Pola Esther is a Polish-born photographer and mixed-media artist who lives in Brooklyn, NY and Old Lyme, CT. Often in bold, sensuous colour, Esther’s photos consider themes of intimacy, human connection and the feminine, finding echoes between the body and the natural world. A KALTBLUT exclusive.
Łukasz Leja is a trained architectural designer originally from Poland. Leja also pursues figurative painting. He uses oil to address the subjects of love and sex, and creates geometrical compositions that feature the human body. He is based in New York City.
Artists Pola Esther and Lukasz Leja met one afternoon at Leja’s East Village apartment and embarked on the idea of an impromptu photo shoot inspired by Pola’s passion for hosiery combined with Lukasz’s repertoire of self-made costumes. It resulted in a bit poetic, a bit humorous photo essay. It inspired Pola to ask Lukasz a few questions about the nature of identifying yourself, balancing between the illusions we create and the ones we are exposed to and how, at times, those illusions turn out to be real.
Can angels be cowboys?
Hmmm.. I’d say no.. I don’t think I believe in angels.. But if they did exist, I imagine they’d need to give up their heavenly duties to be cowboys.. It’s like changing schools or religions, or rebelling against your parents
Are you a cowboy or an angel?
Neither. But if I had to choose, I’d be a cowboy… or maybe a fallen.. Angel.. Turned cowboy.
If you weren’t you, who would you want to be?
I’d still be me, just somewhere else.. Maybe on a small island… somewhere cool and quiet, with no internet.. Just a garden and a little library
Who would you be afraid to be?
A corpo-rat.
Who are you?
I’m a painter of the beautiful and the taboo. And a baker of pies – peach, apple, blueberry.
What can you say about the characters from the photos?
They’re not characters – they’re all just me in different outfits.. Most are handmade or altered during my free time. They reflect the playful, childlike side of me that I don’t often get to express.
What excites you about creating outfits?
The hands-on part of it. Like arts and crafts. There’s no pressure, no goal beyond creating. It doesn’t have to be serious or sellable – that’s the joy
What is the process of making clothes for you?
I collect interesting material – sometimes fabric, sometimes just objects I find in the streets or secondhand shops. I like to call myself an archivist, but honestly… I’m just a hoarder in denial.
Do you think the costumes you make relate to any lever to your other creative pursuits: painting or architecture?
Definitely. Those three professions are very similar; they almost feel like one to me. All share a common language – visual, structural, decorative, semi-functional.
Do you think painted nudity is not “real” nudity…in a context: painted nudes versus photographed nudes?
Yes. Paintings are not reality, they’re a version of reality – an interpretation. A photo, especially a candid one, feels closer to the truth. When I paint people, they always ask me to enhance or hide parts anyway… there’s always a bit of fantasy
Have you worn tights before?
Yes – when I was a kid. Hand-me-downs from my sister to keep me warm… and that one time when you made me.
How do you feel when you put tights on?
Mostly indifferent… but they’re.. Tight? I don’t like tight things – on my legs or anywhere else
When you have sheer tights on, does it feel like you are naked?
Not really.. You still have to wear underwear under them, right?
The title of our photo story is “Cowboys and Angels”, same as the name of a George Michael song, do you know it?
I do. I went through a big George Michael phase in college. I cried when he died – still not sure why it hit me so hard.
The song “Cowboys and Angels”, according to George, is…” about a short-lived love triangle where he was in love with a man while a female friend was in love with him, but none knew of the other’s feelings…about the ridiculousness of wanting what you can’t have.” Have you ever experienced a similar situation?
Yup.
Photography by Pola Esther/ polaesther.com / Instagram: @faloblu
Model is artist Lukasz Leja / www.lukaszleja.com/ Instagram: @lukaszleja
Creative direction and styling by Pola Esther and Lukasz Leja
Wardrobe by Lukasz Leja assembled with vintage, thrifted pieces and objects
Including Prada shoes @prada, Vivienne Westwood purse @viviennewestwood and Wolford tights @wolford
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