"A pile of sh*t and a strawberry"

Tin Tin Jonsson, Sweden

Putting all idealistic, romantic, materialistic and career orientated dreams aside I would love to be a shapeshifter able to teleport in time and space. Dream big or go home.

My name is Tintin Jonsson and I’m 32 years old. I’m half Swedish and half Filipino. I grew up in southern Sweden spending most of the time dreaming about going somewhere else and when I finally did I went to Berlin and stayed there for almost a decade. That’s where I started to train as a photographer at the Lette Verein academy and after finishing the 3-year long program I went to London to work for the fashion/beauty photographer Miles Aldridge Now I am still based in London and I’m working for myself.

I started to take an interest in photography when I realized its potential as a creative and emotional outlet. It was a way of expressing myself without spelling it out directly, and that was a big security as a young and pretty insecure person. My first encounter with photography was the analog procedure but I wasn’t really interested in the craftsmanship at the time. The game changer came with the digital camera and Photoshop and the possibility to manipulate and build digital images that were anchored in my imagination where I didn’t have to limit myself. It was a way for my imagination to run wild.

I would describe it as always changing. I’m scared to death of stagnation and I keep on discovering new layers in photography all the time. It has gone from turning my eye inward to turning it outward, and it keeps on changing with time. At the moment I have gone back to analog photography and I really enjoy the craftsmanship. I am also less focused on implementing my craziest fantasies in my pictures and more interested in giving more attention to the relationship between subject and photographer. My themes are more adjusted to the ruling zeitgeist and I want to contribute to change the flat media landscape and make room for a more diverse picture. Though at some point I’m sure the focus will shift to the next topic and I’m open to everything that comes my way.

Plant seeds. You might not be the one who changes the world but maybe you can inspire someone who will.

Tell us more about your editorial – what’s the story behind this? How did you come up with this concept?

When I do a story I like to do mashups of concepts. It can be purely visual or more often it is based on something from my life. This story is set at my house where I live and it’s special with the designer Max Allen and hair stylist Franciska Porsche who are both friends of mine. The casting is mixed and consists of both models and friends (which is how I normally like to cast) The focus is on depicting something that is not conventionally considered to be beautiful with something that traditionally would be described as beautiful. That is also what the title “A pile of shit and a strawberry” is supposed to reflect (in a somewhat crude but honest way). The two contrasting elements can exist and actually enhance each other, and it’s my favorite form of aesthetics as I see it as a way of balancing things.

Anything interesting or memorable about the shoot and did you experiment or had a new approach to this particular shoot?

This was the first shoot I did in like a year after a long break due to different circumstances, and it felt like I had to rediscover the joy of creating something. It was great though because I really did find that happiness again where you are so excited that you almost feel feverish. After this shoot, I feel like I became more strategic and more conscious of my choices.

What’s next for you? Any exciting plans for the future?

Generally, my plan is to not race against time. I’m taking my time trying to live in the now and do what I like and produce things that I want. Money and fame might not come but I am seriously sick of being pressured with the cost of my health. This whole industry is deranged and people need to slow down and not conform to the cost of their creativity! More specifically I have two editorials coming up that I’m really stoked about. One is together with a good friend of mine who specializes in SFX makeup and we are shooting a project that I think can combine old elements of my photography with new ones. The second project is a story celebrating female friendship and I’m really looking forward to that because I’m particularly happy with the casting for this.Parallel to this I’m also working on a long-term project that I started last September and will work on for at least one year (probably much longer but that is the minimum time I have set for myself). It’s a giant collection of nudes and it’s a challenge in two ways. Firstly I wanted to do a long-term project because it is such a different way of working than if you only make editorials. The project has time to ripe and evolves in ways it doesn’t when you are short on time, and to slow things down in a fast-paced world and cater for quality. Secondly, I wanted to do nude photography because it’s something I never really did before and it would be challenging. It’s a complex theme with many standpoints but I’m on the side who wants to give the Puritans the finger.

Where can people contact you or see your works?

My work is available on Instagram or at my website (which is under construction at the moment but hopefully up running in the near future) www.tintinjonsson.com And if someone wants to get in touch you can contact me on my e-mail tintinjonsson@gmail.com

Photographer and Art Direction: Tin Tin Jonsson

Styling and Clothes: Max Allen

Hair: Franziska Presche