Hide Away from the World in Jessica Tremp's Photography [Interview]

There is something in Jessica Tremp‘s imagery that makes you feel like home wherever you are watching it. Natural lighting, mostly outdoor locations, nudity here and there, but a type of innocent nudity that tends very little towards eroticism is what her photography shows. A Melbourne based photographic artist, Jessica came to our attention with her latest series titled simply “Mousse”.

Only skin and foam, this series is all about intimacy that is built in a home, more exactly about the intimacy and privacy that the bathroom usually surrounds itself with. Jessica sees the bathroom as a second universe for escaping the reality, a safe environment. Here’s how Jessica herself conveys the message of the series:

This series is one of my most intimate of the last 12 months. These images are of my wonderful, kind and amazing musician husband Michael. It has been a big year for us for many reasons. Sometimes we feel like the outside world steps hard on our shoulders and coming home and walking through the front door is always a beautiful relief. Mousse is a vignette of what it feels like to be able to hide away from the world in a light and loving environment, cocooned and safe, wrapped up in the love we share for each other, our son and our greyhound Soda. Bathrooms tend to be one of the most private rooms of the house so I thought it only appropriate to use it as the centre stage for these portraits.

Jessica became an artist because she nurtured her interest by actively experimenting and in time it grew into something pleasurable. On the side she is a wedding photographer, but she also likes to have her own personal experiments. Not necessarily focused on their success, she just seeks to built her own universe out of her thoughts and ideas.

I never planned on having a career as a photographer. I enjoyed it the way one might enjoy a good friend. It was company, something to do, something I loved hanging out with. Gradually I became more confident and I guess technically more proficient. A few blogs started running my personal work, a few people asked me to shoot things and so it slowly grew. For a little while it was a bit of a jumble and it wasn’t until I drew a clear line between work (Brown Paper Parcel Photography) and my personal pursuits that I really enjoyed what both sides could offer individually. I see the way I shoot weddings now, which is my main source of income, as a separate thing. I strive to become better and more creative in this field with every new opportunity.
My personal work is a way for me to express myself, which is different than capturing someone else’s world for a day. It’s a way to release and get lost within it without the pressure of having to succeed. If it happens, it’s just a bonus.
For the future, I hope I can keep pushing my own boundaries in my personal work and that maybe it will move someone out there when they see it.

Jessica has a bunch of other series, of which “The argument with spring and gauge”, “Over onto silence”, “Them” we found as the most powerful ones. Her images convey this vintage and timeless appeal, with a bit macabre elements, but not the ones that scare you. Her whole imagery gives a feeling of peace and comfort.

Below you can enjoy a closer look at the series “Mousse” but also a few features from older series.