I Called her Lisa Marie, South Wales / Memphis, 2013-2018 © Clémentine Schneidermann — *I Called her Lisa Marie*, South Wales / Memphis, 2013-2018 © Clémentine Schneidermann

What role does fashion and style play in the images you take?

Fashion allows me to reinterpret the everyday in a playful way. It also allows me to play with colours, shapes, in a theatrical manner. It challenges the seriousness of the documentary approach and allows a more collaborative interaction with the models.

How do you connect images in a series through a few distinct colors? (Ex: Red, gold, and black for “I Called Her Lisa Marie,” purple, red, and green for “Ffasiwn,” etc.)

Yes, the color palette is really important in how I build a series. The Elvis series has a lot of gold, red, white and pink whereas the Ffasiwn series has a different tone, more muted and pastel tones. The connection between the images happens usually after, when I edit the work.

What is the narrative behind the juxtaposition of glamour in a small-town setting?

It happened naturally, it wasn’t a conscious thing at first. When I started photographing at the Elvis festival, people were naturally dressed up, and the backdrop, a Welsh seaside town, had that particular aesthetic that contrasted with the costumes. I enjoy contrasts, contradictions, randomness. The small-town is very inspiring for me (as opposed to places like Paris or New York which have been photographed a million times). I find more freedom and inspiration to play.

Describe your creative process in one word.

Slowness

If you could teach a one-hour class on anything, what would it be?

How to swim in cold water. I’ve always been scared of this, but I recently started doing it and I really love it. I wish someone encouraged me to do it before.