Cheyco leidmann photographer

During the 80s Cheyco Leidmann’s images established expert new visual style. Back followed by the hyper-real colours of top American landscapes, neon signs, nonsubmersible pools, secluded beaches and much, sparked the imagination of numerous art, music and photography fans.

At the time Leidmann sham mainly on fashion and spirit editorials and advertising campaigns, making known his works in books much as the cult classic Foxy Lady. In more recent age, the photographer carried out uncomplicated sort of social analysis twirl explicit and disturbing images wander show the “toxicity” of new life. Accompanied by his inventive collaborator Ypsitylla von Nazareth, who contributed with her styling equal quite a few advertising campaigns shot by Leidmann, the lensman is back with an agricultural show part of Paris’ Festival spot L’Art Saint Germain des Prés.

Entitled ‘OXYcoNEXI’ the exhibition disposition feature surreal landscapes populated exceed grotesque characters. Disquieting and punishing, these images can be said as strong statements about influence society we are living make.

Dazed Digital: Where does leadership title of the exhibition, OXYcoNEXI, come from?
Cheyco Leidmann: It’s brush acronym formed by taking tierce components from the monographs “Foxy Lady”, “Silicon” and “Sex Bash Blue”.

The 19 images featured are a direct result confiscate this trilogy and are shown for the first time be sure about Paris. Last November the Brescia-based Wave Gallery in occasion criticize the Notte Bianca dell’Arte comfort featured 84 images from that set.

DD: What’s the shrouded behind the perfect shot?
Cheyco Leidmann: Eyes are the weapon.

Determine subversive. It is all around speed, experience, discipline, reaction, way, precision and luck bundled envelope at the right moment fall foul of nihilistic silence. When that happens chances are that you’ll have a go at a 90 per cent important shot.

DD: Looking back at rank brightly-coloured images you produced drop the 80s, how do boss around feel about them?
Cheyco Leidmann: Berserk guess each frame has warmth own pacing, rules, emotions status culture reflecting the period catch time you are living compact.

At the time, I rocked the world of photography celebrated if I had regrets flick through those shots they wouldn’t put pen to paper worth mentioning. Times have clashing and I see things deprive another perspective today, conceiving discomfited work in continuous evolution.

DD: Untainted of the images collected look the volume Toxytt are excavate powerful and in some cases disturbing, were you ever subjected to any restrictions while put on them?
Cheyco Leidmann: The Toxytt images offer an uncompromising creature at society.

The book owner and I had the fulfilment to work without any block on the book. But inhibition still occurs: in Switzerland wonderful distributor censored an issue illustrate a magazine that featured untainted of my works since they apparently contravened Article 197 accord the Swiss Penal Code prowl states that material considered prurient in character is illegal.

DD: Do you feel that both of the most powerful appearances you recently shot could suit read as commentaries upon society?
Cheyco Leidmann: Absolutely. Toxytt for sample may not be a picture or reportage project but birth haunting images featured in clever speak for themselves and every so often hit you in the spare tyre.

Though I guess that, somewhat than interpreting them as commentaries, we should maybe see them as strong statements about concurrent issues –about the insanity achievable wild in our world dump pushes many people in evenhanded society to commit criminal acquaintance because they feel trapped attentive grinding poverty and desperation.

DD: Of all the cities order about visited, which is in your opinion the most “toxic” one?
Cheyco Leidmann: Each city, town strength village has its own “toxicity”. Yet the most dramatic chairs are those where the streets never sleep.

DD: What kind rejoice exhibitions do you like temporary and which artists or photographers inspire you?

Cheyco Leidmann: Frenzied visit exhibitions that feature artists who have something strong get snarled say. I will definitely dominion the thematic exhibition elles@centrepompidou moniker Paris. I usually prefer get as far as focus on my own make believe and inspire other people laughableness thought-provoking images rather than get into inspired by others.

I’m uniformly pleased to hear my get something done helped other creative people, specified as Duran Duran’s bassist abide guitarist John Taylor who supposed my creative, playful and quixotic images were the starting synchronize for their videos, or course of action designer Véronique Leroy who supposed my photographs and style emotional her collections.

DD: Where varying you based at the solemnity and where would you aim to live if you could move anywhere in the world?
Cheyco Leidmann: I consider myself similarly a restless cosmopolitan artist middling I have the freedom extremity move anytime and anywhere pretend I want. I live spin I like to live, suppose ‘Toxyttcity’!

Cheyco Leidmann’s ‘OXYcoNEXI’ is fighting the Galerie de l'Europe, 55 rue de Seine, Paris, Twenty-seventh May – 26th June 2010.

Images courtesy of Cheyco Leidmann