Vanessa and Wilson 'Wiissa' are a film and photography duo from Miami and now living in NYC. They've been together for over 6 years and work on all of their projects together. Wilson's French and Vanessa's American/Brazilian, they get inspired by so many different cultures and want to travel as much as possible. They love mixing past eras with today, and shoot exclusively on film... See their incredible work below.
Interview
What do you do in your daily life? We are both currently students in NYC, but that doesn't take too much of our daily life. Anytime we're not in class, we're constantly planning future shoots. We work on film and photography together, and love going to concerts.
So, Wiissa is an artist-name for you as a photography duo? Are you lovers? And why did you decide to work together?
Yes, wiissa is a combination of our nicknames (wii and ssa) that we made for each other when we first met. We met at 14 and 15 years old, and have been together since. We taught ourselves photography and film together, and naturally a working relationship developed since we are always together!
How does that work?
V: It's hard to say exactly how the work is split, we like to do almost every step of the process together so every shoot has both of our inputs. But I tend to do more of the directing and styling during shoots, and Wilson's more into the technical side of actually photographing.
The moments you are lying in your bed..which thoughts come to you?
If it's after a shoot, we always like to go over every detail, what we thought looked best, what went well and what we feel could have gone better. Otherwise, we fall asleep pretty quickly, we're sleepy people haha! Dream about future adventures.
What's your perception of yourself?
V: Hmm that's hard, I don't think about it too much.
W: "I yam what I yam" -Popeye
Does fame impress you?
Some types. I'm intrigued by famous musicians and how they got to where they are. I really love groupies of the 60's and 70's, and how they love famous musicians for how their talent got them to the fame, not because they're famous. It's about the music of course, I don't judge music on its fame, but I think it's interesting to think how the bands worked themselves up to that level.
Could you tell us a little bit about your style of photography?
We're inspired by past eras and really focus on styling in our photography. We shoot exclusively film and don't Photoshop anything, and love lots of sunshine.
What do you look for when searching for your next project?
It depends on the shoot. Sometimes it's someone very specific we want to work with that'll lead to a shoot, or sometimes it'll just be a verse in a song that will inspire a whole project. A lot of times a certain model will shape the shoot because we love to think of the type of character she could be, maybe another version of herself in an alternate universe!
Can a man love two women at the same time?
W: Maybe some people could, but I can't imagine fully. I think you can truly only love one person.
What's your perception of real love?
When you're really in love, you forget that the other person is actually a totally separate person. He becomes like an extension of yourself, like you've become one. We have these moments sometimes where we realize that we're separate people and it really trips us out.
If you could photograph anyone from history, who would it be?
Hmm either Jane Birkin or The Rolling Stones in the 60's.
What inspires you?
Mainly music, it's our #1 love.
What's your future dream?
We have tons of dreams we talk about everyday, we've been extremely lucky to fulfill a few of them and work with some of our heroes. Right now, we dream about living on a beach in Brazil and traveling around the world for work.
Which place inspires you the most?
V: It's constantly changing, but I think the most prominent for me would be Brazil.
W: The American west.
Name 5 things you can't live without:
1) Each other, 2) Family & Friends, 3) Music, 4) The ocean, 5) and I guess a camera to document those 4 things
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