ANNE-SOPHIE GUILLET
Name: Anne-Sophie Guillet
Age: 34
Birthplace: Oxford, UK
Home: Brussels, Belgium
Discipline: Medium format film photography
Vic and Rosie, from Together series, February 2022
How did you get into photography?
I was born in Oxford and came to Brussels when I was 8 years old. I started photography while I was studying at Beaux-Arts in Brussels. After working for a long time on my previous series Inner Self which challenges the perception of binary representation, I started to wonder about the romantic love pattern which didn’t appear satisfying to me anymore. It struck me to see how heteronormative love is presented as the only option in our traditionalist society.
Which topics is your work about and how does it question the notion of relationships?
My work is about love and relationships between individuals, gender fluidity and representations. It questions social injunctions and norms, heteronormative codes that weigh on us and regiment our lives and relationships. In the ongoing photo series Together, all individuals (of all genders involved) live their interpersonal relationships beyond the traditional romance scheme. They reimagined their own reference systems to embrace aspects such as transparency, autonomy, empowerment. By breaking the stranglehold, they create their own love models and build relationships that truly re"ect their desires.
Have you personally experienced dierent kinds of relationships?
Indeed, I have been in different types of relationships, and I am still looking for the one that will suit me the best. I am still deconstructing the idea of the exclusive couple, questioning the outlines of what love is and what it can be. I go out to meet people who live their relationships in a 'deviant' way.
What is your process like?
First of all, I build up the feeling of confidence with people who agree to pose. We collaborate together in order to find the right vibe and connection, a specific state of being and the right chemistry. I want to deliver their truth. In the end, the images are here to translate the different ties that bind the subjects. The different types of relationships shouldn’t be compared or pitted against each other; they must co-exist.
What is your artistic and personal commitment?
I think any art is a political act. Speaking for myself, my work asserts my desire for a society that respects and embraces a wider perception of representations, both on an individual and interpersonal level. I wish that social injunctions shift and go beyond their own imposed and restricted limits.
How do you define your artistic search and practice in three words?
Respect, love and appearances.
Wherein lies the beauty for you today?
A plurality of voices with a strong emphasis on encouraging and promoting a broader representation of gender, bodies and sexualities. And all peer artists spreading the love!
Ruth and Elo, from Together series, November 2021