In the series of interviews with photographers and other creatives, Unseen now presents one with the duo Tina Berning and Michelangelo Di Battista. The collaboration between these two artists, a painter/illustrator and a photographer respectively, began in 2007, when they worked together with a series for Vogue Italia. Unseen asked the artists to tell us about their work processes, inspiring moments and the collaboration that led to the series Face/Project. 

When did you start to pursue your artistic career?

(Tina Berning): I got my first box of wax crayons from my Swiss grandmother when I was four years old. I still own the same box. They are the finest Swiss crayons, and have been refilled again and again. I have never used any other crayons since. I decided to become an artist when I was six, because my mother made me such a beautiful artist-costume, with a wooden palette and paint splashes all over, for carnival. I never revised this plan, and went on studying illustration. I did spend some time doing work on graphics, but am happily working as an artist for 12 years.

(Michelangelo Di Battista): Just right after school, I first studied art and design in Italy for five years till the age of 18 and then continued my education at the School of Visual Arts in New York. It was a great mix of different experiences, with two completely different approaches.

To Michelangelo Di Battista: Why did you opt for fashion photography?

(MDB): Just by chance! A long time ago a series of coincidences drove me towards it. I started collaborating with a fashion magazine, and really enjoyed it. It was fun, each assignment was a challenge of finding the right idea and the right team. Then I moved to London… and here we are!

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

(TB): I am a collector. Old treasures from flea markets, photo yearbooks of the 1960s, books about Russian popular prints from the 1850s, private pictures from the turn of the century - all of these are inspiring sources. Suddenly, however, you can get surprised by a certain pattern in the pavement caused by a new layer of asphalt, or a shadow on a friends face. Everything can be inspiring, if you manage to keep your eyes open. It is, though, hard work to keep your eye in good condition day by day.

(MDB): With time, most inspiration comes to me from everything that surrounds me daily. An idea can start from something that has nothing to do with the final result. All that is needed is something that excites your mind, and around it you can build an editorial fashion story. Then, of course, it is also important to have good culture of photography for inspiration. It is always a mix of past and present.

To Tina Berning: What would you like people to take away from your work?

(TB): The inner flame. I am happy when people are touched by what I call the inner flame. That is something that is between the lines of a look, a face, a shape. 

Can you tell us about the collaboration that led to Face/Project? How have you combined your areas of expertise?

(MDB): Well, one day I was in a bookstore and saw Tina's book One Hundred Portraits. I was very attracted by her drawings. So graceful and powerful; such a strong hand was behind those portraits. I wanted to contact Tina and find a way to break the boundary between photography and painting. I asked Vogue Italia - a team known of being very open to creativity - if they were interested to produce our collaboration. They said yes, and that is how we started to work together. The challenge was to find a way to mix the two techniques and the two different approaches at the moment of producing the final result. It was a wonderful experience that gave us the possibility to organize a big solo exhibition (36 pieces) a year later at Camera Work in Berlin.

We have combined our areas of expertise in different ways. Sometimes we work together on set. It then becomes a total work in progress. We mix all the ingredients that are behind the construction of a fashion picture - like the model, hair stylist, make up artist and fashion editor - together with the creation that Tina produces directly on set. Then, when we feel that everything is working well together it is time to take the pictures. Other images can also be created separately, with less immediacy and more thoughts. After taking the pictures, we sometimes print them in very big sizes in order for Tina to create on top of them. It is always so exciting to see Tina's inspired gestures at work.

(TB): We started working together on the Vogue Italia -idea of me joining the shoot and adding drawings while Michelangelo is photographing. A unique result caused the unreserved interest in exploring all possibilities of combining our work by giving each other a Carte Blanche. Our work situation are  absolutely different, with him being surrounded by hundreds of people while shooting with highest perfection, and me tinkering solitarily in my studio. Our aims and approaches are, however, similar. As mentioned above, I approached this project by doing lots of drawings of the portrayed girls themselves. First I assumed myself being shorn off my main subject: drawing faces. But I understood that I was even more able to reveal the inner flame of the girls by being allowed to apply my interventions, my little comments to these strong and pure portraits. The Vogue Italia project was about working simultaneously, responding directly, working on the prints about adding time and layers.

Photographs from the Face/Project -series will be presented at Fashion! Photographs from the Camera Work Collection. This exhibition, a part of Unseen Photo Fair, can be visited at Zuiveringshal West. Fashion! is open for all passe-partout and day ticket holders. A special ticket (€5) can also be purchased from the door.