Camille Vivier Captures Change

Camille Vivier

In Camille Vivier’s photography elements of art, poetry, fetishism, mythology, literature and cinema collide. The result is a distinctive visual language, and a body of work that feels unique in the world of fashion and art photography.

Trained at ÉSAD (formerly L'École des Beaux-Arts de Grenoble) and Central Saint Martins in London, Vivier started out as an assistant at what was then called Purple Prose (and has since become Purple Magazine). Since her very earliest career, her work has been recognised both by the art world and the fashion world. She has been exhibited in museums and galleries across Paris, Arles, Amsterdam, Munich, Tokyo, and Hamburg. She has also worked with fashion publications such as AnOther, Double, Self Service, Interview, POP, Dazed, and Vogue Italia.

Now based in Paris, Vivier’s photography tends to focus on the female form. Her images often transform bodies into abstract, sculptural shapes that convey both power and vulnerability. Perhaps because she does not work exclusively in fashion, clothing in Vivier’s images becomes something more than adornment, often playing a narrative role.

In recent years, Vivier has continued to evolve her practice, experimenting with new techniques and subjects. Her 2016 residency at Villa Noailles in Hyères resulted in a compelling photographic commission exploring adolescence, "Les Hyèroglyphes, Îles d'Or”. This project showcases Vivier's ability to capture the essence of her subjects and her keen eye for composition andinnate understanding of light and form.

Here she discusses her artistic process, her fascination with transformation, and the cinematic and surreal influences that shape her world.

Your photos often feel like looking at a dream— surreal, and full of quiet tension. When you’re shooting, do you feel like you’re part of that world, or are you more like a director creating it?

I always keep a distance from my subject—I definitely feel more like a director. But within this staged and theatrical frame, I allow myself to dream of a parallel world. It’s a mind projection.

Your work resists easy categorisation—part art, part fashion, part performance. Do you think about labels when you are producing something?

I used to think about labels alot, but not anymore. Now, everything in my work feels more organic and complementary. It’s more complete, and the common thread is simply my way of seeing.

I explore how the body interacts with space

Your photography often conveys a sense of transition and introspection, as if capturing the complexities of growing up. Would you say adolescence, and particularly female adolescence, is an inspiration for your work?

The question of the female body in my work is social and identity-related, but also formal. With a sculptural and architectural approach, I explore how the body interacts with space, whether urban or natural. Light plays a crucial role, shaping shadows and defining the volumes of a face or a body. These two dimensions—what we are and how we want to be seen—intertwine. We challenge our bodies to align with our minds, or perhaps to oppose them. This fluidity makes sense in relation to adolescence, as you mention, but that connection isn’t intentional. Perhaps it’s something more intimate, something I haven’t consciously explored.

In a broader sense, my work is about change, whether that is the passage of time altering an object, or the transformation of a person through artifice. I’m drawn to those in-between moments, where something or someone is subtly shifting, moving in a new direction—both literally and metaphorically. There’s an intensity in that transition.

I look for women who embody a radical strength

The women in your images seem powerful and intentional. How do you decide who to cast as your muses, and what are you looking to reveal through these women?

I’m always drawn to something powerful, but in a subtle and deeply personal way. I look for women who embody a radical strength—who are honest, gentle, and unapologetically themselves. Through them, I want to reveal a sense of freedom and self-confidence, a unique way of positioning oneself in the world.

I love oddities

Baroque gardens, monster sculptures and the Swiss artist H.R. Giger—these strange, almost otherworldly influences and motifs run through your work. What is it about that eerie quality that keeps drawing you in?

I’ve always been drawn to these universes—in literature, film, music, and art. I love oddities, worlds that exist beyond reality, and the beauty found within monstrosity.

What’s the most bizarre or magical place you’ve ever found yourself shooting?

I love La Scarzuola in Umbria, a surreal architectural maze full of symbolism. And of course, H.R. Giger’s house in Zurich is a must; an immersive, otherworldly space.

Your work often feels surreal, like it could belong to the world of filmmakers like Kenneth Anger and David Lynch, or the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. How do you define your own visual universe?

It’s a mix of all these influences—the strangeness, the atmosphere, the queerness, the aesthetic—but with a feminine twist. Defining my own visual universe is still challenging, but perhaps it’s best described as gently irreverent, a female fantasy.

What role do clothes play in the stories you tell?

Clothes play a narrative role, but they also have their own dialogue with the body. They reveal something about a character while bringing a sensual and graphic quality – the textures, the colours, the way they move – that deeply resonates with me. They’re an integral part of the composition, but I also like to imagine that inanimate objects, like clothes, have a life of their own.