08 INTERVIEW MISS ANIELA
Miss Aniela
F
ine Art photographer Natalie Dybisz creates striking work under the name Miss Aniela. Her powerful images erode the boundaries between art and fashion, depicting contemporary models with classical references inspired by Renaissance painting and Dutch masters. Her expansive vision is brought to life through rich, meticulously constructed sets within stately homes located throughout Europe and the US which see wild elements of nature colliding with the historic interiors. The bold and beautiful costumes and contemporary models connect and react to their surroundings; while digitally created after-effects enhance the hypnagogic quality of the artist’s images, particularly seen in the dream-like worlds of the Surreal Fashion series. These juxtapositions between nature and manmade, the female form and interiors, painterly motifs and digital photography are continuously explored and reconfigured by the photographer as she makes new works. Miss Aniela’s impressive works have been exhibited across the world including the Saatchi Gallery, the Houses of Parliament, and Waldermarsudde Museum in Stockholm. How long have you been creating work as a photographer; has it always been your medium of choice? I first became hooked by the immediacy of the digital photographic medium eleven years ago, and the luxuriously private process that could involve no-one but myself, like a painter working with pixels. I used myself as a model for seven years of self-portraiture before I moved onto other models, and was never sure whether I actually had a passion for the camera, or whether it was my choice of art vessel sheerly through
circumstance. But now, I can say I have a deep passion for being a photographer. The scenes depicted in your work feature figures within elaborate sets, sumptuous lighting and surreal digital elements. Can you tell us some more about your process from idea to final image? When I was less experienced, I would start more with a mood or desire, from which a picture would emerge in a serendipitous way. As I evolved, the more I worked with a team, the
