Hello Dear Aurelia Cordiez. Thank you for giving us the chance to Interview with you. Our first question is how the “Covid-19” affects your art?

I don't think Covid 19 had a direct impact on my work. In fact this is not a subject I wanted to transpose into my work.

But on the other hand, like, I think, many people, it raised personal awareness. It influenced my way of thinking. It made me realize how fragile our condition as a human being and as a society is, that tomorrow everything can stop. Living the life I want to live made perfect sense and, since then, I have freed myself from certain dogmas, certain fears, which slowed me down in my work as a photographer.


Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what drove you to choose art as a career?

My name is Aurélia Cordiez, I am an artist who uses photography as a medium of expression. I have been working and living in Paris for the past 10 years.

To answer your question, I wouldn't say it was a choice, art has always been a part of my life and every time I walked away from it, it came back to me. I am sure we all have a predisposition for certain areas and it is a great chance when we can find it. For me, it was my father who showed me the way. He has always painted and for my 9th birthday he gave me my first oil painting box. As a teenager I discovered old film cameras at home and started to try my hand at photography. These two mediums are still my favourites today. At the university, I chose an Art course where I trained with all imaginable mediums. I was very curious and experimented as much as I could. Today, I still like to switch from one medium to another and I love to mix them up. This is why I take great pleasure in making my own sets for my photoshoots. I also create my own painted backgrounds for my photo studio and founded Z-RoC Backdrops (@z_roc_backdrops_paris) 3 years ago.


What is the most difficult part of being a photographer for you and why?

With the way I work, the most difficult thing is to respect the set construction deadlines and still have the necessary time to create beautiful atmospheres with the lighting before shooting. It is sometimes also frustrating to deal with the lack of space. Building a setting (in my photo studio or my painting studio) in which we can evolve and that creates the illusion to be in a real place, if we don’t have huge rooms, is not always easy.

It’s also hard to find THE muse who will pose for the project. Finding the right person who understands both the project and the process is important. I spend a lot of time going through the profiles that contact me or those I find on instagram. Especially since my projects are not always easy for the model to stage.

For instance, during the “Empyrée” project Céline (@inspiredtattooportraits) showed incredible patience and resistance. During the same shoot, we poured water on her body, we immersed her in the basin of the set and we made her wear some very uncomfortable shoulder pads with lighted candles on her shoulders... All that having the “Geisha” shooting carried out the same morning.

You must therefore prepare the model well and listen to her because without it, nothing is possible.


What is the most rewarding part of being a photographer for you?

I think there are two. For many years I have drawn and painted surreal characters and universes. I've always been frustrated with the time it takes to make a canvas for a single image.

When I decided to transpose my pictorial universe into photography, it was very liberating from this point of view. And when the model brings this character to life, which I imagined in my head for a long time, it's really magical. I am always moved to see the personality that the muse brings to the character by playing it. It's a bit like meeting (in real life) someone with whom you've had a long correspondence.

The second most rewarding thing about being a photographer, when working on big projects, is bringing together several talents in one work. Working with artists (MUA, hairdressers or fashion designers ...) is always a great adventure and it's very rewarding.


We want to talk about the “Fantasy” Photo theme of yours. Can you tell us more about your artistic style?

Honestly, I'm not sure I can or want to define my style. I am not analytical with my work, nor am I trying to understand why I create that or that. On the contrary I love to lose myself in these sensations, in these dreams, without limits.

There is rarely a subject, a precise theme at the beginning. First there are sensations and images with recurring elements, probably from my experience, from my unconscious.

Music, painting and also the education I had as a child, experiences in life, meetings, travels ... are all important elements in my creative process. So to speak, my style is all these elements put together. There is then a subconscious process I leave to express and which puts all of this "in order".

What is certain is that music is an important vector, it conditions me. It is often that that provokes the first images in my head and brings color to a project. If I start a project with a certain style of music or an artist in my ears, I will keep it with me until the post-production work of the project.


We see a touch of Japan Culture and The divine feminine energy in your “Geisha” collection. Can you share the details of this series with us?

I'm glad you see something like that here. It’s not something that is consciously wanted at the beginning, but you’re not the first to tell me so. However, I have a real fascination with all the iconography related to the divine and there is certainly a bit of that influence here, in the way I enlighten Celine. This series makes an impression and yet, the composition is very simple! Especially since there are only 2 dominant colors. The red of the outfit / accessories and the blue. Celine is fully tattooed and I chose to create a painted background in the same shades of blue as her skin. The choice of the way to highlight the model was therefore essential for it to work.

Once again, I sincerely believe that Céline was the ideal model for this project. She has precisely a mystical grace in her gestures and she gives off both a certain form of softness and strength.

The Geisha card, I'd had it up my sleeve for a while, but never had a chance to play it. This theme finally came by an association of ideas during the finalization of the project. I already had the atmosphere, the colors, the model fully tattooed ... I necessarily needed a strong and striking iconography. I pitched the idea of the Geisha to Christophe Pujol, a talented makeup artist and hairdresser, who worked with us on this project. I just gave him a few hints of what I'd like and gave him free rein to express his art.

The strong style of Christophe Pujol is recognizable among thousands and this gives a powerful identity to the character.

I sincerely believe that there are times in life that are providential, when the planets align. The Geisha project is, in my opinion, one of them.


What professional photographers have influenced your work?

In general, I like artists who have a surreal and dreamlike universe or at least who tell an original, mysterious story.

The first ones that I will mention are not photographers, for they are Salvador Dalì and Tim Burton.
As for the photographers, I will quote two, Paolo Roversi and Tim Walker. Paolo Roversi for all the sensitivity in his work and Tim Walker for the incredible stories he tells.

I think they played a huge role in the creation of my universe.


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