and create a deep contrast and depth.
Fashion and art aside you seem to have a keen interest about docu-photography. Do you like to approach this genre the same way as you do with all of your works or with ‘new eyes’?
The docu-photography was kind of my entry into fashion photography as this was how I started out as a photographer. In general I would say it has a different approach as docu-photography is more or less a one man show where fashion involves a team and much more planning. Everything is mapped out while docu-photography is much more intuitive.
What are your plans for the next few months?
I will keep creating more images with the hope that more opportunities will present to me. For example I just started being represented by agencies in Italy and Germany and I am finalizing details for a representation with an agency in Paris right now. These are new markets for me and as I am born in Europe I am very excited to be able to go back to my roots.