Petter Hegre:
Mission to Moscow

PHOTOGRAPHY | PETTER HEGRE       WORDS | KIRK BROMLEY

Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, Russia is going through the shock and exhilaration of being reborn. Nowhere is this more evident than in Moscow, a vast, unwieldy city of sizzling clubs and new wealth, gamblers, adventurers and the most stunning girls in the world.

CHANGE IS always painful, but for young Russians it is an exciting time to be alive. Just to breathe the air is to feel in touch with the future. The hammer and sickle is no more now than a fashion accessory, and on a drive today through the Moscow streets you will see chic restaurants, art complexes, shimmering glass buildings and the female of the species exhibiting new cool.

For generations the Russian woman has been in our collective imaginations as a frosty official with a faint moustache, or a sad old babushka wrapped in sackcloth queuing to buy potatoes. But there is another side to every story and Petter Hegre, with his wife Luba as ambassador and model, led a team to Moscow to bring back this startling eye-witness reportage.

Girls from agencies and girls tuned to the grapevine flooded Hegre's suite eager to take part in the shoot, and making the final selection was one of the most difficult tasks he has ever undertaken. 'How do you pick the best when they're all the best?' he asked despondently. The New Russian woman, he was to learn, has a unique charm that brings into sharp focus the contradictions of Russia itself: she is childish, maddening, dramatic, intense, even mystical.

'I found in the very curves and skin tones of the models the very soul of their homeland,' he reported. 'Her spirit is vibrant and mischievous, her body strong and impeccably shaped. She has an arrogant look in her eye, but it is softened by the innocent pout of her lips.'

While Hegre's passion is the evolution of new erotica, his use of Soviet kitsch, boots, belts and outsized hats, adds wicked irony to his Moscow collection. He has used mirrors, tricky and often deceitful devices, to new effect, and continues his development of the three-girl shoot with its distinctive visual dialogue.

Behind the scenes
Before Petter Hegre puts out a call for models, he spends a good deal of time scouting for appropriate locations, the backdrop he finds forming a counterpoint to the image the model conveys. Lights, shadow patterns and props create a sensual mood, and it is the combination of these elements that conjures the erotic vibe that makes his work distinctive.

In Moscow, Hegre is intrigued by the décor of the old Soviet style hotels with their heavy carved furnishings, Oriental rugs and bold outdated wallpaper. His models are the children of this world, but appear almost alien, rare blooms in a grey musty landscape. Once the girls for the shoot have been chosen, Hegre spends time with them until they stop being models and become individuals, and it is the individual he sets out to capture on film. The photographer and his subjects perform an elaborate dance, tempting and teasing each other, seeking out the angles and positions that will result in something visually entrancing. It is through this patient process that Hegre produced the 10,000 captivating images he brought back from his Mission to Moscow.