We are pleased to have with us, all the way from Sweden, photographer, Sara Lesch.
ephotos: We read that you are from Santiago, Chile. How did you end up in Sweden?
SL: I was adopted by Finnish parents when I was 2 months old. In the seventies my father worked as an engineer for a Swedish company in Chile and with help from the Swedish embassy he was able to make an adoption at that time.
ephotos: When did you decide that you were going to pursue a career in photography?
SL: I was about 17 years old and realized I didn’t want to have a 9-5 job, but I had no talent for arts, so I tried photography and liked it instantly. My father, who had a photo lab in the house, also influenced me a lot.
ephotos: Several of your photos at your site, http://saralesch.com have muted tones, almost an eerie silence. How would you describe your style of shooting?
SL: I describe my photography as “minor key”, which is of course a musical term, but I think it is very significant. The photographs that touch me are the ones that have some kind of silence or special tension. Anyone who knows the photojournalist guru Cartiér-Bresson knows that he talks about the “decisive moment” as the special moment when all is balanced in perfect harmony, when you have the perfect shot. When that moment is gone I take my picture, but there is still tension left. Like something have just taken place.
ephotos: Your site doesn’t have any commercial work, which is a bit refreshing. Many photographers feel that commercial work lacks creativity. Do you have any thoughts about this?
SL: I finally decided not to have any commercial work on my website, after a lot of thinking. I thought precisely that it would disturb my other work, even though my commercial work have never been super-commercial but mostly for theatre, artists, designers, press and cultural magazines. I have never been interested in working for example with industry photography or something like that. I decided early that I would rather not want a full-time career as a photographer and having to do all kinds of work that will not serve my creativity, but rather the opposite.
ephotos: Tell us a little bit about the “Epicris” gallery at your site?
SL: The Epicris series was made after coming back from Chile in 1995. In my last year of photography studies at Gothenburg University I decided to make my exam work as some kind of journey of “investigation of roots”, so I traveled to Chile, Peru and Bolivia. Any one having split roots know that “coming home” is not always an uncomplicated and joyful reunion. I think that what we search for in these situations is for all the pieces to fall into place, but instead there is more confusion. So coming back after the trip the real investigation began; I asked my father for all my documents from the adoption and also dug in my father’s old photo archives. The result was some kind of closure for me that made all the pieces fall into place. Epicris is a medical term and means “summary of a medical journal”. The series was made with copy film on a zerox machine and then printed in the color lab.
ephotos: Are there any photographers that have influenced you?
SL: Really early inspiration was Cartier-Bresson when I was still into photojournalism and the Swedish photographers Christer Strömholm, Tuija Lindström and also Robert Frank. A big inspiration or should I say the opposite was also a teacher at ICP in New York, Brian Weil. He said; “If you don’t NEED to do it- don’t do it”. He was a cynical photographer that did no longer photograph…! For me he put the finger on what art is really about, if the artwork you do is not necessary and crucially important to you – then it won’t be for anyone else either. In the last years I find inspiration from artists such as; Louise Bourgeois, Lena Cronqvist, Vilhelm Hammershøi and Jockum Nordström.
ephotos: Do you shoot digitally? What equipment do you use (cameras, format, etc.)?
SL: I use a Nikon D60 and Panasonic DMC-FX7 and also a Hasselblad 500CC.
ephotos: Do you work with any stock photo agencies? If so, do you feel like the way your work is being handled?
SL: No, I never did.
ephotos: What do you think will be the next big trend in photography?
SL: I think that since photography has become everybody’s friend due to the digital revolution. Fine art photography will get more specialized and complex, in order to define itself from the everyday photography that is posted on websites everywhere, such as Flickr or even Facebook. My notion is also that photography from conflict areas is getting more and more media space because it is a reality that is not accessible to everyone.
ephotos: You are a cultural journalist. Explain that to us. Do you combine your photography with your writing?
SL: Yes, I do when I get a chance. In the work with the Cultural Art Magazine Presens, where I was co-editor for several years I used to do it a lot. My photography worked well in that context together with my own text and others. In the editorial staff we were mostly artists, photographers, designers and academics and we would give each issue a different theme; such as Sex(uality), Living, Freedom, Money or Anonymity. In the Anonymity issue we wanted to challenge the fact that social position and making a name is an obsession in the art world. We wanted to get away from the fact that many people (including ourselves) check the name of an art work before deciding if you like it or not. We wanted to test to make an issue with no names on the art works or texts, and see the response. It was actually hard to make people want to contribute with art works and texts because of this.
ephotos: Do you travel a lot for work? Where have you been lately?
SL: I travel a lot in my regular job and always take the opportunity to photograph. Recently I have been to Damascus and Palmyra in Syria and La Palma and Gran Canaria in Canary Islands and also nearby Norway.
ephotos: There aren’t many immigration restrictions in Sweden. For those who have not visited, is Sweden culturally diverse?
SL: Yes I would say it is diverse. Unfortunately the immigration politics have been very thoughtless since the 80-ties in Sweden and many immigrants live segregated in suburbs with high unemployment rates, like I guess in many other European countries. Nobody can benefit from segregation and I guess that it’s a problem that we all have do deal with. But I would say that Sweden is a welcoming country and is a nice place to travel to. The biggest group of immigrants in Sweden is actually from Finland. After the Fins, there is a large group of immigrants from Iraq.
ephotos: Tell us more about your international youth work in Molndal.
SL: I work as a youth leader in a youth center but mainly as an international coordinator for youth work in a large network for youth activities in west Sweden. I work mostly within the European Youth program; with youth exchanges where teenagers visits other teenagers in their different countries and also with European Voluntary service where young people can go as volunteers to other countries and work in an organization up to one year. Right now we are preparing to host volunteers from 7 different countries and I am also preparing for youth exchanges with Jordan, Armenia and Kenya. The youth work I do feels very motivating and worthwhile because it gives young people the chance to really get to know other cultures, countries and people. It gives them a chance to challenge their own prejudices and they learn to be tolerant and open-minded.
ephotos: Is there a person or a place that you would like to shoot?
SL: I would have liked to photograph Isaac Bashevis Singer, but unfortunately he passed away a long time ago. For places I would like to go to Iran. I am a dedicated visitor of Gothenburg Film Festival and every year there are fantastic films from Iran, which have a really beautiful landscape outside the big cities. Oh, and I always have a constant yearning to go to New York City, it is the ultimate photo op.
ephotos: What do you think about ephotos.com ?
SL: I think it is a great idea! Everything nowadays happens in the Internet, nobody goes to photo or art shows anymore. If it is too far away nobody bothers to go, but on the Internet you can be everywhere. If people go to an opening of a show, in my opinion, it is only for the social aspect and to mingle.
ephotos: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself and your work?
SL: I have started to make an underground photo exhibition – project. I am showing photography in different unexpected places where there is a possibility there will be an interested audience. Last show was “The Ladies room” in the Irish Museum of Modern Art Dublin in October last year and the next venue will be the Biennale di Venezia in July this summer.
ephotos: Thanks Sara for such a thoughtful interview. Remember to keep the focus!