Stockland Martel

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If you’re in Soho this Thursday night, stop by ION Studio. An exhibition of new fine-art photographs by John Midgley will be opening, and it promises to be a show that you won’t soon forget. “Rapture” is about “luxuriating in the darker side of sexuality,” explains John, who created the images for the high-end British erotic emporium Coco de Mer.

Erotic Moments, a series of seven short films by John’s wife, the director Eva Midgley, will also be on view at ION that night. I spoke with Eva about that project, and about Peep Show, a movie that will be screened for a private audience earlier in the evening. (John, incidentally, served as director of photography on both projects.) I’ll post that interview tomorrow. Right now, let’s talk to John about “Rapture.”
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Tell me about the photos in “Rapture.” How did you conceptualize them, and what were you going for?
The title came from Sam Roddick. She is the owner of Coco de Mer and a close friend of many years. She came to me wanting to do an art piece for her company, and her working title was “Rape and Rapture.” We bounced around ideas around related with Pan from Greek mythology and sinful pleasure. For me, it was about luxuriating in the darker side of sexuality. I felt that a romantic, painterly approach would create a visual tension and an alluring gloss.  The tension of being drawn in by the beauty and repelled by the content.  But in the end, I don’t find the images very repellent. I find them comforting.

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From the series "Rapture." Photo by John Midgley.

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Were there any particular photographers or images (your own or someone else’s) that figured into how shot these photos?
No, my references were paintings only. No one specific painter but the Victorian masters and Pre-Raphaelite period in general.

You shoot a lot of fashion photography professionally. How does this work fit in with that work aesthetically?
I use paintings as reference quite often in my fashion work. This came about because I was shooting on large-format plate cameras for many years. So I had to create the image in front of the camera, and often before the shoot started. I therefore had to draw out what was in my head. I couldn’t just snap it. This led me to study paintings and the way a painter balanced out the space within its frame and used light to convey a mood.

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From the series "Rapture." Photo by John Midgley.

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Will you be selling these images, and if so, where will they be available?
The images will be for sale at ION Studio for the duration of the exhibition. I am thinking at some point of looking for art gallery representation.

You also were director of photography for Eva’s film Peep Show. What was your collaborative process like?
I see my role as a visualizer. I listen and visualize. If something isn’t flowing in the images in my head, I discuss that. I don’t interfere in the story. We have worked together for 17 years, so we understand each other really well. It doesn’t take a lot of explaining.

Can you pick out one image from “Rapture” and tell me about the making of it, or what it means to you?
I really love this image:

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The image used on the invitation for "Rapture." Photo by John Midgley.

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It is simple, innocent, and childlike. But the piggy snout and ears give an air of sexual role-playing that is dark and weirdly humorous.

The process started at the first meeting and continued over the next few meetings and emails. So by the time we were all on set, the whole team were full of ideas and clear on what were doing. Brian Labrecque, the set designer, would discuss our background options with me, and we would settle on a combination of foreground and background elements. Then Benjamin Pinon, the hairstylist, and I would talk about the hair possibilities before excitedly agreeing on the right one.

Hector Simancas, the makeup artist, would listen to everything and then quietly state what he was going to do and proceed do it in a matter of a few minutes, while making a quiet ironic joke in his Latin-accented English and smiling to himself. The model in this case decided on a coquette-ish flirtishness mixed with a sense of irony that was perfect. We all had a lot of fun.
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“Rapture” opens to the public this Thursday, from 8 to 10 pm, at ION Studio, 41 Wooster St. Erotic Moments will be screened from 8:15 to 8:45.

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