Beauty in Solitude - An Interview with Tuane Eggers

Tuane Eggers is a photographer and artist based in Brazil. She takes photographs that shed light on the hidden and the unnoticed. Tuane breathes life into her images by bringing her love for nature and photography together. In this short interview, we talk to her about her work and how she found peace in photographing in the woods. We have more than enjoyed her company, not to mention her borderline mythical photos that still have us daydreaming.

How did you start your journey with photography?

I started shooting when I was about 15, 16 years old using my brother's very simple digital camera. At that time, I used the internet a lot as a way to show my images - it was a way of showing the world that I existed in that small town in the south of Brazil where I did not identify with what was happening around me. When I was 18, I was invited to participate in Esmir Filho's film The Famous and the Dead, and this made me believe more in the power of my photographs as something bigger.

How would you define photography?

I don't like to define things. But what I love about photography is this paradox between space and time - as it freezes space, time continues to throb within an infinite image. And this ability that photography has to record something that happened or existed in the world - but also to create a world apart, a world invented from the real. It is as if my photographs were a cutout of the world that I want to inhabit and keep forever. And I think they also allow the observer to inhabit this place in the moment he observes them - and perhaps, that time continues to throb on the inside.

In your opinion, what makes a good photograph?

I like photos that don't need any explanation when I look at them. I think the best images are those that can make you feel something at the moment you look at them.

What’s your favorite subject?

One of the things that mostly inspires me to photograph is the beauty and the mystery of nature. I think that few things can be as fascinating and surprising as what inhabits and integrates the natural environment. I like to try to show in my images the flows of nature and the impermanence of life.

What are the things you consider when you’re creating an image?

Most of the times when I'm creating images, I'm really living what I'm shooting. Therefore, the images portray my real enchantment for those situations, visions, landscapes, and experiences.

How do you stay creative?

Sometimes, it's very difficult to stay creative living in this world that is so hostile, especially in a country like Brazil where we live a very strange political-social moment with bad news every day. I feel that there are phases in which my creativity is more outlined, and it is precisely when I am closer to these natural environments, feeling at ease with the people around me. I believe in the power of good meetings.

We also noticed that a lot of your shots are taken in natural light. What about it has attracted you so much?

I think I prefer natural light because it contributes to the mood I seek for my images as a result of my experiences. And for me, natural light will always be more fascinating than artificial lights, in photography and in life. :)

It’s apparent in your portraits that your models are very comfortable with you. How do you achieve that certain level of trust and comfort with your subjects?

How beautiful is to read this. How good is to know that my photographs pass on that sensation... and I really think it's real because I usually choose to photograph close people, friends, who really feel comfortable the moment they're being photographed.

Which artists/photographers influenced your work?

There are many amazing female photographers who inspire me a lot, with very different styles. For example, Aëla Labbé, Francesca Woodman, Vivian Maier, Nan Goldin, Diane Arbus, among many others. But I can also mention some friends who have beautiful works and who inspire me a lot too, like Ieve Holthausen, Chana de Moura, Rochele Zandavalli and Carine Wallauer. In addition, there is a Brazilian poet who did not photograph with a camera, but with his inspiring words, called Manoel de Barros. He was a great inspiration for my work.

What would you be if you weren’t a photographer?

I think I would like to study biology.

Do you have projects or series currently in the works?

I'm working on a project of a book with the pictures that I made during a trip to Peru, between 2016 and 2017, with some friends. In addition, seeking to have new experiences in life so that I can photograph them. I would love to travel more, to know new places, new people, make artistic residences... if you have any idea, let me know, I'm open to it :)

If you're interested in Tuane's work, you may visit her website and Instagram for more.

written by Marc Ocampo on 2017-09-30 #people #interview #artist #feature #tuane-eggers