Human Desires through the Lens: An Interview with Nathalie Daoust (NSFW)

Artist Nathalie Daoust dives into unknown realms to explore questions around escapism. For her project “Tokyo Hotel Story” she was granted exclusive access to the Alpha-In, one of Tokyo’s biggest love hotels and spent several months photographing the dominatrixes who work there. In the following interview, she talks to Lomography about sexuality across cultures and the importance of darkroom experiments in her creative process.

What themes do you explore in your work?

Since my very first experiments in photography, I have been fascinated by human behaviour and the multiple ways people attempt to escape the mundane—through sex, dreams, and even assumed identities. Therefore “escapism”, in multiple ways, has become one of the most relevant themes in my artistic practice. Right now I’m working on a new project on North Korea—how escaping reality is not a choice, but a forced way of life for an entire nation.

“I didn’t want a superficial view of these women and I felt they where showing more of their true selves when the customer wasn’t around.”

How did you get into the Alpha-In project? What is your interest in S&M?

I lived in the Carlton Arms Hotel in New York for two years, staying and photographing each of its thematic rooms. Over those two years, I met many Japanese tourists who told me about “love hotels” and how they also had special thematic rooms like the Carlton Arms but only for the purpose of sex. After finishing my project in New York, I decided to move to Tokyo for two years to document these intriguing spaces. When I arrived, people kept telling me that the biggest and most famous one was the Alpha-In, so I went there.

The Alpha-In had a strict “no photo” policy, so it wasn’t easy to convince the owner. But after many months, he finally said yes and was so kind as to give me access to each of the rooms.

Like all of my other projects, there is also a personal interest in learning about a world that I know nothing about. It is not the topic itself that attracts me the most, but the way it can be seen as a method for escaping everyday life.

How easy was it for you to convince these women to be photographed for your project?

I was lucky that it wasn’t difficult. Since the owner normally doesn’t allow anyone to photograph the hotel, once he gave me permission, then all the women accepted as well and were very generous with their time.

Men obviously play an important role in the daily life of the women working at Alpha-In. Still, they are nowhere to be seen in your photographs. Why did you decide to focus on women?

At first, I photographed the women with their clients, but quickly discovered that I wasn’t really interested in the men and their stories. I was more impressed by these women and the reasons that led them to do this kind of work—especially in Japan where women are seen as such passive submissive beauties.

Also, I didn’t want a superficial view of these women and I felt they where showing more of their true selves when the customer wasn’t around. Talking to them in an intimate atmosphere during the photo sessions helped me to understand their world better and to represent them more accurately with photography.

Was there anything that surprised you about these women after spending every day with them for four months?

It’s quite strange in many ways, most of the women who decide to do this sort of work are very different from the Japanese stereotype, but at the same time this idea of the “passive beauty” has been deeply ingrained in them since childhood. So I was surprised to still see some of the women bowing lower to the men or following them a few steps behind. But once they entered the room, these roles change completely.

In several of your projects you’ve worked with prostitutes. What’s your stand on prostitution? How has your attitude towards prostitution changed?

First, I have to explain that none of the dominatrixes considered themselves “prostitutes” since they do not have intercourse with their costumers. They do consider their work to be part of the “sex industry." I think there are many different definitions but in Japan, but the service they offer is not considered prostitution. I am sure some women cross that line but in general what they are paid for is to dominate the client.

Knowing many of these women has changed my thoughts about the sex industry; I think it helped me understand the larger picture and I completely respect their choices (but only when they actually are their choices). I grew up with the idea that all sex workers were women who had no other choice or were abused as a child. I am glad that my opinion of these women is now based on my own experience and not what I was told by people, who often have never even met a sex worker.

You’ve worked in various countries including Japan and Brazil. What cultural differences did you observe in terms of attitude towards female sexuality?

In a general context, Japan and Brazil have completely different attitudes towards sexuality. But with regard to my personal experiences in both countries, the biggest difference I observed was in terms of economic conditions. Although I am certain many Japanese women can also be forced into that kind of work, most of the ones I met in Tokyo were really passionate about their job. I always felt they were doing this out of their own free will, something I did not feel as much in Brazil.

Your photographs have a surreal, dreamy touch that almost lets you forget that this is what these women do for a living. In a way, it feels like a romanticized image of their work. How do you see it?

As I mentioned earlier, what interested me the most about the hotel and the women working there wasn’t the work itself, but the fact that it was a way to escape reality, both for the women and for the customers.

This mesh between reality and fantasy is something I find truly interesting to show through photography. I like to represent this mixture by distorting the images in the darkroom. The surreal and dreamy touch suddenly appears after bending the negative several times so that some parts of the image stay sharp (reality) but other ones become blurry (fantasy). For me, this represents this world more accurately.

“I am glad that my opinion of these women is now based on my own experience and not what I was told by people, who often have never even met a sex worker.”

What equipment do you shoot and what does the process in the darkroom look like?

My camera is a Nikon F3. All my images are shot on local film found in the country that I photograph in and then hand-print in the darkroom. The reason I like to use the darkroom is that I’m able to manipulate the negative until the colors and image comes out the way I saw the it with my mind while photographing. Of course, this can also be done digitally. Some painters like to use oil paint and other watercolors—the same goes for photographers. It‘s the medium that interests me more and I’d rather spend my time in a darkroom than in front of a computer.

Do you have any tips for fellow photographers experimenting in the darkroom?

It is a fact that analogue photography is becoming a dying art and that it is not the easy sport to play. But if you do manage to find film, chemicals and a well-ventilated darkroom, the best tip that I can give is to enjoy the magic while it lasts!

In case you missed it, here is the first feature on the Magazine. To learn more about the artist, check out her website.

If you would like to read more artist interviews, check out Delicate, Feminine Portraiture by Sharon Heit and Light is Magical: A Talk With Li Hui.

written by Teresa Sutter on 2016-02-15 #people #tokyo #lifestyle #experiments #darkroom #fantasy #reality #prostitution #sexuality