Say anything about yourself?
 

I am Hannelore , 21 years old. I study Thai and I live in Chiang Mai.
 

When did you realize photography would be a part of you? and how?

I grew up surrounded by photographs. My mother always emphasised the importance of images, I think they function as anchors for the insecurities that come with life. When my sister and me were little, our mother used to tuck a disposable camera in our hands, inviting us to look at the world from different angles. Photography is a medium which enables me to express myself in a way that also makes me feel free. This is what makes it my medium. If you take another art form, like music for example, I feel restricted by rhythm and notation, when it comes to painting and drawing I get frustrated by my lack of talent (which doesn’t mean that I still practice it anyway).

If you would say something for this picture set, what will you say?

Most of the girls in my pictures are people I meet on Instagram or are friends who you would never get to know better by simply communicating verbally because they are too mysterious for that. The girls in my photographs are usually girls I recognise myself in somehow. I love it when I get to know people better through photography. When you place people in front of a camera they suddenly become so real, the feathers disappear and they become almost like a naked little bird. They can’t fake themselves anymore. Especially with analogue photography. It’s this what makes the moments so intimate, almost embarrassing. I always had a soft spot for the duality and contradictions that exist in emotions. Fragility goes hand in hand with rawness, softness pairs with bitterness. To me it creates a certain kind of intimacy that I aspire in my photography; an atmosphere which hurts a little, drops of mist on people’s faces. Don’t get me wrong though. I also like capturing happy moments. But to me, happiness comes in a sole form, and contains no contradictions.