What is going on in the minds of creative duo Lois Cohen and Indiana Roma Voss? Jasna Lohr from WLP Art asked them a few questions for us.
FACES: Your art is…
Lois Cohen: Juicy!
Indiana Roma Voss: Paradox.
Q: Who or what do you love and why?
LC: “Housewives of Beverly Hills” because it got me through the first lockdown.
IV: John Waters because he’s a pervert.
Q: What professional success means the most to you?
LC: The opening of our solo exhibition in Amsterdam, in a large gallery space with huge prints of our project “Metamorphosis” and a group of fabulous performers dressed like the characters in our photos. It had the best energy. So many people came that they filled half the street in front of the gallery. An ecstatic moment.
IV: Winning the Elle Stylist of the Year Award comes right after our first solo show.
Q: Could you eat nothing but pancakes for a whole week?
LC: Sounds a bit crazy, but probably yes.
IV: Of course.
Q: Where do you go when you want to be with yourself?
LC: I’m an atheist, but sitting in a quiet church calms my soul.
IV: Beach, sauna, bedroom, airport.
Q: Tell us about your education.
IV: Art school is a rip-off.
LC: (Laughs) And how it is. I’m just glad to have it behind me because it took a hell of a long time. In my third year they changed the head of the photography department and I can tell you that this new guy was not happy with me. I was already working a lot as a photographer and it was hard for me to be a consistent student, to say the least – so I can’t really blame him. It’s been years now since I graduated from art school, but I still have nightmares about it…. that feeling of infinity… In these dreams, 30, 40, 50 years have passed and I’m still floating around in this miserable building.
Q: Why photography?
LC: It is the most immediate way to change reality.
Q: Why styling?
IV: It is the most accessible tool that is constantly in motion, a reflection of the zeitgeist.
Q: What was the strangest encounter, the craziest adventure or the best moment you’ve had on a shoot?
IV: After I moved to New York, Lois and I didn’t work together for what felt like an eternity. The first time we got back together and were on set, it felt like a homecoming. I put on her favorite music and we danced and created something together…. It was really great.
Q: What is more important: the form or the content?
LC: I don’t see them as two separate things, they are intertwined. When I start from a certain idea or narrative, I make visual choices that support and enhance that idea/narrative, and that’s how the aesthetic is created. Or it’s more of an intuitive process: a random image comes to mind and I just like it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have meaning just because it’s not based on a conscious thought. Sometimes the story develops at a later stage. Sometimes it doesn’t, and that’s okay too. We don’t always have to intellectualize everything.
Q: Which part of the human face do you like best?
LC: The eyeballs.
IV: The bone structure.
Q: Where is your inspiration at home?
LC: Contradictions. My inspiration can be found pretty much everywhere, it’s the duality of things, situations and people that interests me.
Q: What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
IV: I can honestly say that I’m not afraid. That sounds very confident and perhaps a little conceited, but I’m not afraid. Fear has never been a factor that has held me back or held me back. Perhaps it’s more my weakness of having too much of the opposite of fear. Fearless to the point of recklessness.
Lois Cohen
The eccentric underdogs of this world belong in front of Lois Cohen’s camera. Because she prefers to stage characters who break with traditional archetypes. Her love of cinema and all things obscure shines through in every one of her shoots. This also attracts the big brands: Lois Cohen has already photographed campaigns for Adidas, Nike and Gucci. She has a bachelor’s degree in photography from the Royal Academy of Arts and is busy collecting awards for her work, including from Huis Marseille, the British Journal of Photography and ADCN Dutch Creativity Awards.
Indiana Roma Voss
If you don’t know what visual storytelling actually means, you only need to take a look at Indiana Roma Voss’ work. As a stylist, she brings her unmistakable fashion style to campaigns and editorial shoots. Recently, her talent has also flowed into moving images, as she is increasingly trying her hand at directing. Indiana Roma Voss has already styled for Lampoon magazine and directed a campaign for the Songs of Siren brand. With Lois Cohen, she repeatedly creates eye-catching photo series somewhere between art and fashion editorial.
You can see what Lois Cohen and Indiana Roma Voss create together here.
At WLP Art you can snap up a limited edition print by Lois Cohen.
Photos: Lois Cohen, Indiana Roma Voss
