Q+A with Iringó Demeter — An Ode to Bodily Expression
Born and raised in Transylvania, Romania, the photographer Iringó Demeter’s childhood was characterized by the surrounding picturesque nature. Her fascination for nature defines her work, with her interest navigating towards the human body in all its beauty. Informed by texture and shape, intimacy is a pivotal factor in her photography as she continues to explore the human body. And though it’s up close and intimate, it’s always with a profoundly empathetic eye that she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. We recently took the time to ask Demeter about her life as a photographer and delved into her passion for investigating bodily expressions.
Magnus Høst (MH), Iringó Demeter (ID)
MH: Could you please take us back in time and tell us how and when you first became fascinated with photography?
ID: There is no big story about this. It happened quite organically, and it felt incredibly comfortable, so I just rolled with it. Never questioned it once since. I studied it for a few years, BA and MA, it was good to have a platform to explore and see where was my place within this field. I had some tough times along the way, but it never came to my mind that I will do anything else in life.
Then I started to find more meaning to it, I needed it to be something more than an activity which made me feel good. That’s when the real connection happened.
MH: Does growing up in Transylvania, Romania, play any role, or has it had an impact on how you create and tell stories?
ID: Where and how you grow up will always play a role in how you approach things as you evolve in life, I think. My home was and still is in a small village of 200-something people, surrounded by hills and forests; my parents (mother Romanian, father Hungarian) moved there with work from 2 of the bigger cities in Romania.
Transylvania holds counties in which Hungarians form a vast majority of the population. Close to 90% of the people in my county are Hungarian, and only three people are Romanian, one of whom is my mother. The same people still keep the same numbers. In 1918 Hungary lost Transylvania to Romania, and the aversion towards Romanians even passed down to new generations. I mention all these because I grew up being isolated because lots of people around me didn’t like that I spoke two languages. Add to that that I was tall and heavy, so having insults thrown at me every day was nothing out of the ordinary back then. I grew up watching how the community never really accepted my mother, and how that affected her, how that affected my parents’ relationship with the district. People will talk badly about them in front of me, it was just bizarre, and I didn’t really understand back then.
The positive side of all this is that I made the best out of my time alone, observing everything happening around me - mostly nature. I would look at ants marching in straight lines for hours, I would poke their hill to see what was in there; it was fascinating. My father would let me use a medical microscope to look at whatever I could fit under it - oh, the number of leaves and dead bugs I took apart just to have a very close look! I’d collect snails after a rainy period, and watch their slow movements, look for sorrel in the fields, spend time in sunflower fields, dig out clay from streams and make very awful looking pots.
My personal work references my childhood a lot, so yes, it definitely has a significant impact on how I “speak” now through my photography. I naturally look for “silent movements.” Lines and shapes flowing with and into each other, performing a calm dance. A finger pushed into the flesh would likely be the translation of the wooden rod I watched snails move across in the most beautiful, elegant way. Nature continues itself in the human body, I like exploring this flow. I like honesty, openness, and to create a calm environment and tend to take my time to edit my personal work, to sit with it for as long as I like.
MH: What are you inspired by, and where do you get your inspiration from?
ID: Plants, concrete, water, sounds, weather, the sky.
MH: How do you balance artistic creativity and commercial pressure?
ID: The commercial environment is different in the sense that it’s not only just about you and your subject anymore. You’re working for a client, with a group of people. It’s an honor to be chosen to reflect a vision, a process, and I love learning about a brand and how do I fall into how they would like to portray that vision. I think that if you consider it to be pressure, then that’s what you’re going to get out of it but, if you believe that it’s another way to approach what you love to do, then you’re going to allow yourself to enjoy the process and be happy with the outcome. My “commercial struggles” are not unique, and most of the people know these ones.
MH: Through exploring beauty, life, and stills, the human form seems to inspire your recent works. Experiencing your captivating images and distinctive visual language, it often leaves the viewer resonating with abstraction from the familiar. Can you enlighten us on your creative approach to image-making, and what stories you intend to tell?
ID: I make images because that’s where I feel at home. There is nowhere else I can get that feeling from. This is one way I take care of my body.
Our bodies are our first home. Just looking at them from the outside, they are so unique and deserving of all the kindness. We see bodies every day, and many times maybe we lose their meaning. I think we need to see them in many different ways, so we can be reminded of their significance and to accept, between ourselves, how they function, and how they look like. My approach focuses on the details. With the naked eye, we see the whole picture. With the camera, I can break this down and focus more. It’s a way of slowing down, bringing it emotionally closer, and questioning the familiar.
MH: Intimacy is undoubtedly a pivotal factor in your photography, but what is "intimacy" to you when captured through a lens? And what are you studying when exploring bodily expressions?
ID: Through a lens or not, it’s when I can be with someone in a real way, and that is what I am looking for.
MH: Book or newspaper?
ID: Books. Always. I particularly don’t enjoy newspapers, they have an awkward size, and mostly all of them have the same characteristics.
Books come in so many different weights, textures, and smells. Even if I’m not interested in the subject, I’ll often interact with books just for the sake of how they feel against my fingers, how they feel when I pick them up, how does the paper reflect the light, how is the binding done, how is the content laid out. I am a very tactile person, and I believe that lots of feelings hide in textures.
MH: Movie or tv-series?
ID: Tv-series, because I find them to be more flexible. I can have one on while I edit and don’t feel that I am missing out if I don’t keep my eyes on it all the time. Being freelance will sometimes get very lonely, having a show on in the background can help.
I love to go to the cinema for a good movie with someone who I can discuss it with after.
And, you know what, I’m gonna say it - I love game shows! There is just something about seeing people in social experiments strategize in their own groups and their own heads while keeping aware that millions of people are watching. I’d never put myself up for anything of the sort, so I am utterly fascinated with people who do that. People will roll their eyes now, but the US versions of Survivor and Big Brother are great. :)
MH: Breakfast or dinner?
ID: Oh, don’t think I ever spoke about this to anyone before - I LOVE breakfast! Eating early in the morning, between 5:30am - 7am, is probably my hobby. Preparing it, eating it while watching the sunrise, cleaning up after… Always looking forward to it while, many times, I am not in the mood for dinner or just completely miss the right timing for it. Preferably will have eggs and will end with a tea, or a banana, freshly squeezed juice - I can really extend this meal if I get the chance.
