Like many artists, Reine Paradis will go to any length to ensure her vision is intentionally and suitably portrayed to her audience. For Eclipse, her most recent collection, she travelled to Iceland and scaled an iceberg to capture the striking image of her grasping onto a flag pole, in nothing but lime-green, translucent garb. Now, that’s dedication. Reine is typically the subject of her photos, integrating herself into her imaginative world while feeling more connected to her body.
Self-portraits and international, remote, travel only scratch the surface on Reine and her acutely tailored creative process. The artist combines a broad range of mediums — including uranium glass sculptures — with a cohesive vision, that draw observers into her obscure artistic world. Then, they see the reality behind her images, paintings, and sculptures. She really did do that.
Paradis’ work is perhaps most characterised by her trichromatic colour process: her collections are based on three colours of her choosing, which can sometimes take her years to finalise. Her palette is the language in which she transmits her intrinsically aesthetic perception to others. Often inventing names for her chosen colours, Eclipse, utilises Red Paradis, fluorescent lime and warm, milky peach tones. In this interview, the artist reflects on her ever-evolving techniques, clues readers into her unique, optical gift and mentions a follow-up to film Queen of Paradis (2020, Amazon Prime).
Hi Reine, how are you doing today? It’s a pleasure to examine your most recent work, for its cohesive nature in design and colour. A lot of your work follows this process, where to the eye, everything is intricately linked.
Hi Rose, so nice to talk to you!
Your work is known for its surreal, cinematic compositions and bold use of colour. Can you walk us through your creative process, from initial concept to final photograph?
When approaching a new series, I always start with locking down my colour palette. Even though it’s trichromatic, it can sometimes take years to select the three colours. Once I’m in love with them, I start translating the visions in my head into collaged maquettes on paper. I use those as blueprints for when we photograph the scenes in locations around the world.
It is vital for me to live the scene as the subject of the self-portraits, always in a blond wig and neon transparent costumes which act as a sort of armour, allowing me to push way beyond my limits. The photos are then edited so that the colours of the scene match my palette — another very meticulous process but so necessary for me to communicate my vision completely.
It is vital for me to live the scene as the subject of the self-portraits, always in a blond wig and neon transparent costumes which act as a sort of armour, allowing me to push way beyond my limits. The photos are then edited so that the colours of the scene match my palette — another very meticulous process but so necessary for me to communicate my vision completely.
You design and construct your own props and costumes. How do you balance the roles of artist, designer, and performer in your projects?
Every part of the process is interconnected and can, at any point, influence another part of the work. That really excites me because that's the time when the projects take a life of their own and new possibilities emerge.
When did you begin to be the subject of your own work? I’d love to hear more about this process and your reasoning behind it.
When I started creating my work over thirteen years ago, I never imagined I would actually be in the images. In fact, I had a very negative self image — at times I felt invisible. At the beginning it was more for practical reasons that I decided to be the subject in the photo series, but I quickly realised the performance aspect was an essential part for me to be able to transmit the original vision and feeling of the scenes. Over time through the work, my self image changed and I began to see myself in a different way. I feel it helped me to feel more one with my body.
You've mentioned that your costumes act as an “armour,” enabling you to push beyond your limits. How does embodying the character in your self-portraits affect your connection to the work and its themes?
To this day, there is still a real vulnerability I feel when shooting a scene, even with the wig and the costume. It’s true I am, in a way, embodying another character, but to me it still feels deeply intimate and real. Though it could be called a performance, I see it as if I’m actually living in my scene. It’s the closest I can come to inhabiting the world I’m working to create.
Your most recent exhibit, Eclipse, is at the time of writing on display on huge digital screens as part of a public exhibition around Los Angeles and before that, at KÖNIG Gallery in Berlin. What is it like to move your work from showcase to showcase?
Once I finish a body of work, I feel a great sense of relief that the work is finished and gratitude to be able to share it with the world. I also love that the work can be experienced by all kinds of viewers, not only by the art community, but in the case of the digital billboards, it can be seen by anyone. This makes me so happy.
What are the primary themes of Eclipse?
This series is called Eclipse, and my goal with this series, and all my work, is to create a time and place that exists in both reality and imagination. Something that feels surreal upon first glance, but as curiosity draws you closer, the reality of the scene comes into view.
On a more practical level, I would say colour is one of the biggest inspirations for me, it is my language. Through my intense process of creating a colour palette, in this case the Red Paradis with Milky Peach and Fluorescent Lime which is the palette for Eclipse, I’m able to translate to the viewer how I see the world.
On a more practical level, I would say colour is one of the biggest inspirations for me, it is my language. Through my intense process of creating a colour palette, in this case the Red Paradis with Milky Peach and Fluorescent Lime which is the palette for Eclipse, I’m able to translate to the viewer how I see the world.
How long did this collection take you to develop?
I started to imagine Eclipse back in 2019 and it took me 5 years to complete the series. Part of the reason it also took so long is because, during that time, I’d begun to incorporate paintings and sculptures into my work. Some of these paintings are continuations from my photo series, a deconstruction of scenes and elements within the works themselves. There are also more figurative works, however they all live in the same universe. In addition, I’ve spent over 3 years developing uranium glass sculptures which are inspired by the props I’ve used in my photo scenes as well. I don’t want to be limited to just one medium, and that’s why my work continues to evolve with time.
How do you select the locations for your shoots? What role does the environment play in conveying the narrative of your pieces?
I imagine most of the scenes prior to finding the real location. So, it can sometimes take years of scouting until I find the perfect location. So far, this new series Eclipse is the most ambitious and challenging series I have created to date. The series was shot in multiple locations around the world and some of the locations were very precarious. For example, one of the locations we shot at was on top of an iceberg in Iceland. The logistics of which were difficult and time consuming, also the variable of the weather and other things outside our control made for a very demanding shoot.
Along with my partner Carl Lindström, we’ve filmed the production of all the scenes for an upcoming documentary called Paradisland to be released in 2025. In this film you can see the trials we went through to not only find the right iceberg, but to drill a hole in the top, stick in a giant pole with a wind sock, and to climb it with nothing on but a very minimal costume. These specific environments absolutely play a role in the narrative of the work and what it means to me, however I want each person to draw their own meaning from it in their own way.
Along with my partner Carl Lindström, we’ve filmed the production of all the scenes for an upcoming documentary called Paradisland to be released in 2025. In this film you can see the trials we went through to not only find the right iceberg, but to drill a hole in the top, stick in a giant pole with a wind sock, and to climb it with nothing on but a very minimal costume. These specific environments absolutely play a role in the narrative of the work and what it means to me, however I want each person to draw their own meaning from it in their own way.
How did you reach the creative process with which you are at now? Is it a process that you would like to keep as is, or are you looking to evolve with future pieces and collections?
The process and techniques are constantly evolving over time as the work expands and grows, however some of the core principles of how I approach the work remain the same especially for the photo series. My love of colours and exploring locations will always remain, but the work has to evolve because I am evolving.
Can you share any personal experiences that have shaped your work recently?
A little secret about me is that I see buildings and landscapes in 3D, (yes, I have depth perception), however my artistic eye sees the world in two dimensions. So, when I imagine a location for a scene, I have to find the real world location that matches my vision. In this way the locations end up resembling theatre props, or backgrounds on a stage, however they really exist.
What are you working on right now, or what do you have in store for the future?
The new film Paradisland is in post production right now so I’m very excited for this to be released later in 2025. It is the follow up to our film Queen of Paradis (2020, Amazon Prime), which followed me on the journey of creating my last body of work Midnight. If you want to see what it’s like to be on a shoot with me, I recommend checking it out.
I’m also very excited for some more conceptual projects I’m developing for different showcases and galleries around the world. I wish there was more time to create everything I imagine, but I guess I could say I’m lucky I’m never bored.
I’m also very excited for some more conceptual projects I’m developing for different showcases and galleries around the world. I wish there was more time to create everything I imagine, but I guess I could say I’m lucky I’m never bored.
