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Toby Slater-Hunt: I was traveling the world, propping up various bars, when a hero of mine, Hunter S. Thompson died. This compelled me to rethink what I was doing and resulted in this project. The original idea was to shoot the icons in hotel rooms... Eve checking out of the Garden of Eden and into a Super 8 Motel, as an example. I have always loved the work of Bettina Rheims and wanted to emulate her Chambre Close series, but I had terrible trouble finding either suitably squalid or sumptuous hotel rooms. They where all endless blue carpets, Formica and magnolia walls... very J.G. Ballard. Nonetheless, I just couldn't capture them. So I went back to people like Avedon, Penn and Mapplethorpe and pared it all down to be as simple and inexpensive as possible. Eros Zine: What have your real life circus experiences been like? How did you come to transform it into a personal, darker, more erotic venture? Toby Slater-Hunt: I have seen Cirque du Soleil a couple of times and the State Chinese Circus always rolls into Brighton during the summer. But the circus theme is more of a mechanism to play with the identity of icons, rather than an attempt to portray any sort of real circus experience. I like the idea of making portraits of the performers "off stage left," so to speak, so one was forced to imagine what their actual acts where like. Eros Zine: How did you select the historical characters and their acts?
Eros Zine: I bet, and it might be tough to find a fire breathing Joan of Arc as well. Where did you find your models? Did they choose their characters and how receptive were they to this project? Toby Slater-Hunt: I approached models via online web communities, concentrating on "alternative"" models, fetish, dominatrix, retro pin up girls etc. I wanted to use models who would bring some of their own color to the shoots…larger-than-life personalities. I also felt that people from this background would be more receptive to my ideas and easier to collaborate with. I was overwhelmed with positive responses and didn't get to shoot everyone, which was a shame. Most of the models selected characters from a list I had made, and we would discuss ideas. Some models even suggested their own character which was fantastic. The "cigars and diamantes" chapter on the website being a good example. Eros Zine: What is the studio environment like when you shoot these? Do you play organ grinder music? Toby Slater-Hunt: Well as I said earlier, the piece was produced on a very tight budget while I was traveling, so the "studio" was whatever budget hotel room I was staying in with all the furniture upended against one wall, like Keith Moon's hotel room if he suffered from obsessive- compulsive disorder. A color roll and a studio light were about it. No stereo, unfortunately, only CNN 24 hour, which certainly made the experience rather surreal. Eros Zine: When did you start the Iconival project, is it still ongoing, and is it all you shoot at this time?
Eros Zine: How different is your approach to commercial work from your approach to personal work? Toby Slater-Hunt: Well as it stands at the moment, I don't get offered much commercial work, but I hope that will change as the Iconival starts to gain exposure and momentum. I am far more interested in fine art photography, but as the projects I undertake get more ambitious, the budget grows and the monkey needs feeding! Eros Zine: What's your background in photography? Toby Slater-Hunt: I specialized in photography as part of my degree in Graphic Design, and have been working on various projects on and off ever since. I have only recently been getting attention and publishing opportunities, and hope soon to be exhibiting. Eros Zine: Do you only shoot black and white? What's your preference? Toby Slater-Hunt: I don't only shoot black and white, but I do prefer it. By stripping away one of the elements in which we see the world normally, i.e. color, I find it easier to look upon subjects with fresh eyes. Eros Zine: Do you still live in Brighton? How involved are you in the "fetish scene?"
Eros Zine: You also paint. What kind of painting do you do? Toby Slater-Hunt: Unfinished canvas, and lots of them! I love visual arts, especially painting and drawing, but they are very time consuming processes. I do not have the patience or discipline to see anything through to the end. This is one of the reasons I love the immediacy of photography, and I find my frustrated painters eye can be applied to photography with good results. Eros Zine: I've seen some of your work credited to Xavier... Who's Xavier? Toby Slater-Hunt: Xavier is my flamboyant photographer's alter ego. Many of the models I was working with would come to a shoot as multiple characters, and I felt that I should join in the fun. Eros Zine: What's next for you? Toby Slater-Hunt: I want to get a little further with the Iconival project and maybe exhibit part one early next year. I am also working on the burlesque project and seeking out funding and commercial opportunities now that I have a little exposure. To learn more about Toby Slater-Hunt, visit www.iconival.com.
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