Diana Scheunemann is a German arts photographer living in New York. She has published several books and I noticed her first one, Ambisexual, back in 2001, which involved interesting intimate portraits of her friends in sexual situations. I recently heard of a trend involving youth being arrested for taking erotic pictures or videos of themselves, even when shared with each other. Diana continues to produce imagery known for her intimate autobiographical strands and idealized youthful sexuality.

Gallery: Freedom and Sexuality

¨Q: You’ve shot a wide range of editorial and conceptual photos, involving bodily suggestiveness. What’s inspired you to work consistently with erotic impressions?
A: I suppose the reproductive urge is so strong in people that erotic imagery seems to have a major impact. In a sense, this is what life is about. I love erotic photography because it can be visually beautiful and mentally stimulating at the same time.

Q: I first saw an image of your work, depicting a girl with the tip of a banana in her mouth, which was part of a Toronto show at the Dessinee Gallery entitled What Women Want. How do you see this image? Was it spontaneous?
A: Well, it´s flirtatious but the girl in the picture is also empowered. This is important to me, that women can be sexual and empowered – not just sexual objects. The photograph was completely spontaneous. During a shoot all sorts of things happen as the model and I explore our boundaries.

Q: In your sexy work, you’re interested in a range of stimuli, such as girls interacting with liquids, slipping out of underwear. Are you drawing from personal senses of what you find appealing?
A: I am definitely drawing on my own experience: the things I like, the things I like to see, the things I´ve learned work well in photographs. Much of it is also experimentation, and wanting to push things as far as I can ... keep on learning!

Q: Is your work informed by porn?¨
A: It sometimes shares a similar space, but it is not "informed" by porn as such. It is more about freedom of expression, which often includes nudity and sexuality. Porn depicts the act of sex, with a graphic focus on body parts as sexual objects. I like to portray free and natural human situations with a focus on the actual characters and emotions.

Q: Would you tell us about your road trip photography project, Freedom in Flashes? The process of travelling with a group of young models?¨
A: It was fun! We crammed everyone in two cars and just drove. Whenever we saw a great location, or if we just had to stop for some reason, we would shoot. The models were great and the energy of the whole team was amazing, we did everything in three days but there was never any pressure or tension. The story and the intrigues evolved as we went along, so the book tells a sort of manicured version of what really happened.

Q: How do you see the story-like qualities in this imagery, your interest in the appearances of girl´s changeful personalities?¨
A: Every picture has at least two stories: the actual story behind the event and the story that the impression of the image gives us with the suspension of disbelief. They often interweave too ... the narrative book is the same, I love the way the stories all interact.

Q: Would you describe some of the social moments you captured in this narrative?
A: Some of my favourites are the shots in the tent, with the guy and the three girls. Ruan, the guy, was in the house while the girls and me were at the tent having so much fun. I wanted to capture the mood but with a guy in the tent with them so I pushed my assistant in there.¨¨

Q: How do you see the social stories interacting?
A: In the way that the fantasy and the reality blend. The fantasy narrative of the book is one guy and three girls who are "intimate" with each other in a kind of liberal way ... obviously it wasn´t quite like that, none of the models had met before we picked them up on the first day, but the intimacy developed really quickly and the energy that came from that is clear in all the shots.

Q: Do you perceive appearances of bodily freedom as belonging more to youthful lifestyles? Did your young models add senses of their own bodily realities to this series?¨
A: I think bodily freedom should be for everyone, but definitely youthful lifestyles are more readily accepting. The models always add a sense of themselves into each shot, even if they are acting. But I like it most when the shot is just a connected moment.

Q: I’m curious about your series How God Intended, where there are images of naked forms, gardening, riding motorcycle, etc. Do you think the naked state is the most freeing?¨
A: I think the most freeing state is the euphoria you feel after you faced the state that has been suppressed the most. For most people it is probably nudity.

Q: These images seem to verge on a sort of nudist ideal. Can you envision social adaptations to public nudity?
¨A: I can see social adaptations to public nudity, it is already far more accepted now than 50 years ago. I don´t mind if there is "greater" nudity in the world but I don´t think there should be a stigma around it. I´m interested to understand whether social repression of nudity increases the chances of things like sex crime.

Q: What do you think of your video of a nipple, how it’s communicating? Are there certain bodily areas you find to be particularly interesting or expressive?¨
A: Any part of the body that is normally hidden has a sense of curiosity about it. Nipples are an example of this, and they are also a focal point in a geometric sense. I like to play with those ideas.

Q: How do you see the process of making your video No Strings Attached? Did the couple ever know?
¨A: It was a completely found moment. I woke up one morning, it was about 8 a.m. on a Wednesday, and saw this couple through the shutters so of course I filmed it! I have no idea who they were. I think they didn´t see me. It was in the middle of Shoreditch, London.

¨¨Q: Have you come across other found social moments you thought you’d want to capture? What draws your eye, when you’re not in a formal photo shoot?
A: I see things all the time I´d love to capture, mostly little things – the surreal or the funny. I just keep shooting and collecting them as fragments.

Q: You’re working with female and some male exposure. Some feel the female form is, visually, more readily or palatably expressive of the erotic. I’ve heard from some het men they wouldn’t want to see attractive men revealed in mass imagery.
A: You´re right, I don´t really make a distinction shooting male or female nudes. I think we are more used to seeing female nudity in daily life though. Maybe het men just haven´t been exposed to enough male nudity so it challenges their sexuality?

Q: You worked with concepts of ambisexuality in a book work. How do you see your erotic concepts changing over time?¨
A: I can see that my biographical work will keep depicting honest human experience. It always has, but when you are young sexuality has a major place in your life. As you get old there are other factors, sexuality still has a place and it may not be as attractive to photograph. These are things I want to document honestly, especially in a world where sex and youth are so prevalent.

¨¨Q: What do you think of the image allure of sex and youth in society, why it’s so prevalent?
A: It´s alluring because it´s aesthetic, attractive, and it appeals to a base, primitive level in everyone.

Q: You’re open about the place of friendship – how do you see aspects of friendship informing your work?
A: Friendship is trust. I couldn´t get the kind of images I take without trust.

¨¨Q: You’re also exploring self a great deal in your work. Can you tell us about your Behind My Face series? How do you see your own image in relation to your photo projects?
A: Behind My Face is about several things: the enigma of "self," the passage of time and showing no fear in the face of these. I think it is important to show that I am prepared to be as honest and open as I would like my models to be.

¨¨Q: Your approach to self through details of your life in the series I Was Here is interesting. Do you feel associational attractions to certain objects, in relation to social experience?
A: I feel that identity is so tied up in environment and circumstances. We so often define ourselves by the things we wear or do or own.

Q: What’s coming up for you?
A: Working on a new book and planning new projects. I´m in NYC now so I´m starting to explore the U.S.!

¨¨Q: I saw a fun video of you in NY that said you’re living and working close to Chinatown. What do you think of the social, sexual textures to where you are now?
A: Chinatown is crazy ... so hectic, so much going on. I love the energy, and the mix of people. I suppose there are sexual stories in amongst all the dramas too but it´s not really the first thing you notice.¨¨

Q: There’s a point when you’re flipping through one your books and the interviewer exclaims, “I can’t believe they’re sisters!” and you say they are. As you’ve travelled a lot, are they any erotic photo instances that have been surprising to you?
¨A: Any circumstance where someone shows a freedom from inhibitions surprises me. I feel it is rare for someone to be so liberal, but it´s so special.¨

Louise Bak is a poet, with books including Tulpa and Gingko Kitchen. She co-hosts Sex City, Toronto’s only radio show focused on relations between sexuality and culture (CIUT 89.5 FM). Her performance work has appeared in numerous spaces and in video collaborations such as Partial Selves and Crimes of the Heart.