H.E.L.P.: Hell Enters Life Permanently

From the moment of my first encounter with his work in December 2004, I knew that Thomas van de Scheck was no ordinary photographer - whether judged by the standards of the mainstream or by those of the fetish world which he and I both inhabit. As editor of "Skin Two" magazine, I see hundreds of photographic submissions every year, encompassing a broad spectrum of talents from enthusiastic amateurishness to highly competent professionalism. But it is only so often that a photographer's work instantly stands out in the way that van de Scheck's did that first time. And it is not too difficult to understand why. Too many fetish/BDSM photographers spend their time creating little more than minor variations on the already established iconography of the genre. Held in the thrall of their personal kinky fantasies, they can get so excited by how a model looks in a figure-hugging shiny latex dress, vicious stiletto heels or sleek nylon stockings that they find it unnecessary to look beyond the basic formula of 'fetish girl in fetish outfit' to create what for them is an entirely satisfying and perfectly perky image. Van de Scheck begins where such people leave off. It could not be any clearer from his work that he is attracted to the clothes and accoutrements of fetishism and BDSM and to the various extremes of personal style found among Goths, fetishists, body-modifiers and other denizens of alternative culture. However, the idea that he would ever be satisfied with creating a simple, statically posed, straightforward 'pretty' picture of any of these people is virtually unthinkable. For van de Scheck, entering their world should be nothing less than a walk on the wild side. His subjects, whether solo or in pairs or larger groups, are always players in some kinky melodrama. They are never just clothes-horses, not even in his fashion shoots. They might be wearing sexy fetish outfits, but there 'll always be a lot more in the image to attract your attention - wild make - up and body paint, crazy eyes and hair, animated, animalistic poses, piercings, cuts and buckets of fake blood, all manner of whacky props and the whole gamut of manic, horror-show facial expressions. All of this is delivered in crisp, digitally cross-processed colour on pure white backgrounds, ensuring that the characters really leap out of the pages at you. So when van de Scheck describes his style as embracing provocation, contradiction and aggression, you don't have to look hard to find these qualities in his work. They're right there, right in your face, in pretty much every picture. To put some kind of order into this full-frontal assault on our visual sensibilities, Thomas has divided the images in "H.E.L.P." into three chapters entitled H.E.L.L., L.I.F.E. and P.V.C.. The first chapter, H.E.L.L.[How:Evil:Looks:Like] continues themes from his previous book "CUTs" with images that, he says, represent such issues and concerns as inner fears, the battle with one's own body and rebellion against institutionalised society. A figurative exploration of the way society 'lays its hands on people' and the way this can interfere with individual freedom forms the basis of the second chapter, entitled L.I.F.E. [Lessons:In:Free:Experiences]. The third chapter, P.V.C. [Pictures:Versus:Commerce], is van de Scheck's selection of his favourite fetish fashion pictures, including many created in collaboration with German retailer Fetishuniverse to demonstrate that it is possible to 'sell fashion with funny pictures'. Humour, in fact, is probably the single most important, most defining feature of Thomas van de Scheck's work. Even his most 'outrageous' images are staged in a way intended to make you smile or laugh out loud. It is clear that, however much he likes to photograph sexy girls in sexy fetish clothes, he is determined to provide an antidote to the seriousness which characterises so many depictions of fetish subject matter. His viewpoint, however, is not that of the outsider picking an easy target to mock - namely those freaks in their rubber, leather and chains. His pictures are created very much from the aspect of the affectionate insider who invites us to laugh with his subjects, not at them. And this his way of seeking the truth - of finding answers 'far beyond the common questions' as he himself puts it. Van de Scheck's ultimate aim, he has declared, is to 'confront people with their last and inner truth'. And if we are both outraged and entertained in the process, then so much the better. - by Tony Mitchell, Editor, "Skin Two" magazine, London.